Skin and Bones

So FYI Trader Joes Sock Eye canned salmon has bones and skin. For dinner I quickly made a Trader Joes meal of Salmon and Potatoes over arugula....well I thought it was going to be quick...but I'm a dummy.

Talking about Vinaigrettes again...

Trader Joes Frozen Parmesean Potatoes are perfect for the single girl who is not going to eat...let alone bake a whole potatoe for dinner...and it's a quick Gratin. But after cooking the potatoes I commited a faux pas and didn't read the directions the entire way...I thought I was supposed to cook the salmon in the oil and vinegar...anyone ever say oil and vinegar don't mix?  Well yeah...when you have hot oil and you pour vinegar on top of it...it splashes worse than water  first of all...second of all...I opened the can of salmon expecting my typical bumblebee Tuna consistency. Nope. Trader Joes ain't playin' folks. This is the real thing! De-Bone it yourself! I think the can should come with instructions. I LOVE salmon, but other than the canned variety...I'm scared to cook it...and all of a sudden my canned variety has BONES?! After picking my way through the can with a fork, I threw the salmon into the skillet and then realized there was supposed to be buttermilk in there somewhere? Oh yeah?! IN the buttermilk vinaigrette.....

P.S you can use vinegar to make buttermilk out of regular milk...a few drops of vinegar in the milk, let it set for about 4 minutes and voila!

Vinaigrettes and Pepperplate.

P.S Did I mention I LOVE Pepperplate? It's an ap for your phone too. And I recently discovered pintrest, which just eats at my time some days, but I figure I do that anyway so why not share it with everyone.

In conclusion: I've been on a diet for 4 weeks now. Last time I checked, I had lost about 3.5 lbs. So I've been actually just focusing on counting calories, which has helped me in the past. Then I started reading this book about dieting and it kind of scared me about bleached sugars and flours. I also have felt a real drain in energy lately, probably due to the weather and other things, so I started looking up ways to boost your serotonin levels naturally. Consensus being that certain foods release chemicals in your brain, and processed foods make you feel yucky.

This all has a point I promise.

SO! On days when I go over my caloric intake (usually because I ate something heavily caloric and processed out of the vending machine) I usually rely on salads. I've been using meals off of EatingWell.com...which BTW I love, it's like a healthy spin on Epicurious.com...which I also love.

So I've  been discovering making my own vinaigrettes for salads. They are lovely! For instance, yesterday I had a blueberry walnut vinaigrette for my spinach and Blueberry steak salad with fetta cheese. And currently I'm having a strawberry and spinach green salad with a maple pepper vinaigrette. And the other day I made a spinach blueberry salad for my friend, Jax. Vinaigerettes are super quick to make, somewhat healthy and so much more creative than your bottled french dressing. (Though Newmans Own Dressing is to DIE for.) Different flavored peppers from Trader Joes help to switch it up too!



It also helps that I love spinach.