Slow and Easy Thursday

For some reason this day always represents easy dinner night. Most Thursday's I am off at casting director workshops so I always bring my dinner along. However tonight I have the luxury of staying home, baking cookies and celebrating Anne's birthday. Does this mean I am going to make an elaborate dinner? No, not tonight. Instead, since it's easy dinner night in the La Sawyer home we are going to enjoy the last bit of the veggie chili from our pumpkin carving party extravaganza!! It's super healthy too, so it fits into my weekly night mode. What's my weekly night mode you ask? Well, I try to keep our dinners super healthy, no major snacks, low cal breakfasts and fruit for desert. It's a new strategic move to help maintain my 1-2 pounds a week weightloss. Fortunately everyweek I usually make one exception where I allow myself to have something a bit sweet. I still manage to make up for it by cutting something else out but some examples are a latte with a friend or, as with the case tonight, 2 cookies to celebrate Anne's birthday. The recipe I chose is an Ellie Kreiger recipe so it's as healthy as a cookie can be, some whole wheat flour/ healthy heart fats. Not to mention each cookie is only apx. 110 cals so I can have two without feeling guilty. I have already made the dough so I just have to put them in the oven when I get home, hence, no photo. But I will add it tomorrow along with the recipe. Which leads me to my next item of business, per Malika's request I have included the Barely Salad recipe, please enjoy.

Scary Fact:

Satellite images show a floating patch of garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that's twice the size of Texas. It's mostly plastics, which will never biodegrade- ever. One simple way to reduce trash is to reuse grocery store bags. Come on, do you really need more plastic bags from the super market? I say, be super cute and hip, carry a chic reusable green bag from whole foods, it's like $1. Totally worth it!


Barley Salad with tomatoes, zucchini and fresh feta:

Serves 2-

1 teaspoon Olive Oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, mixed
3/4 cup of uncooked barley
2 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of chopped zucchini
1 1/2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh feta
zest of 1 lemon
Juice from 1/2 to whole lemon, depending on juicy-ness

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 2 minutes (Be careful to make sure it's truly medium- high heat because it's easy to burn garlic and burnt garlic tastes mighty bitter.) Add barley (to toast); cook 1 minute. Add chicken stock; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, salt, pepper, lemon zest and lemon. Cook for 5 minutes. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of feta.

Note* I tend to buy sodium free chicken broth, in which case I add a little extra salt. Keep in mind if you do the same.

Nutritional info per serving:
cals- apx. 355 cals/Fat- 6.6(1.8 sat.; the rest heart healthy poly. and mono.)/protein 12.4 g/
Fiber 15 g/cholesterol 5mg.