Good stuff from the garden, the best stuff of summer!

Well I am off on vacation on Saturday and as much as I would love to blog while I am gone the wilderness areas of the North don't tend to be too conducive to wireless connections! So while scrambling around to pack and plan this week I will also try to get a few good meals out to you.  Tonight's dinner was yum-tastic. (When food is really good regular words don't seem good enough to describe it and you have to opt for fun made-up words.) And some of the ingredients were fresh out of my garden, isn't that the best!

The two main recipes are from Jillian's cookbook Master Your Metabolism again! The first one has some of my faves in it like:

And if you have never bought a pomegranate before they are really kind of fun to open and eat.  I learned how at a cooking class I went to a few years ago and now I love to do it.  I came across a tutorial the other day on another website here and she explains it a lot more eloquently than I could so check it out! (Just don't fall in love with her super awesome blog and not come back! I did think it was funny though today she did the mango quinoa that I did the other week, it's sweeping the nation!)

Baby Spinach with Avocado, Pomegranate, and Toasted Sunflower Seeds Serves 6 to 8 as a side salad

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 large shallot, quartered (I used a quarter of a sweet onion, quartered)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pomegranate
10 ounces baby spinach leaves, cleaned and patted dry
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, toasted

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced (yeah I just chunked it!)
In a blender, place the orange zest and juice, the lime zest and juice, the shallot, the olive oil, the chili powder, the salt, and the black pepper. Blend until smooth. Set aside.  (Thank you magic bullet, you are very magical indeed, I love making homemade dressing!!)

Remove and drain the pomegranate seeds (see above tutorial link), discarding the membrane. Set aside.

In a large bowl, place the spinach, all but 2 tablespoons of the pomegranate seeds, the sunflower seeds, and about 1/4 cup of the dressing. Toss gently to coat. Transfer the salad to a platter or individual plates.

Pit and peel the avocado and slice it thinly. Arrange the avocado slices on top of the salad. Sprinkle the reserved pomegranate seeds on top. Drizzle with the reserved dressing and serve.

Calories 136.7 kcal
Fat 8.6 g
Protein 2.9 g
Carbohydrates 15.5 g
Sodium 159.2 mg

I did 6 servings and it was 4 pts each.  I didn't toss everything together but kept everything separate so for leftovers I won't have the wilty mushy gross version but can make it again fresh!

Then I raided my garden for some of my favorites for the main dish (OK I don't grow baby bellas but they are one of my favorites but the basil and the heirloom tomatoes are all mine!):
 
Broiled Tilapia with Fresh Herbs, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes
Serves 4

Olive oil spray, for the baking sheet
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves (I skipped the parsley and did a full 1.5 cups of basil because I have a ton! Made it more pesto-ish without the fat!) 4 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 cremini or button mushrooms, each about 2 inches across ( I used baby bellas - a little fancier than button)
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
4 (4-ounce) farmed tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry
Spray a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Arrange a rack 6 inches from the broiler and preheat the broiler to high.

In the work bowl of a food processor, place the basil leaves, the parsley leaves, the garlic cloves, the olive oil, the lime juice, and the salt and pepper. Process until uniformly chopped and well combined.

Remove the stems from the cremini mushrooms: in one hand hold a cremini by the cap. With the forefinger and thumb of your other hand, twist the stem off so the hollowed cap is left. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Discard the stems (or freeze them for vegetable stock. Fill each mushroom cap with about 1/4 teaspoon of the herb mixture. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.

Arrange the tilapia fillets on the baking sheet and spread half of the remaining herb mixture over them. Turn the fillets over and spread the remaining herb mixture over them, making sure that they are completely covered. Scatter the tomatoes on the baking sheet around the fish.

Broil until the fish is firm when pressed and flakes easily, the tomatoes are charred in spots, and the mushrooms are bubbling and soft, about 10 minutes. Place 1 tilapia fillet, two mushroom caps, and a few tomatoes on each of 4 plates and serve.

(Here's the whole gorgeous plate together, the asparagus I made is hiding!)

A couple more angles, I am working really had at my food photography skills! I can't keep up with those powerhouse food bloggers like Pioneer Woman, don't ask my how they snap photos while cooking! Doesn't work for me!

Calories 236.7 kcal
Fat 12.9 g
Protein 25.3 g
Carbohydrates 6.6 g
Sodium 131.8 mg

So for four servings only 5 pts and the fish was so light and fluffy (Oh man my college friends are laughing at that description! But really that's how I describe perfectly cooked fish!)  One thing I would like to add about these mushrooms.  My husband took me to the Olive Garden for date night last Friday and Friday is the day I tend to splurge and I had such an awesome weigh in that morning I was feeling like I could enjoy myself a little.  I calculated my points today.  32 pts for just dinner on Friday.  That is practically my entire day's budget.  But you know what, I am just proud of myself for counting it all up.  But one thing my husband and I often do is get that sampler appetizer because I absolutely adore the stuffed mushrooms and he loves the calamari so we each eat are own thing and we're good.  That little appetizer (just my mushrooms) was 8pts, that is almost the entire value of my dinner tonight! And these mushrooms (while granted weren't stuffed with crab and breadcrumbs) were stuffed with what tastes like pesto and were really really good so hey, it's always nice to find healthy alternatives. 

So nine total pts for dinner is nothing to snuff your nose at.  And I am about to go running now that I am digested and earn me some extra activity points.  I am on week 5 of the Couch to 5k and this week is the scariest.  Stay tuned to find out how I do.  Maybe it will be the perfect stress reliever during the pre-vacation madness this week.  Talk to you later, alligators!