Hands-On Tuna Pita Pocket

Crunchy and savory and all tucked into a pocket of pita bread goodness.

First, canned tuna (and light is better).

Next, the ingredients of the 'crunch' -- dice celery, radish, and onion into very small pieces. Use only a quarter of onion. Grate down a couple cucumbers for good measure.

Add a teaspoon of salt and mix well. This will make the veggies release all their juices/water which you will soon drain. You really don't want a wet soggy pita pocket. 

Let the veggies sit for a good few minutes to "sweat." 

Look at all that juice...

Then it's a hands-on experience. Handful by handful, squeeze out all the juice you can muster.

Now you've got a considerably smaller bowl of homemade relish, already salted and drained!

Dump your tuna into a mixing bowl, stir in the relish, and add a large dab of Greek yogurt for creaminess. Or lite mayo, but that may defeat the purpose!

Next add mustard, dill seasoning, and black pepper. Stir until it's nice and luscious and heavenly smelling.

Yum.

The pita bread will spread open and fill better when warm, so perhaps pop them in the microwave for a few seconds.

Cut into halves.

And fill 'er up. Two halves is a good lunch serving for an adult. Have a side of fruit -- fresh cherries are a sweet partner -- then wipe your mouth and proudly look down at your receding belly.

All finished.

Enjoy~!

Colorful Fruitsalad Lunch

Keep your body healthy, tummy happy, and co-workers in awe of your vibrantly colorful lunch!

Let's do a gorgeous, juicy salad of the season's fruit. This one has watermelon, papaya, and kiwi.

 The fingerling tomatoes were found at the local Chinese supermarket. They've been blowing everyone's minds and taste buds due to their surprisingly superb taste! Paired with a large cube of Colby Jack cheese, and you've got yourself an instant addiction. 

Rice cakes are fantastic in helping a achingly hungry tummy feel full. They come in a wide variety of flavors, too.

It's a pretty cute lunch -- everyone around will tell you! All finished.

Enjoy~!

Cereals + Honey

The best cereal to greet the new day with usually has the word "bran" or "fiber" in the title.

It's a nice idea to get three or four different boxes so you don't ever get 'bored' with your cereals in the morning.

 Grape-Nuts are my personal favorite because it is very crunchy and filling. This cereal will sink to the bottom of your bowl and seem like it's empty. Cereal with flakes will have your bowl appear very full.

Weigh out 1 oz. of cereal.

Fat free or skim milk + half a banana = equals a well-balanced breakfast!

I love love love dabbling a bit of honey over my bran cereal. The bottle on the left is from Walmart; the one on the right is from a Mennonite farmer's market in Tennessee. Raw honey does have its health benefits over pure honey!

With cereal and fruit and honey combined with milk, it's a sweet nutritious breakfast. All finished.

Enjoy~!

Authentic Margherita Pizza + Wines

Seriously, forget about Macaroni Grill or Maggiano's. You honestly cannot get any better than this homemade, true-to-Italy, and EXTREMELY easy recipe for Margherita pizza. The first words uttered after devouring were, "When can I have this again?!"

Have your pizza board ready?

The Naan bread was bought from a local Middle Eastern bakery - it can often be found in Indian/Iranian supermarkets. You may use it fresh or frozen.

Next slice one tomato into the thinnest slivers you can possibly muster. Have a handful of fresh (it is 100% better fresh, believe me) basil leaves ready as well.

Get your spices and oils out. I've included salt in the photo but none was used in the end. Also, a small can of tomato sauce (no salt) is needed.

Finally, pick a package of fresh mozzarella cheese - your preference.

Now it's time for decorating. Slather on half a can of that tomato sauce.

Half of the mozzarella cheese was used, but you can use however much you desire.

Grind some black pepper, add the tomatoes, dust all your spices and powders, and sprinkle on that fresh basil.

Have the oven preheated at 400 F and pop your baby in!

After give or take 8 minutes, it's time. Oh MAN it's time.

A lovely dipping sauce consists of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I'm not a fan but many others are, so why not sample it? All finished.

The devourers nearly cried because it was so utterly delicious. They claimed it was way better than the Margherita pizza in their favorite restaurants.

A word about alcohol and eating healthy. Wine is better than liquor, and liquor is better than beer. Everything is better than beer while dieting. Beer is the utmost worst - proof here. If you can do anything to avoid those empty calories, do try.

Check out this article about wine! Not bad, eh? One glass ought to do, though.

This was a superb pairing:

I personally like light, very fruity, and very sweet wine. There is a special winery in Delano, Tennessee which my heart has a soft spot for. Savannah Oaks Winery carries the most interesting and exquisite wines and mixtures, in my humble opinion.

My personal favorite is their Home For The Holidays bottle, an EXTREMELY luscious and delicious "80% Muscadine, 20% Concorde" wine. My other favorites include their authentic Strawberry, Blackberry, and Blueberry wine. Those are especially great during the summertime.

Tonight I had a couple glasses of their Razzle Dazzle, a Raspberry mix. So very good.

A perfect end to a perfect pizza dinner. 

Enjoy~!

Milk Tea, minus pearls (奶茶)

I'm a huge fan (...addict) of Asian pearl milk tea. Sometimes I'm not so much a fan of the gelatinous dark pearls/bubbles at the bottom.

This is a ridiculously simple and ridiculously scrumptious 2-ingredient recipe for the best pearl milk tea! And it's diet-friendly.

Any super cheap tea you rummage up is great! Normally it's black tea, but anything will work.

One dolla make you holla. ^^

If evaporated milk is preferred, then mix in some sugar later. But I've selected fat-free condensed milk and the finished product is richly identical to what you get in stores.

After a bit of experimenting and re-measuring, the perfect concoction is 1/4 cup condensed milk with 2 cups hot tea. Stir well.

Add more or less tea for your preferred sweetness. Ice it up! All finished.

Sweet, frothy, AND SO GOOD!

Enjoy~!

Red Veg Soup

This is an exceptionally 'veggied-out' soup for a light lunch or dinner; bright and earthy and one of those authentically healthier eats!

First, boil  three leftover chicken breastbones in a pot of water (approx. 2 quarts) to make your own chicken stock/soup base. Simmer for an hour - for a healthier soup, skim off the fatty foam. 

This will be extremely aromatic and have you salivating in minutes. If there happens to be a bit of chicken on those bones, shred off into bite-sized strips.

We continue with a wide rainbow spectrum of vegetables: cube up some carrots, zucchini, celery, and yellow squash.

Perhaps quarter a few ripe tomatoes.

What will give this soup its distinctive violet-like color is half a head of red cabbage, chopped.

Cut up a few stalks and leaves of parsley (or spinach). It will remain fresher if the plant is kept watered in a vase while refrigerated!

Combine all vegetables (carrots first for 10 mins) in your boiling chicken stock/soup and simmer at MED heat. Cook until vegetables are to your liking - shorter time means crunchier vegetables, longer time means a softer soup.

Before serving, toss in some parsley and shredded chicken from those breastbones!

To avoid salt, these substitutes work perfectly. Sprinkle at will.

 Sprightly and vibrant and easy on your tummy! All finished.

You can add some specific kid-pleasing bits (like beans or potato) or even make this a richer cheese/cream-based soup. 

Enjoy~!