Crystal clear waters giving way to white sandy beaches, vibrant colors filling my lens and our Captain and Master Chef, Iakis, grilling on the back of his 20 metre boat... Such are the memories I took with me from our day on the Nautilus as we cruised the shores of Corfu, Greece (Click here for a recap of our day in Corfu).
With traditional Greek treats including Saganaki, stuffed baby squid, homemade wine and a simple Greek Salad I've never forgotten, the food of Greece has stuck with me years later. While the ambiance may have enhanced our day, Iakis put together a feast I can never hope to recreate in my own kitchen.
However, the simple Greek Salad he served has become a favorite and finds its way to my table often. Adding avocado for a California twist, this salad goes together in mere minutes and brings bright, fresh flavors to your table.
I've not thought to post it in the past as it's something I just toss together, but over the last few weeks I've had friends and my mom request a formal recipe for this fabulous Greek creation. Fresh ingredients can make or break the salad, but beyond that you can adjust the ingredient measurements to suit your taste. Love cucumber? Add a little extra. Not an onion fan? Leave it out all together!
As we enter this spring season our markets are beginning to bring fresh produce and this salad just might become a regular in your kitchen too.
October brings to close my participation in the 30-Day Juicing Challenge of September. With goals of healthier eating and losing a few pounds, I am happy to report resounding success in both areas! More importantly, I now have a husband requesting his morning "Green Detox Super Drink" and kids who look forward to an after school blueberry or mango smoothie in place of chips and salsa or frozen burritos. While the official challenge may be over, our move towards healthier foods is not, and I'm ever so thankful to Teresa, of Eat. Drink and Be Skinny, for inspiring us to make better choices.
Closing out our month of smoothies and juices, I have one more new favorite to share, a lovely Minty Honeydew Cucumber Smoothie. With my mint plant continuing its takeover of my flower bed, I enjoyed snipping a few of his bountiful sprigs to flavor our morning drinks. Bringing a fresh, clean flavor, the mint combined with lime and sweet honeydew to bring an invigorating start to our day.
During September we shared a number of new smoothie favorites, and I in turn received a few emails and comments stating that juices and smoothies bring "too much sugar and calories into the diet". I absolutely agree that many smoothies on the market today truly resemble milkshakes more than any sort of health drink, however, I do believe that smoothies and blended fruit and veggie drinks can be a wonderful addition to one's diet - so long as they are used in moderation and with the proper ingredients.
For us, smoothies bring the addition of fruits and veggies that we wouldn't otherwise have had. My husband, not a huge salad fan, receives a nice dose of spinach or kale in his morning "Green Detox Super Juice", and my son, not a blueberry fan, amps up his antioxidants with a cupful of our Blueberry Cucumber Smoothie. That said, serving size is also an issue. We keep our serving sizes to about a cup to a cup and a half, thereby keeping the calorie count in check. Drinking pints of smoothie indeed throws the equation out of balance and yes, can bring too much of a good thing.
Personally, I prefer smoothies to juicing as blending a smoothie uses the entire fruit or vegetable thereby keeping the fiber in the serving. True, the fiber is broken down in the blending process and is not as intact as eating, say a salad, but much of it is still there in addition to vitamins from the skins and seeds (for example blueberries or kiwis).
In any case, this 30-Day Challenge resulted in a big success for my family and we've seen our fruit and veggie consumption increase in volume. Incorporating a few super foods, such as Camu Camu Powder
, Flax Meal, chia seeds and Goji Berries
has amped up our nutrition even more, and I'm enjoying the new flavor creations we've been experimenting with (well,most of them anyway...).
Thanks again to Teresa for making a difference for our family and for getting me in shape before my high school reunion. I'm keeping with the challenge for the foreseeable future... just because I like it.
