Berry Avocado Quinoa & Spinach Salad with Honey-Lime Poppy Seed Dressing

 

We had dinner at our friends Tony & Katie’s house the other night and I brought a salad.  This is now one of my favorite recipes – it’s really healthy and the homemade dressing was sweet & tangy.  It only took a minute to toss together. 

The next day I had leftover and added grilled salmon - it could easily serve as a meal instead of just a side! 

Berry Avocado Quinoa & Spinach Salad with Honey-Lime Poppy Seed Dressing

 (adapted from Cooking Classy)

Dressing:

·        ½ cup olive oil

·        Zest of 1 lime

·        Juice of 1 lime

·        2 T honey

·        1 T Dijon mustard

·        ¼ t salt

·        2 t poppy seeds

Salad:

·        2 cups cooked quinoa (about 2/3 cup dry)

·        1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

·        9 oz. baby spinach

·        1 ½ cups fresh blueberries

·        1 ½ cups fresh raspberries

·        2 medium avocados, peeled, cored, and diced

·        5 oz feta cheese, crumbled

 

Directions:

1.  Toast the almonds & cook the quinoa.  Mix all the dressing ingredients minus the poppy seeds in a bottle or jar until well combined.  Stir in the poppy seeds.  

 

2. Toss all the salad ingredients together.  Enjoy! 

Blue Diamond Wasabi & Soy Sauce and Honey Roasted Chipotle Almonds

One of the first reviews I did was for Blue Diamond Toasted Coconut almonds.  Our Sunday paper had a coupon for Blue Diamond last week, so I decided to try a few more varieties.  This time I bought “Wasabi & Soy Sauce” and “Honey Roasted Chipotle” almonds. 

So far I haven’t found a variety I don’t like!  The Wasabi Soy is like a crunchier version of wasabi peas.  And the Honey Roasted Chipotle is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.  They are really coated in the flavoring – but surprisingly they don’t have all that much sodium or sugar, and they are high in protein, so they are actually healthy!  Each serving size is about 28 nuts, which is plenty to fill you up for a quick snack. 

Still more flavors left to try!  I think I’ll buy the Lime & Chili next time…

Sore Throat Remedy Tea

I woke up this morning with a cough and sore throat – not fun.  Luckily I have Wednesday/Thursday off this week, so I’ll have time to recover during my “weekend”.  I made some Sore Throat Remedy tea with breakfast, so hopefully that’ll help.  It combines several ingredients with healing properties to kick the sore throat before it gets worse. 

Apple cider vinegar has acetic acid, which is antimicrobial and can help kill bacteria.  Lemon is rich in vitamin C, which helps protect the immune system.  It also helps flush out toxins and helps prevent bacteria growth.  Honey helps suppress coughs and is also antibacterial.  And cinnamon helps reduce inflammation. 

Sore Throat Remedy Tea (adapted from JessCapades)

Ingredients:

·        2/3 cup hot water

·        1 tea bag (whatever kind you prefer – I used Tazo Sweet Cinnamon Spice)

·        2 T lemon juice

·        2 T honey (raw local honey is best – but all I had today was normal Publix honey)

·        1 T apple cider vinegar

·        Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

1. Prepare your tea as normal.

2.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and drink up. 

You can prepare this 2-5 times until your sore throat goes away.  Of course, if your symptoms get worse, I’d talk to a doctor, but this remedy seems to work if you catch a cold at the first symptoms. 

Hyde Park Sunday Market & Fruitwood Standup Market

I had a fun father/daughter afternoon with my dad today – first with an intense spinning class at the YMCA, then eating and cancelling out all our calories we burned!

The first Sunday of each month there is a farmer’s market in Hyde Park.  I’m usually working, but luckily this month I was off for it.  Since we were still sweating from the workout, we cooled off with popsicles from Whatever Pops.  I’ve had them before at the Flicks & Food Trucks.   

The popsicles are handmade from fresh, natural ingredients, and the flavors aren’t ones you’d find in an ordinary popsicle.  I loved the Riesling Pear flavor I had at a previous market.  This time I tried the Strawberry Basil and my dad had Coconut Lime (and promptly started singing the Lime in the Coconut song…).  Both were super refreshing on this hot day.  You can check out their website to see where their stand will be set up, or you can purchase them at Duckweed Urban Market downtown.   

Next, my dad wanted to stop at Eden’s Nectar to stock up on some local honey.  He buys the seasonal honey to help with his pollen allergies.  The honey he bought today was a huge 42 ounce jar that should help build up his immune system against the August – November pollens. 

Our last stop at the market was Blessings of Home Jammery, which sells all-natural, small-batch jams.  They had some unique flavors, including mango habañero, carrot cake, and apple pie jams.  We ended up with the fresh raspberry and ginger pear – looking forward to eating mine!

They did have a bunch of food trucks at the Hyde Park Market, but unfortunately by the time we were ready for lunch, most of them were packing up.  Instead, we drove down the street to Fruitwood Standup Market since I’d heard great things about it but hadn’t been yet.  It is located right next to Smoothie King on Swann.  It had a rustic-industrial vibe (just like all the other new restaurants we’ve been to lately!) with exposed brick walls, wood and metal accents, and mason jar pendant lights.   

Fruitwood has a wide range of unique flatbreads, along with salads, wraps, and fresh fruit juices.  Today I tried AJ’s Pink Flamingo Flatbread and my dad had the 3 Cheese White with Spinach.  Mine had red sauce, pecorino romano cheese, prosciutto, pistachios, arugula, asiago, and a honey mustard drizzle.  My dad’s had mozzarella, sharp white cheddar, and pecorino romano cheeses, spinach, and fresh shaved asiago (so I guess if you count the asiago it’s really a 4 cheese pizza…) Both were fantastic – cooked in a wood-fire oven right in front of us.  The flatbread crust is a thin, crispy honey-wheat.  We had our lunch outside on the high-backed wooden benches.  I’ll definitely be back again soon. 

The Hyde Park Village Fresh Market takes placed the 1^st Saturday of each month from 10am – 3pm

Fruitwood Standup Market is located at 2203 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33606 and is open from 7am – 9pm Monday through Fridays, 9am – 9pm on Saturdays, and 11am – 7pm on Sundays.