Balsamic and Spinach Chicken Sausage Saute

If you haven't had a chance to try the Italian Chicken Sausage from Whole Foods Market, do yourself a favor and pick some up on your way home! I'm not a huge meat fan but these are delish, easy on the pocket, and super filling. They are flecked with fresh garlic, oregano and just ohhh soo good. I wasn't sure about which kind I was going to buy ( I don't think I've ever made raw sausages before.. cant even believe that haha) but the guy tending the meat counter was an enormous help! He narrowed it down by giving me a list of all the gluten free options, and was just an overall awesome guy. Thanks dude out there if you ever read this:) 

I paired these sausages with the classic combo of olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh baby spinach, and tomatoes.  To go along side I made a pesto and parm rice ( recipe to be posted soon). The nutritional highlights of this are the iron filled spinach, paired with the lycopene containing tomatoes, both nutritional  powerhouses. The lean protein from the chicken is filling and gives you a protein boost perfect for an after workout, or really anytime meal. 

In a large skillet saute 4 fresh cloves of garlic, 1/2 small onion, and 2 Tbs olive oil for 2-3 minutes

 Add in 3 chopped tomatoes, cook for a few more minutes

Add in enough fresh baby spinach to fill the entire skillet, this will look like entirely too much but will wilt down

Salt and pepper, dash

Place a few slits in the top of the sausages to allow them to cook and not burst. Place on top of the wilting spinach. 

Add in 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Cover and let cook for 7-9 minutes. Sausages will be firm to the touch. So yummy I hope you love this! P.S these would also be perfection on the grill!!

Ginger Soy Salmon Filets

Salmon. One of my favorite dinner proteins. Tasty, nutritious, versatile, and cooks in minutes. Perfect in my book. Salmon is total brain food, giving you a good dose of inflammation reducing Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Perfect to add to your families weekly dinner repertoire. Introducing it early in life will definitely increase the likelihood of your kiddos liking it and them building a taste for it. The recipe below is super kid friendly as well. Salmon can be pricey so my favorite way to incorporate this on a regular basis is to purchase it in frozen filets. Its convenient, defrosts quick, and leaves you with perfectly portioned pieces. I purchase mine from Whole Foods Market, which I know seems like it would be more expensive, but oz for oz  happens to be a really good deal. They've always got some on sale. I feel like if I'm going to have animal sources of protein it's important to learn a bit about sustainable farm and fishing practices. If your interested, check out that link. Really interesting stuff.

This recipe incorporates fresh garlic and ginger. Full of antioxidants and flavor, try incorporating both of these as much as possible into your diet.  Fresh ginger is great added to warm water with lemon or tea, and I like to keep it in the freezer so none goes to waste.When buying ginger, it will look like a gnarly, twisted root (which it is). If dirty just give it a rinse, chop off a 1 inch piece and peel it. Now your ready to chop it into pieces as big or small as you'd like. 

Ingredients:

2 defrosted Salmon filets

2 pieces of aluminum foil, large enough to form packets around the Salmon

1 inch of ginger root chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped (1 for each piece of Salmon)

2 Tbs low sodium soy sauce or Tamari

Drizzle of sesame oil (small drizzle onto each filet, optional)

Place one Salmon filet on each piece of aluminum foil, top with garlic/ginger, soy, then sesame oil. Close the aluminum foil to create a packet for each.  Place each package on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until Salmon feels firm to the touch and flakes with a fork. 

Zucchini Tostadas

Zucchini Tostadas. Quick, easy, perfect dinner! And you get to use up all those summer zucchini you've got hanging around! Recipe below and will be posted on website with more photos soon!

-Tostadas (found in Mexican Food section of store) or get corn tortillas brush with olive oil and bake until crispy

-2 large zucchini sliced, sautéed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp cumin powder

-1 can vegetarian refried beans

-Sliced red onion

-Crumbled Feta cheese

- Salsa or enchilada sauce

Spread each tostada with refried beans, top with zucchini, red onion, and feta. For half of these I also topped with taco meat that I had frozen from a previous dinner. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 until warmed and cheese slightly melts. About 10 minutes! Half fully veg, half meaty = pleases everyone:) serve with a large salad and guacamole to bump up the veggies  and heart healthy fats!