Mix'it Up Chilipo Salad

Cutting back on portions is easier when you combine a few things you love and add them to salad. This one is chili with some crisp romaine & vegetables topped with baked potato rounds. That way you get a small amount of all the ingredient flavors and they blend nicely. I used my melon baller to scoop out the potato toppers. Three nice bites are just right. I always eat on a small plate and 1/2 of this salad was more than enough. This hearty chili had both meat sauce and two kinds of beans; quite filling, and with the fresh salad and potatoes, it filled me up fast. Depending on how hungry you are, about a cup and a half is a good size serving. 50% chili and 50% salad. Also, you have two sizes to choose on most melon ballers, pick the size you like.

Salad Flights of Fancy

Salads are the easiest, most delicious meal you can make. Sometimes they can be a little repetitive and that's where different serving dishes save the day. This is the same English cucumber salad topped three ways and garnished with a lettuce fan. This presentation makes it extra appetizing and the variety is easy to do. I've used veggies and fruit as the accent, but anything goes here. Pick a theme, say a fresh seafood flight, and on the first add some baby shrimp, second, tuna and third salmon. It's a great way to have a salad special on your daily menu or give your family personalized salad selections. I dressed the cucumbers with a dash of rice wine vinegar, but you don't really need any dressing. The fresh, crisp flavors shine bright with this mix.

Food Art in Unusual Places

Since changing my menu of eating options it's been a bit tough to keep up with a food blog, but that doesn't keep me from seeing food as art or art as food. Feeding my eyes and Spirit with appreciation has always been a daily devotion and these images are no exception. The first one, to some it might just be a knot in a board, but I think it's interesting that it looks just like an egg. Everything seems to have something beautiful to observe if you take the time to notice. I hope you will take the time to appreciate the details of the day in some artful expression, or something you may have not seen before. The second image is also egg related. I was having egg salad in a bowl—when I finished I saw this interesting abstract design and with a few adjustments got this piece of art. Again, it could have just been fork scrapings washed away, never to be seen again. I may be stretching imagination here, which I love to do...to me the second image looks like an the remains of an ancient city to be discovered. What will you see today?

Trio of 'Tates

A nice small plate of 'tates, dressed with a tiny bit of topping hits the spot.  I'm cutting way back on cheese but having a little from time to time helps to curb a craving. A no cheese version is just as yummy. Salsa and veggies are a good garnish all by themselves. Or, top with some eggs for breakfast quickies.

Make a platter and serve with a variety of toppings your whole family can enjoy, or serve them at a gathering for a healthy departure from the chip and dip.

If you have some potatoes already cooked and stored in the fridge, it takes just a few minutes to crisp them up in a skillet with some red pepper flakes, add your toppings, and put a lid on for warming.

Serve immediately.

Visual Feast

Nourishment comes in many forms. This image from my walk yesterday truly fed me with well-being. Depending on what time of day and the weather, these beauties open and close. It was my lunch hour feast. There was a slight breeze blowing and they appeared to be waving hello in the most gentle of ways. The flock of orange and yellow friends holding court around the one white bloom seemed to hush for a moment—waiting for peace to speak. And she did. I offer this blossom of peace to you today, surrounded by vibrant love.