Mango-Raspberry Salsa

Doesn’t a batch of Peach-Strawberry Salsa sound good?  I thought so too!  Until I wandered through the produce section and realized that a) the peaches were all hard and b) raspberries seem to have trumped strawberries for the current local fresh berry.

Well, I can adapt!  I grabbed a tray of raspberries and started looking for a match.

The plan was to make shrimp tacos so as long as the fruity combo worked for that I was open to change.  Since BC peaches and such haven’t hit the shelves yet I decided that I’d look abroad for a partner for my local raspberries.  I picked up one of the most perfect mangoes I’ve ever seen and thus the Mango-Raspberry Salsa was born.

Mango-Raspberry Salsa

yields approximately 4 servings (or 1 big snack)

Ingredients:

• 1 perfectly ripe mango, rind and pit removed, diced small (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries, cut in half
• 2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• optional: use half cilantro and half fresh mint
• 1/4 small fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• zest and juice of 1/2 of one lime
• pinch of coarse salt

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.  Refrigerate if longer than 30 minutes.
2. Serve on fish tacos, chicken salad, or with a dish of those yummy salty lime tortilla chips.  Yum.

At four servings MyFitnessPal brings this fruity deliciousness in at only 45 calories per serving.  So go ahead and eat the whole bowl. :)

On the first night I featured the salsa on three beautiful little white corn tortillas with a quick slaw, pan seared shrimp and feta cheese.  I cannot get enough shrimp tacos!

On day two the salsa made the perfect addition to a green salad topped with grilled chicken and avocado.  Fresh and summery!

I think I’m going on the hunt for another perfect mango today.  This post just made me hungry.

Eating Beets

Double fisting the mugs this morning. One full cuppa joe. One full cuppa green smoothie.  Banana, spinach, flax, Amazing Grass, UVAB.

Spinach is in the house so it had to make a breakfast AND lunch appearance.  The big silver bowl is getting a bigass salad workout this week.

This week’s bread of choice is whole wheat sandwich thins and I’m finding it hard to keep my grubby little paws away from them.  The chewy, toasted consistency is soooo awesome.  Hummus & cheese topper.

Post-workout iced coffee a la homemade.

You tell me… peach or nectarine?  I swear these were mislabelled.  Peaches have fuzzzz, yo!

Best part of produce shopping this time of year?  Fresh, local stuff is finally coming in at a reasonable price.  Last night I scored radishes for 69 cents and this gorgeous bunch of beets for $1.

Often I buy bulk beets because the greens are so yucky but this beautiful bunch came with lovely tops perfect for steaming.

• Rinse very well, trim stems, steam until tender.
• Toss with butter, lemon and salt.
• Eat and thank me later.

Served up alongside last night’s leftovers.

Yum.

After dinner Chibi decided to be a little doggie PITA (hellooooo, listen much little pooper?!!) so we cut our walk short and took a drive for a treat.

Her punishment was watching me eat this awesomeness.

Oh yes.  Cheesecake ice cream, caramel, roasted almonds, and Skor bar.

Dogs don’t like ice cream anyway.  Riiiight. ;)

Workout: 5 minutes rowing machine, 15 minutes lower body strength exercises, 5 minutes easiest ab exercises ever + fun wood choppers, C25K Day 3 on treadmill.

My hip pain showed up for the entire workout (as did my tight calves because I’ve now cardio’d it up four days in a row) but no worse than after walking the dog so I’m not letting it put me off. 

Day five tomorrow.  That ice cream is motivation enough!

Sassy Mango

My Mom is here for the weekend so this will be a quick photo-heavy, word-light post before we head out to finally find me some living room tables and a much needed new vacuum.

Yesterday...Squirrelly toast with Maple Walnut Butter, sliced nanners, and a sliced fresh BC peach.

Bigass salad for lunch. 

  

Star of the big silver bowl was Pesto Ranch dressing (mixed the leftover fresh pesto with the leftover pasta salad dressing...nom!).

Also fabulous were the leftover Pesto Coated Chicken Tenders and halved cherry tomatoes...

When life gives you cold coffee (and no microwave!) make Iced Coffee!  With light vanilla soy milk.

Cookie craving?  But no cookies?  How about a Choco Mint Clif Bar?

Friday evening snackies while chillin' with the Mama...

Mango salsa came from the same fella I purchased the fun nut butters from.

Spent much of the evening assembling my new TV stand...yay!  Tomorrow my living room may actually look like a living room.  Finally!!  Around 10pm we decided we wanted to stick with our fave mother/daughter visit tradition and order Chinese take-out.  Except that we couldn't find a place that was open past 10pm???  Weird.  So instead Mom made a Wendy's run...

What?  Three chicken fingers is WAY better than the plate full of Chinese deeeeeliciousness I had intended on chowing back. ;)

Worth the Wait

Basil is clearly my favourite fresh herb.  When I saw this massive bunch of locally grown deliciousness I had to toss it into my basket.

While perusing the kitchen for dinner offerings last night I picked up the bunch and stared at it.  Then, duh, pesto came to mind.

Easy Peasy Basil Walnut Pesto

• handful fresh basil leaves
• drizzle of EVOO
• sprinkle of sea salt
• squeeze of lemon
• smattering of walnut pieces

Clearly it's very scientific. ;) Add everything to food processor and whirl until desired consistency.  I like mine slightly rustic.  Double that all up if you are feeding more than one single gal.

Here's where I get brilliant.

Pesto Coated Chicken Tenders

• Cut a boneless, skinless chicken breast into strips.
• Toss is a mixture of plain yogurt, lemon, salt, pepper, and minced fresh garlic.  Let hang out for a few minutes.  Then add most of the pesto mixture and stir around until all chicken pieces have a good coating.
• Lay chicken on a sprayed baking sheet and spread any leftover yogurt-pesto mixture on top of the pieces.
• Bake at 375 for 20ish minutes.  Let rest five minutes.

While those are cooking prepare your side dish.  My veggie of choice was this AMAZING Rainbow Chard...

Such a food blogger...I saw this at the market and had to buy it because it was soooo pretty. Ha!

I used about 1/3 third of this glorious bunch.  Simply rinsed, dried, coarsely chopped and tossed into the steamer basket.

Steamed over a rolling boil, covered, for about 2 minutes...then removed from heat but left lid on for another 2-3 minutes.

Drained as well as possible and topped simply with fresh squeezed lemon and a tiny knob of real butter. 

Served alongside a few of those pesto laden chicken tenders (to which I may have added just a bit more fresh pesto when serving) with a few market fresh local cherry tomatoes.

I told you it was worth the wait. No? ;)