Spring is just around the corner. The season of change and renewal. I'm getting an itch for spring cleaning... wanting to open the windows in the house to exhale the stale air of winter. My body is calling for more exercise and more time outdoors to soak up some sun.
In the kitchen, I've found myself craving more salads and lighter fare. Perhaps it's also because bikini season is a few months away and I've got a little pudge around my middle I'd like to shed.
All this has led me to think more Mediterranean. It is after all, one of the healthiest diets on earth – made up of fresh vegetables, healthy oils and nuts, omega-3-rich seafood, lean protein, whole grains and heart-healthy red wine.
Here are two Mediterranean inspired meals I made this week.
- Roasted vegetables: fresh beets, potatoes, carrots and brussel sprouts. Very easy to do - just toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.- After roasting, I mixed the vegetables with Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend.
- Pickled carrot and cucumber salad (with white balsamic vinegar and a dash of sugar)
- A little hummus and some flat bread.
- Roasted vegetables: carrots, potatoes, and red onion.
- Grilled skinless boneless chicken breasts seasoned with an herb blend and sea salt.
- A little 2% greek yogurt (because I had some extra in the refrigerator)
- Avocado (it was ripe and needed to be eaten... but it goes great with this meal)
- Tabbouleh salad:I used Bob's Red Mill Bulger Wheat and a slight variation of the tabbouleh recipe on the bag which follows...
1. Soak 2 cups bulger wheat in 2 cups water for 1 hour.
2. Combine bulger (using a wooden spoon) with 3 cups chopped flat leaf parsley, 1/4 cup chopped mint, 3 finely sliced green onions, dash of black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 seeded and diced cucumber, and 2 seeded and diced medium tomatoes.
3. Add 3 tbsp lemon juice, toss and chill for 1 hour. ( I also added 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar)
4. Before serving, toss again with 3 tbsp olive oil.
This recipe makes 6 servings of tabbouleh.