Apple, Pork, and Fennel Salad

Ingredients

• 2 pork cutlets
• 1/2 apple, thinly sliced
• fennel, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup romaine lettuce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Season the pork cutlets with salt and pepper, then sear it for 5 minutes on each side.
2. Toss everything else together and serve with Apple Vinaigrette.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 2 Campari tomatoes, quartered
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder.
2. Sear over high heat on both sides and cook until no longer pink, then set aside.
3. In a bowl, toss together lettuce, tomatoes and radishes.
4. Top it with chicken chunks.

For the dressing, I drizzled honey mustard over the top of the chicken salad.  Low carb, tasty and filling!

Steak, Fennel & Radish Salad

I have never had fennel before and wanted to try it.

Thinly slice the fennel and radishes.

 On a bed of romaine lettuce, fennel and radishes, add 3 strips of grilled thin sliced steak.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of romaine lettuce, sliced
• 1/5 cup fennel, thinly sliced
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 3 strips of grilled steak
• salt and pepper to taste

Direction

Toss everything together.


I served this with pear vinaigrette.  It was tasty and filling.  The fennel itself is a bit like black licorice.  When tossed together in the salad, it taste sweet.

Buffalo Chicken Sausage Salad

This is such a tasty salad. There were layers and layers of flavors. Spicy from the buffalo chicken sausage, sweet from the tomatoes, the beans add creaminess, and the lettuce were crunchy. This is such a filling salad that it could be a meal on its own.

Ingredients

• 2 cooked Buffalo Chicken Sausage
• 1 cup of chopped Romaine lettuce
• 3 Campari tomatoes quartered
• 3 tablespoon Navy beans
• 2 tablespoons Romano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoon salad dressing, I had honey mustard

Directions

1. Cut the sausage into 1/2 inch chunks.
2. Toss everything together. 

Seared Fresh Tuna Salad

I have packed on a few pounds and is trying to lose that extra weight. I am not at the age when I can easily lose the weight. So I am trying to eat healthier and is replacing at least a few meals with low carb meals.  I love carb in the form of rice, I can eat rice twice a day everyday of the week and I have been doing so for a long time.  It seem that this is no longer an option.

Tuna is a very lean fish so I cook it until the middle is slightly pink.   Most people like to cook it just for a few minutes on both sides and the middle is still raw. 

Panko Crusted Pork Cutlets Salad

Going low carb again! This is very fulfilling and tasty too. These pork chops are very thin which is great for quick cooking.  The problem is that it is easily dried out if it is not cooked properly.  I used panko because it creates a crunchy coating.

Per person

Ingredients

• 2 thinly sliced pork chops
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup panko
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Dip each pork chop into egg wash and then into the panko.
2. Make sure the oil is really hot before gently placing each chop into the oil.
3. Fry until it is golden brown, then turn to fry the other side until it is golden brown. About 4 minutes each side, depending on what kind of pan you have.
4. Place on top of paper towel to soak up excess oil and let it sit for about 10 minutes before thinly cut them into strips.
5. Serve with honey mustard sauce with salad for a low carb dinner.

This would be great as a snack, in a sandwich, with rice or even mash potatoes!

Panko Crusted Nuggets

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup panko 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Cut chicken into one inch chunks and season with salt.
2. Dip each piece of chicken into egg wash.
3. Coat in panko and fry in oil. Do not over crowd the pan because you want the crust to be crispy.
4. Fry for about 3 minutes each side and place on paper towels to absolve the excess oil.

The nuggets were amazing by themselves with honey mustard sauce.  They were still moist and so tasty. They made a great meal on top of a salad.  I am trying to go low carb 2 days out of the week because I am no longer in my early twenties and I can no longer eat the way I use to eat and lose the weight.

Chickpeas Salad

I love chickpeas and this salad could not be any easier to make!  It is great for summer because it is best chilled.  Most of the other chickpeas salad includes oil in it.  I love to eat and I love to eat a lot, so when I don't absolutely need it I don't include oil.  This is a filling side and this is great for picnic too.

Ingredients

• 1 can of Chickpeas
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• 3 tablespoon diced onion
• 2 teaspoon of dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse the chickpeas under cold water until the water runs clear and add it to a mixing bowl.
2. To the mixing bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
3. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

I didn't have any fresh herbs so I used dried parsley instead and I also did not have fresh lemons therefore I used concentrated lemon juice.