Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Dinner

Summer Nights with Cucumber Salad

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Hello Hello! First off, I want to remind you all to send in a picture, or blog about your favorite food for the Food Lovin’ Post! Don’t Forget! August is almost coming to an end, and I know that every single one of you have a favorite food!!

Last night in Iowa was the most beautiful night I’ve been in for a while! It was about 75 degrees, and there was a nice, cool breeze in the air. There was some Wild Alaskan Salmon on the grill, and I made some cool and refreshing summer salads with the organic vegetables a friend kindly gave me the night before.

The smell of the night calmed me as I sat on the front porch with my family eating supper.

Breathe in…Breathe out…. Smell the night air, and enjoy the food that the earth has kindly given up for me. And enjoy my family as I relax, talk, and eat.

I made a perfect summer salad out of the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes my friend gave me. This was my Grandma’s recipe, and was a favorite to make. My dad was also extremely happy when he saw I was making this salad. It is very cleansing because the cucumbers soak in vinegar. I remember drinking the left over juices with my grandma, and laughing as we watched each other cringe as the vinegar burned our throats.

Cleansing Cucumber Salad

~This cucumber salad is great for a summer picnic, and good for those who have sore throats. The recipe is raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 2 medium cucumbers (can be easily adjusted to serve more or fewer people)
  • 15 (more or less) cherry tomatoes
  • Yellow onion
  • ¼ cup vinegar
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

First, thoroughly wash all of the vegetables, and scrub the skins of the cucumber. Then, thinly slice the cucumbers into rounds. Next, thinly slice about 2 or 3 rounds of the yellow onion, and cut the rounds into quarters. Then, place the sliced vegetables and cherry tomatoes into the serving bowl. Add the vinegars and salt and pepper, and use your hands or salad tongs to thoroughly coat the vegetables (make sure you don’t add too much balsamic vinegar because it doesn’t look as good to have brown cucumbers!).

Either serve the salad right away, or cover with plastic wrap and let it sit a couple hours before serving, The loner it sits in the vinegar, the more tangy the cucumbers will become; so if you don’t love a strong vinegar taste, don’t let it sit too long.

Dinner Idea for this salad:

Yes, this was my dinner I enjoyed on the front porch. The cucumber salad was served with grilled salmon topped with capers, wild rice, and another spinach salad I made the night before.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is your favorite summer-time meal? What about you most ideal meal-time setting? On the beach, in the mountains?

Pancakes and Peanut Butter.

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Hey Guys! This is a super short post today because I want you to check out my first guest post on Lauren’s blog, Whole Wheat or Bust. Check it out! I talk about some sugar-substitutes and a yummy sugar-free recipe at the end 🙂

But here are some of my eats the past couple days…I’ll give recipes to some of them later. If I don’t and you want the recipe, just yell at me!

Protein Berry Soft Serve
Afternoon came and I wanted pancakes( and peanut butter of course), so I whipped out a batch in 5 minutes(without a mix!)you guys are totally getting the recipe.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Mondo Salad
Sausage, veggies, and noodles

So… What do you think?

I’m Lucky!

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Not just because I won a blogger giveaway, but because the giveaway was to One Lucky Duck!!! Thank you, Lauren! I am so pumped!

I am also excited to announce that I received 2 coupons from the wonderful people of Woodstock Farms to try their products for free and do a product review. What should I try, guys?

I have a few product reviews coming up (and a giveaway!), so stay tuned!

Now, I don’t know about you guys, but it is blisteringly hot down here. Yesterday we had a 105* heat index, and today 107*. But that doesn’t stop me from charging onto the tennis court for a couple hours! No sir-y, I have been sweatin’ up a storm this past couple days.

This summer weather calls for a summer dinner!

Burgers, potato wedges, watermelon (blindingly red), and a fresh salad

Alex’s 10 Minute Burgers

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Worcester Sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Mix all ingredients together by hand. My burgers are very onion-ey, that’s what makes them good! Roll them into balls about 1.5 inches thick. Then, place them on a pan (I used a cast-iron skillet) and smash them down to patty size. Cook for about 2 minutes each side. I didn’t really count, but I just kept an eye on them to see when the bottoms turned nice and brown. Serve with your favorite condiments! (Mine are pickles, avocado, tomato, spinach, and mustard! I like mine bun-less…oh yeah….)

Healthified Potato Wedges

  • 3 or 4 potatoes (or sweet potatoes)
  • olive oil spray (or fingers 🙂 )
  • salt
  • pepper

Preheat oven to 425*. Scrub potatoes thoroughly because we are keeping the skins on. Slice potatoes into wedges. Try to slice evenly so that they will cook evenly. Soak the potatoes in water for 10 minutes so that they will be crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. Pat the potatoes dry with a paper towel. Spray the cookie sheet with olive oil (or spread it around with your fingers) and lay the potatoes flat on their sides. Spray with more olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper (and other spices if you wish. garlic, chili powder, rosemary, whateva!) Bake for 10-15 minutes each side or until they look pretty like my picture below.

Yup! So go make some summer food!

I actually think I am breaking my summer food demand tonight and making pancakes and eggs…Oh well! You know how good breakfast tastes for dinner, right?

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

I have a couple, so stick with me, please:

What should I go get with my Woodstock Coupons? What about my One Lucky Duck gift card?

What is your favorite summer meal? I know that in my family, if we have watermelon and corn on the cob, we are happy!

Thank You! Thank You Very Much!

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First off, thanks so much for helping me help my friend find recipes for her new diet. She’s going to LOVE them!

Secondly, Look at these adorable little gifts I bought to give to Operation Christmas Child! My church gave away boxes to be filled with toys for little boys and girls around the world. In November, they will be collected, and a book about Jesus written in the child’s language will be put into the box and given to a child in need for Christmas. The vast majority of these children have NEVER received a gift, and maybe never will again! Its such a great organization. So, if you can, try to send a box to this organization.

Look! I even wrapped it!

Contents:

  • A fuzzy teddy bear (holding a card. I might even get a response! That is, assuming my child can read English…)
  • Pencils and pencil sharpener
  • 2 notepads
  • Crayons
  • Tootise Pops (Ok…they are not sugar free or healthy, but hey, its Christmas 😉 )
  • Headbands with curly ribbons
  • Purple, Sparkly comb
  • Chapstick that tastes like bubblegum
  • Silly Bandz (ok, I don’t know about you, but kids in my area are CRAZY about these little rubber bracelets!)

Yep Yep…

Ummmm…..Do you want to see my dinner last night? You do? Great!!!!

Close up on the onions...

Ok. Dinner was a salmon patty (bought at costco) with grilled onions and steamed spinach. I grilled the onions and the salmon patty on a panini press! How ingenious is that? I guess they can do more than toast bread.

The salmon patty is super good. It’s called Trident Seafoods Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers. If you ever see these at the store, buy them and serve it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Have you ever seen those things called Silly Bandz? Are kids in your area crazy about them? Because down here, kids everywhere have hundreds of them. They collect them, and wear hundreds at a time on one arm! Crazy.