A New Year, A New You! - Part 2

Joe McCoppin - Partner, Better Than A Bistro

Joe writes about his personal revelation of the changes he needs to make, and has made, to make this year his very own New Year, New You!

Part 2 of 2.....

Last week I asked, "What can I stop/start doing right now that will be relatively painless, sustainable and manageable to allow for my lifestyle change? And oh yeah, doesn't cost anything!"

First, I stopped drinking soda altogether. I am a man who enjoys a few Cokes every day. When I realized that wasn't healthy I switched to ginger ale. Like an alcoholic who goes from vodka to beer. That's still no the most desirable solution so now I drink lots of water!

At first I drank at least a pot of very strong coffee a day to replace the sodas. I didn't start drinking coffee until my mid 30's. So after drinking that pot of very strong coffee and then shaking and sweating through the day I decided to do some research. That's when I found green tea. I know, yuck! But I actually love it now. I use 3-4 tea bags per cup. I didn't cut out the coffee altogether but I have easily cut my consumption in half and I never have it after 1pm of so. I absolutely feel better and green tea has lots of benefits and some caffeine too.

Grilled Salmon With Warm Spinach Salad

Grilled Salmon With Warm Spinach Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

The sweet citrus vinaigrette can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigeration. Use Maple Grove Walnut Vinaigrette or Paul Newman's Low fat dressing. If you prefer to make the dressing from scratch you can use this recipe:

• 1/4 cup fresh low sugar orange juice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oils
• 1 tbsp defatted chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons balsamic blend seasoned rice vinegar (such as Nakano)
• 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 whole clove garlic, minced

Salad Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 whole BTAB (6 oz) skinless salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• cooking spray
• 1 package 6 oz fresh spinach
• 4whole oranges, whole, peeled and cut into 6 slices

Directions:

1.) Preheat the frill to medium-high heat. for indoor grilling use the George Forman Grill.

2.) To prepare vinaigrette, combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. If you did not make dressing from scratch this step is where you can substitute your favorite low fat bottled dressing

3.) To prepare salad, drizzle lemon juice over fillets; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of pepper. Place fillets, skin side up on a grill rack coated with cooking spray, grill 5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or is at your desired degree of doneness. Remove skin.

4.) Add spinach to vinaigrette in a bowl, toss well. Place two cups of spinach mixture on each of 4 serving plates, arrange 1 warm salmon fillet and 6 orange slices on top of greens. 

Enjoy!