Strawberry, avocado & feta salad

I am always trying to get more veggies into my diet, and salads are a great way to do so. But no one likes a bowlful of lettuce leaves with just a splash of dressing for flavor. I like to add extras to make my salads more interesting. Since I had just bought a fresh head of lettuce, I used the fruits/veggies I had on hand, and it turned out great! The lettuce was $1 and I will probably get at least 5 salads from it. The avocado was also $1, as were the strawberries. The feta was left from a while ago (and you can omit the cheese or use whatever kind you like/have) as was the dressing. So for 5 salads worth, the cost per serving is only $0.60! Plus it's good for you, and a great side to just about anything.

Ingredients:
1 cup torn lettuce leaves
3 large strawberries, quartered
1/4 haas avocado, diced
1 tbsp feta cheese
1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

Simply toss and enjoy!

Feta and Red Pepper hummus

As a spread, appetizer or snack, hummus is filling, satisfying and nutritious. You can eat it with fresh veggies or crackers, or spread it on a sandwich, wrap, burger, gyro and more. I love hummus, and had some chickpeas left over from an earlier curry recipe, so I decided to make a snack. Most hummus recipes call for tahini, of which I had none, so I created my own recipe. I love garlic hummus, and red pepper hummus, and feta cheese hummus. So I figured, why not combine it all!? Turns out that was an excellent idea, and I hope you think so too.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup garbanzo beans/chickpeas
2 tbsp feta (~1 oz)
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp water
1 clove garlic, diced
2 tbsp red bell pepper, diced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seed
Dash salt & pepper

 Step 1: Blend the first 4 ingredients in the blender, scraping sides with a spoon. Add water until desired thickness.

 Step 2: Add all spices, mix well and pour onto serving dish.

Step 3: It's that easy, now enjoy! I cut up a carrot, a celery stick, a roma tomato and had some wheat thin crackers. Delicious!

Amount Per Serving (1/4 cup)
Calories		215.4
Total Fat		15.9 g
	Saturated Fat	3.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	10.5 g
Cholesterol		6.3 mg
Sodium		298.6 mg
Potassium		140.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		14.9 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.9 g
	Sugars	0.2 g
Protein		4.2 g

Spinach & feta egg white omelet

I had some egg whites still left from my coconut cream pie the other day, so I decided to take an extra 10 minutes and make a hearty breakfast. I had spinach and green onions which I had recently bought, and some feta still in the fridge, so that left itself perfectly to my egg white omelette. And I calculated it on Sparkpeople.com, the whole thing is just barely over 100 calories!

Ingredients:

2 egg whites, slightly beaten

1 handful spinach, cut or torn (~1/4 cup)

1 green onion, diced

1 tbsp feta

 Step 1: Heat a skillet and spray with oil. Add the egg whites, torn spinach, onion and feta on top. Heat until you can see the egg bubbling and a spatula lifts the edge completely.

 Step 2: If you're brave or talented, you can simply flip the omelet by tossing the skillet. However, I used 2 spatulas on either side to lift and flip. Cook another 2-3 minutes over medium heat, until egg is full cooked and beginning to brown.

 The feta delivers nice little pockets of salty cheesiness, the green onion is still slightly crunchy and flavorful and the spinach is perfectly wilted. Enjoy with your favorite breakfast beverage. As always, substitute whatever veggies and/or cheese you prefer.

Breakfast BELT with avocado & feta

I've read several articles lately that say a breakfast with eggs are the most filling. Since it was the weekend, and I had one egg left, and several veggies in the fridge I had just bought yesterday, I wanted to make a super-healthy and filling breakfast. Tim Horton's makes a breakfast BELT sandwich with bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato on a bagel. To lighten it up, I used one slice of wheat bread as the "B" and in place of the bagel, no bacon, lettuce tomato one egg and added a slice of avocado and a sprinkle of feta for healthy fat and flavor.

Ingredients:

1 slice wheat bread

1 egg

1 tbsp oil

1 romaine leaf

1/2 roma tomato

1 slice avocado

1 tbsp feta cheese

Step 1: Put 1 tbsp in a pan, and fry the egg. If you like yellow, you can leave it runny. I cooked it all the way through. 

Step 2: While the egg is cooking, layer the lettuce, tomato, avocado and 1 tbsp feta on a slice of wheat bread (toasted or not).

Step 3: Lay the cooked egg on top of the feta, and enjoy! The feta gives it a tangy flavor, while the avocado is creamy and soft. If you're vegan you can omit the egg and cheese.