New Year...Healthier You

Anyone who knows me, knows that anytime someone says anything about working out or eating healthy, I always say, "Working out/eating healthy is over rated."  I know that eating healthy is the right thing to do, but it's so hard to eat healthy for many reasons.  One of my biggest reasons for not eating healthy is: Nick and I tried to do the whole healthy thing about two years ago.  We went to the grocery store, didn't buy ANY meat at all nor did we buy any "snack foods."  We spent about $200.00 on all this healthy stuff.  I don't spend that much when I buy non-healthy foods including meat and snacks.  You would think with all the talk from politicians and health experts about obesity in America, that they would at least make eating healthy somewhat affordable.  I also worry about healthy foods not having any flavor or tasting good.  I love to cook and I love to experiment with new flavors; most of the healthy food I have eaten has usually been bland or some foreign food I dare not put in my mouth.

I have a skinny body frame (although I eat a whole lot) and people naturally assume that I am healthy or that I don't eat.  I tell people all the time, just because you are skinny doesn't mean you are healthy.  I want to be a positive role model for my kids and I want them to eat healthier, so in the spirit of being a parent (that's what I have to tell myself), I have decided to try to make at least one or two healthy meals a week (fingers crossed).   I plan on posting at least one of those recipes on my blog each week, so be sure to check regularly.

Our first recipe has fruit, vegetables, dairy, and nuts (meets at least 4 of the requirements from the food chain).  It's really simple.  It takes about 20 minutes to prep and 8 minutes to cook.  You can serve this with a nice piece of seafood (fish, shrimp).  Enjoy and here's to eating healthy!

Recipe: Pear Salad With Sugared Walnuts (Courtesy of Family Circle)

Ingredients for the salad:
2 cups of Walnut Halves
2/3 cups of sugar
1 Package of arugula
1 small head butter or Bibb lettuce, cored, cleaned, and torn into bite size pieces
2 ripe pears, halved, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup of sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Ingredients for dressing:
3 tbsp raspberry flavored or traditional; balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of black pepper
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Directions for salad:
1. Combine nuts, sugar, and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until almost all the liquid has cooked off, stirring constantly for the last two minutes.  Pour nuts onto a foil lined sheet and spread out.  Let cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine arugula, butter-lettuce, pears, cranberries, and blue cheese.  Set aside.

Directions for dressing:
1. In a medium size bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper.  While whisking, add oil in a thin stream.  Gently toss salad with half of the dressing; serve remainder on the side.  Coarsely chop 1 cup of the nuts and sprinkle over salad.  Reserve extra nuts for snacking or another meal.

***This meal only has 378 calories.