Loaded Cucumber & Avocado Sandwich

Source: Eating Well

3 Tablespoons shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons ricotta cheese
4 teaspoons finely sliced chives or basil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Ground pepper to taste

2 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted

⅓ cup thinly sliced cucumber
¼ cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
⅓ avocado, sliced

Stir Cheddar, ricotta, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Spread half the mixture on each slice of toast. Layer one slice with cucumber, pepper and avocado, then top with the other slice, spread-side down.

Source: Eating Well

Avocado Toast

 

• 

• 1/2 medium avocado, mashed

• 1 slice whole-grain bread, toasted

• 2 teaspoons everything bagel seasoning

• Pinch of salt

CREAMY ICED COFFEE SMOOTHIE (DAIRY-FREE, SUGAR-FREE, SOY-FREE)

(makes 1 small smoothie / double recipe for a larger portion)

1 frozen banana
1/4 avocado
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon ground vanilla powder/ extract
2 teaspoons nut butter (almond, cashew or macadamia)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 or 2 shots espresso
ice to taste

add the frozen banana slices, avocado, water, vanilla, pure maple syrup, nut butter, coconut oil and espresso shots together in a blender
blend until smooth
add ice to taste and blend again

Grilled Chicken Southwest Salad (McDonald's Copycat)

Source: The Food Xp

Per Person:

½ pound Boneless Chicken
1 teaspoon Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Honey
½ Fresh Cilantro
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Lime Zest
½ cup Romaine Lettuce
½ cup Black beans
½ cup Diced Tomatoes
½ cup Bell Peppers
½ cup Onions
½ cup Avocado
½ cup Tortilla Strips
½ cup Corn
½ cup Cucumbers
teaspoon Salt

 Southwest Salad Dressing, Or, make your own:

1 tablespoon Sour Cream
1 tablespoon Lime Juice
1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
1 tablespoon Chili Flakes
1 tablespoon Onion Powder
1 tablespoon Black Pepper

Take a bowl to add olive oil, lime juice, honey, fresh cilantro, garlic powder, and lime zest. Mix it well.
Preserve half a cup of marinade and pour the rest on the boneless chicken. Cover the chicken with cling film and set it aside for 40 minutes in the fridge.
Grill the marinated chicken and cook on both sides until golden brown. Keep basting the marinade on top of the grilled chicken while cooking.
Place the grilled chicken in the oven to bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
Prepare the salad dressing by mixing all the components in a bowl.
Mix sour cream, lime juice, smoked paprika, chili flakes, onion powder, and salt to your taste.
Whisk it evenly to form a smooth and creamy salad dressing.
Finally, begin to assemble. In a salad bowl, add chopped Romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, avocado, onions, tortilla strips, and cooked chicken slices
Pour the Southwest salad dressing on the top and serve!

Mexican Rice Bowl Lunch

 

Source: Gathering Dreams

Mexican Rice Bowl

2 14 oz can black beans - drained and rinsed, 400g (240g net weight)
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups raw corn kernels - from about 2 cobs or 2 cups frozen corn
15 oz jar roasted red peppers - drained
4 cups cooked brown rice - 1 1/2 cups uncooked (320g uncooked)
2 avocados - sliced
Fresh cilantro - chopped

Dressing for Mexican Rice Bowl

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove - minced
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon salt
Black pepper
Chili flakes
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves - finely chopped

Mexican Rice Bowl

• Rinse the black beans under running water.
• In a pan, heat the oil on medium heat and add the extra virgin olive oil. Add the corn kernels and cook for 5 minutes until toasted.
• Slice the roasted red peppers and avocado.
• Divide all the ingredients into the 4 meal prep containers: the cooked rice, black beans, chopped onions, corn kernels, and red peppers. Add the avocado just before serving, or if going to work, you can add it in the morning with a generous amount of lemon juice on top to avoid it going brown.
• Sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro.
• Prepare the dressing: in a small bowl or a jar, mix the extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, lime juice, water, maple syrup, salt, pepper, chopped cilantro leaves, and chili flakes to taste.
• Keep the dressing in the fridge. Add it to the bowls just before serving (you can also add it a couple of hours in advance if needed).

Protein Bento Box Lunch

source: Gathering Dreams

• Roasted chicken breast
• Cherry tomatoes and/or avocado
• 2 boiled eggs (or 2 little quiches)
• A sliced red apple
• A tablespoon of peanut or almond butter

 

Chickpea Bento Box

Source: Gathering Dreams

• Prep the salad: chop 4 small cucumbers, cut in half  2 cups cherry tomatoes. Add in 2 cups chickpeas
  2 cups brown rice (cooked), chopped fresh parsley, 2 cups green and black olives
  4 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and mix. 
• Begin assembling bento boxes by putting chickpea salad in bento box.
• Add a whole avocado and a plastic knife to the bento box. Add the lemon wedge next to it.
• Place the carrot and celery sticks in the container with a few tablespoons of hummus.

 

Lemony Kale Chickpea and Avocado Salad

source

For the Dressing
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup Olive Oil

For the Salad
8 cups Kale (1 bag, rinsed and chopped)
1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans (drained)
1 ripe Avocado, diced


In a medium-sized bowl, combine LEMON JUICE, GARLIC, SALT, and PEPPER; whisk to combine; slowly drizzle OLIVE OIL in and vigorously whisk until creamy.

Pour this over KALE; gently massage vinaigrette into kale until all surfaces are coated and kale has softened.

Gently fold in the CHICKPEAS and AVOCADO; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Source : The Kitchen Girl 

Fish and Fruit Tacos

6 small flour tortillas
1 lb. frozen Tilapia
sprinkle of taco seasoning
1 jar of mango, pineapple, peach or other fruit salsa
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 avocado, sliced
1 jalapeno, sliced
1 mango, fresh or canned
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained

Heat a skillet over medium heat and place Tilapia in pan. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and cook. (Or use this recipe for Grilled Fish with Cumin and Lime.) Meanwhile, in a separate skillet warm the tortillas one at a time for about 15-30 seconds per side, or until warm throughout. Keep covered with foil or in a tortilla warmer.
Assemble tacos by laying a couple pieces of Tilapia on a tortilla, top with a couple tablespoons of mango-fruit salsa, a slice or two of mango, some diced red onion, chopped cilantro, corn, black beans, sliced avocado and jalapeno slices as desired.

Variations: Use chicken strips or shrimp in place of the fish.

Adapted from Southwest Tacos with Mango Salsa

source

Variation: 
In a medium bowl, mix together:
1 small mango, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup red bell pepper
juice of 1 lime
splash of olive oil
handful of cilantro, chopped
3/4 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1 avocado, diced

either a can of chipotles in adobo or ground chipotle powder, or if you’re really brave try adding roasted habanero peppers (just don’t touch your eyes after you handle them!)
salt, to taste

Chill until ready to use. Serve on 4-6 heated or char-grilled flour (or gluten free corn) tortillas.

Weis Corn Salad

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tab. Lemon juice
1 tea. Dijon Mustard
1/4 tea. Cayenne
1/4 tea. Salt
1/4 tea. Black Pepper

Salad:
6 ears of corn cooked 3 min. and cut off ears
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tab. Fresh Chives
1 Avocado, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/3 cup fresh Basil, shredded

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl. Add in salad ingredients and toss to coat.

Source: Weis Market

251 Calories, 15g Fat (2g Saturated), 0mg Cholesterol, 121mg Sodium, 29g Carbohydrates, 6g Fiber, 5g Protein

Roasted Beets Salad with Orange-Shallot Vinaigrette Dressing 🍊

3 medium beets
1 tea. olive oil
pinch salt

1/3 cup chopped nuts
1 avocado, thinly sliced
squeeze of lime or lemon juice
6-8 cups mixed salad greens
5 oz. goat cheese

Orange-Shallot Vinaigrette
2 cups orange juice
1 Tab. diced shallots
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 Tab. lemon juice
1/4 tea. salt
1/4 tea. maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and salt. Roast for 30 min.-1 hour. Cut beets into thin slices or julienne once they are cool enough to handle.

While beets are roasting, make the dressing. Bring the orange juice and shallots to a boil over high heat in a pan. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer about 20 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Slowly whisk the oil, lemon juice and salt into the orange juice. Taste the dressing. You may need a spritz of lemon juice, another pinch of salt or a few drops of maple syrup.

Toss the avocado slices with the lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

To assemble the salad, combine the greens, avocado and beets. Coat lightly with dressing. Top each serving with goat cheese and tossed nuts.

Note: If you get beets with greens tops, also make Sauteed Beet Greens or save them to make later.

source: One Bite at a Time, Rebecca Katz

Shrimp Salad

1 head red leaf lettuce
1 lb shrimp cooked
2 eggs hard boiled and sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup French dressing

Cut lettuce in bite-sized pieces in bowl. Arrange on top cooked shrimp, egg slices and avocado. Pour over French dressing.

Kale Citrus Salad

1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed, thinly sliced
1 tangerine and 1 orange, (or two of either) peeled and segments sliced in half
1/4 cup toasted almonds or hazelnuts
1/2 medium fennel bulb, halved, cored, and sliced thin

4 radishes, sliced thin (optional)

1/2 sliced avocado (optional)

Place all the cut vegetables in a salad bowl. 

Make the Citrus Vinaigrette:

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice (squeeze 2 oranges or tangerines for fresh juice)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Put in a bowl the olive oil, vinegar, orange juice and the  Dijon mustard. Whisk well to combine the dressing.

Source: Marin Mama Cooks

Avocado 🥑

Perfect Portion: 1/5 of an Avocado

• Very low glycemic index
• Rich in sterols, compounds shown to lower cholesterol 
• Packed with vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, magnesium,  vitamin C, foliate and zinc. More potassium than bananas by ounce.