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Wild Planet Canned Tuna

What to get: many cans of tuna, Wild Planet

Where to get it: Pavilions,healthfood stores, online

Why we approve: tuna is a satisfying and rich source of protein. This little can is 5 oz and packs around 30 grams for hardly 200 calories. Which means your fat loss diet will love it. Which means you can have it often. It's not fishy. It's sustainably caught. The can is BPA free. There is no extra oil or extra water in it. It packs omega 3s. Best of all - it's not fishy. The same company makes amazing sardines, however, they ARE fishy (well, they are sardines). Another thing about those sardines - you can get them for about 3 dollars. Same sardines at healthfood store - 8 dollars. Just saying. Check prices online before you put a can of golden anything in your basket. For 8 dollars you can have a grassfed steak.

Preparation: open the can and chop on top of salad, or mix with avocado (my favorite way).

Variations: In most grab and go scenarios, you will need to eat this fast. Squeeze lemon and season with pepper and salt, spread on seaweed, enjoy in salad, or if you eat wraps and sandwiches, use that as a filling. If you have more time, you can make tuna cakes or casseroles. It's that awesome.

Pros: no cooking, tons of protein, delicious.

Cons: you don't like fish? You are afraid of too much mercury?

Enjoy and let us know what you think on Facebook!

Trader Joe's Mahi Mahi Burgers

What to get:
Trader Joe's Mahi Mahi Burgers

Where to get it:
Trader Joe's

Why we approve: Fish is good for you.  It has no nasty ingredients and lots of good-quality protein. Has the coveted Omega 3's we all need, albeit a pretty small quantity as this is a fairly low-fat fish.


Preparation:
Heat oil of your choice in pan. I used coconut oil, but olive oil would be fine. Pan fry until lightly browned on each side--be careful not to overcook.  Easy! Add any vegetable of your choice and you have a great lunch or dinner.  I had two for dinner and was very happy; the picture shows the burger atop a pile of sauteed "broccoslaw". 

Variations: Try with broccoslaw: saute broccoslaw in some coconut oil, add salt and pepper.  Dill seeds or other spices would be nice.
On that note, adding a touch of fish seasoning such as Old Bay seasoning is very tasty. 
If you're a guy, on maintenance, or if this is a post-workout meal, try adding a potato or rice.  Putting the patty on top of Ezekiel Bread, adding tomato and lettuce, is a great meal as well.
One time, I added Trader Joe's frozen Kale along with some other leftover veggies I had in the fridge and ended up chopping up the fish with my spatula since I was kind of in a hurry. Add some soy sauce and you have instant stir fry!

Pros: Nice slug of protein (15 grams per patty), easy to prepare, tasty, gets your servings of fish in.  The Mahi  Mahi is mild and has a good texture, even my fish-hating teenage boy liked this one.

Cons: None really.  Not great for lunch unless you like cold fish or a microwave.

Trader Joe's Marinated Chipotle Chicken Skewers

A brief note on the label of "paleo" that I added to this one. Yes, it contains canola oil, which isn't "approved" for paleos, but there's only 1g of total fat per skewer, so how much could there really be? The sugar in your paleo-approved dark chocolate or the omega-6s in your almond meal is a bigger health concern than this tiny drip of canola oil... think about that, before you quibble.

Trader Joe's Marinated Chipotle Chicken Skewers

What to get: Trader Joe's Marinated Chipotle Chicken Skewers

Where to get it: Trader Joe's

Why we approve: Easy to cook, versatile, and high in protein. Very few bad guys, and what little there is (canola oil) is very little (only 1g of fat per skewer, which means hardly any oil at all). It doesn't really taste a lot like chipotle, so you can eat it with almost any style of cuisine.

Preparation: It's right on the box; roast them for under 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I also pan fried them in a non-stick skillet (after thawing) and they came out pretty good!

Variations: I ate it with a simple chopped salad and a packet of Wholly Guacamole, from Target.

          Simple Chopped Salad Recipe

          4 small, ripe tomatoes (TJ's Kumatos pictured), chopped

          4 Persian cucumbers, chopped

          1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

          salt to taste 

          Stir all ingredients together before eating.



Cons: A little salty.The picture gives you the idea that you'll get some sort of sauce, but there's no sauce (just chicken skewers).

Pros: Tender and juicy chicken. Fast and easy to cook. Goes well with almost any veggies and starches. Doesn't come with any horrible, bad-guy laden sauce.

Enjoy!

Spinach, poached egg and cheese - 5 minutes to your plate

What to get: a bag of organic spinach, eggs, butter, cheddar cheese
Where to get it: your local supermarket or Trader Joes

5 minutes to a yummy dinner

I love tossing a few fresh ingredients in a pan and getting a delicious dinner in a matter of minutes. Sometimes Roland feels like having some meat, and I prefer to eat a lighter dinner, and last night was one of those nights. This meal also makes great breakfast, or a delicious stuffing for a lunch wrap or breakfast burrito. 

This is a super simple recipe for 1  :) To feed more, simply double, triple, etc, the suggested amounts:

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh spinach
1 tbsp butter
1 egg
1 oz cheddar cheese
pepper to taste

To make, place the leaves with a few tbsp of water in a pan, and let them cook until the leaves have wilted. Add the butter, season with the pepper and stir. Add the cheddar cheese in small pieces, crack the egg on top and cover with a lid. Let it cook until the white has hardened completely.

Move to a plate, let it cool off and enjoy!

Steamed lentils from Trader Joe's

What to get: Trader Joe's steamed lentils (salad section)
Where to get it: Trader Joe's

Why we approve: lentils are filling, low in calories, high in protein and fiber and provide a cool plant source of iron. These are very easy to use, because they have already been steamed - that frees you from soaking, boiling, draining, etc. By all means feel free to do that when you are not in meal survivor mode, but when in a hurry these are a life savior.

Preparation: You can put these in a salad, in a dip, a soup, a stew, or make lentil burgers. Open the packet, stir and use as you like. I prepared two salads in a pinch. It's good to combine lentils with tomato or lemon juice, as that helps absorb the iron, so a meal with tomatoes is always great.

Tomato and feta cheese salad: mix lentils with crumbled feta, a chopped tomato, some fresh mint, a dash of ground cumin and olive oil. Stir well and enjoy cold. 

Sweet corn and tomato salad: mix lentils, cooked corn, chopped tomato, season with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle olive oil and enjoy!

Variations:You can use lentils in hummus instead of chickpeas or serve them alongside lamb, instead of beans in a burrito or in a soup. For the purpose of fat loss and maintenance, toss them in salads or eat when in a rush. Our friends Jo and Ashley make a really cool dip mixing the lentils, a container of fresh salsa and some feta cheese - you can get it all at Trader Joes and it makes a great dip for a party!

Pros: We love the taste and texture and they are very very convenient. Good source of protein and fiber! Great satiety!

Cons: It is still a mystery what natural flavor means. We will never find out. As with all prepackaged foods, stick to the best you can find and always make an effort to eat home meals cooked from scratch to compensate for those times when you have to be a meal survivor! 

Enjoy these! They rock!

Voskos Greek Yogurt + a strawberry parfait idea

What to get: a small box of Voskos plain greek yogurt, strawberries, stevia and vanilla from your pantry
Where to get it: your local supermarket chain

Why we approve: A serving of this yogurt provides a whooping 23 grams of protein. This particular one was low -fat, but feel free to go for a full fat version. The portion is self limiting. That means no going back to the tub to get second helpings and sabotage yourself. The ingredients are natural and there are no nasty thickeners and fillers.

Preparation: You can eat Greek yogurt on its own, with a handful of nuts or fruit, or use it to make dessert like I did. To make strawberry parfait, mix the yogurt with a few drops of vanilla extract and a small pinch of stevia. Beat it well until it mixes thoroughly. Top with strawberries.

Variations:You can use Greek yogurt to substitute for sour cream in your regular recipes, or you can use it to dip veggies and fruit. I sometimes throw it in a blender with some fruit and spices and make a smooth dessert. Peaches, bananas, pineapple, and berries, all work very very well!

Pros: This particular kind of Greek yogurt is very smooth and it's not bitter or tart like other varieties.

Cons: It can be more expensive than making your own at home. To do that, just place regular plain yogurt in a cheese cloth and let it strain for a few hours. 

 

Bumble Bee Premium Wild Pink Salmon Packets

What to get: a packet of Bumble Bee Wild Pink Salmon
Where to get it: your local supermarket chain

Why we approve: It's ridiculously convenient to open a packet of salmon and eat it. This salmon is a name brand so it can be found virtually anywhere and for under 4 dollars you get a pretty good serving. The whole packet has almost 30 grams of protein and only 120 calories, which leaves you a lot of space to combine it with other things. 

Preparation: Just open the packet and place the meat on top of your salad, inside a wrap or on your plate. 

Variations: You can make a salad: choose your base: lettuce, spinach or arugula, add the salmon on top, and then finish with a handful of nuts, seeds, or some Parmesan cheese. In the picture below I mixed romaine hearts, one packet pink salmon, 1 oz cheddar cheese, topped it with sundried tomatoes and made a quick dressing from 1 tbsp mustard and 1 tbsp sour cream with a touch of lemon. You can also make a wrap, using some cheese slices and sprouts, or you can just enjoy the salmon with some baby carrots on the side. For paleo minded folk, salmon would be great with a handful of nuts.

Pros: very quick way to get protein, low in calories. Great if you are on a fat loss diet. Extremely satisfying for the calories it contains. Good source of Omega 3s.
Cons: you have to mix it with something to make a complete meal. It's fast if you just add nuts or string cheese, slower if you choose to do a salad or sandwich.

Let me know how you salmon :)

Trader Joe's Frozen Turkey Burgers (and green beans)

What to get: A box of Trader Joe's Frozen Turkey Patties (box of 4), a bag of Trader Joe's frozen green beans

Where to get it: Trader Joe's

Why we approve: The turkey burgers have few ingredients; just turkey and spices. The green beans are just green beans, already cut to a nice length, and cook up nice and crisp.

Green beans are green beans

Turkey burger ingredients

Turkey burger nutrition

Preparation: Both can be cooked from frozen. The turkey patties were cooked on a hot skillet and were still pretty juicy after cooking. The green beans were steamed, then tossed with Himalayan salt and lemon zest (dried lemon peel from Penzley's, in this case).

Variations: You can eat it just like a burger. I had two for dinner with some TJ's pesto, a salad, and steamed veggies. Awesome.

Pros: The turkey has lots of protein, low calorie, no bad guys, tastes good to me (Roland). The green beans are as good as fresh and better than canned. I will buy these again! Both are extremely cost effective. Quite a deal!

Cons: Galya didn't really like the turkey, but love the green beans. She claimed they had a weird aftertaste, but I just think they taste like turkey burgers. I will buy them again. Cons of the beans? None.

Note: I marked this as both paleo and vegetarian, but you'll have to think; the turkey is paleo and the green beans are vegetarian and paleo enough for me (green beans are mostly pod and hardly any bean).

Cottage cheese pesto dip

What to get: a tub of cottage cheese and a jar of basil pesto, carrots, snow peas, celery, etc, for dipping
Where to get it: Your grocery store

 

Why we approve: Most people would not consider savory cottage cheese, yet it's awesome in combination with vegetables. You will get both protein and veggies, fiber, flavor, and long lasting satisfaction. This dip also makes the texture very smooth - and takes care of the fact that some people hate cottage cheese exactly because of the texture. Get it to look like cream cheese and you can use this as a snack between meals or a meal in itself, along with some veggies, or if you are very hungry, also along a cup of soup. I really like it pre-workout because it's not heavy at all and keeps me full for hours. One cup has 30 grams of protein and depending on the type of cottage cheese, this dip will have between 300 and 400 calories.

Preparation:Measure 1 cup of cottage cheese and 1 tbsp basil pesto and blend in a blender (better to use an immersion blender - easier to clean). Chop up some veggies, such as carrots, celery, snow peas, and use for dipping.

Variations: You can make a sweet cottage cheese parfait if you want something sweet - here is a RECIPE.

Pros:great taste, reasonable calories, lots of protein, very easy to make! It literally takes 2 minutes to make something super delicious.

Cons: You still have to blend and wash your blender, but you will probably burn some calories doing so, so don't complain ;)

Bon apetit!

Chub Rub Meatloaf

Chub Rub Meatloaf – A little play on words as I experiment with this super easy meatloaf.

chub rub meatloaf

What to get: One 3 pound chub of 80% or 85% lean beef, spice rub or dry rub


Where to get it: your close to home chain-type supermarket


Why we approve: This meatloaf takes very little hands on time to make days worth of leftovers.

You may notice that I'm about to, yet again, deviate from our standard Meal Survivor format. That's because this time I'm going to cook something. But, I'm going to cook it using the Meal Survivor methods of using things that you can easily purchase, making your healthy eating easy and convenient!

There's nothing less convenient to me than mixing ground meat in a bowl. As much as I love meatballs and meatloaf, I hate to squish the ground meat around with my fingers. Hate it. I pondered this fact as I held a full 3lb chub of ground beef in my hands at the supermarket. If I really bought something this big, I'd almost have to get my hands dirty.

Or would I?

Could I not apply the same dry rub principal that we often use for steaks and roasts to an entire, unadulterated chub of ground beef? Perhaps...

What's a chub?

What is a chub, anyway? It's this...

economical 85% and 80% lean beef chubs

They also come in 70% lean at one extreme and 90% and 97% at the other. I never buy the leaner ones because they are too expensive and dry out when cooking. The 70% one just sounds gross. I already get a lot of fat from the 85% lean beef!

I typically buy the 80% for burgers and meatloaf because it tends to stay more moist, but if the 85% is a better deal (on sale) I'll pick that one up, instead. In this case, I believe the 80% was $8.99 for 3lbs, while the 85% was $12.99.

Nutritionally, they aren't dramatically different, especially when you see how much of the 80% beef's fat renders out.

80% lean beef

85% lean beef

And remember, the slightly fattier beef tends to stay more moist during cooking.


What's a rub?

A rub or dry rub is a mixture of spices that you rub (of course) over the meat. You let it sit on the meat for several hours to "all day long" absorbing the flavor into the interior of the meat.

You can buy many ready to use rubs at the supermarket.

rubs, galore

BAM!

Just beware the use of MSG (monosodium glutamate) and other strange ingredients like "natural flavor" and Red Dye #40, neither of which are natural. I would say that 75% of the dry rubs in the supermarket were filled with this type of junk.

Emeril's Essence, while not actually labeled a rub, is a good choice, as are several of his bottled rubs.

granulated and powdered spices are still spices

Strangely, also decent were the high end "store" brand rubs, while the perceived high end rubs of the major labels were filled with fake stuff and artificial flavor enhancers.

A note about salt. Salt is not to be feared in these rubs, in fact if you don't get one with salt already in it, you're going to have to salt your meatloaf yourself. Salt is essential to keeping a meatloaf moist. Really! It's science! You didn't know that? Now you do, so use salt.


Chub Rub Meatloaf

Makes 3 lbs of meatloaf, or 9-12 servings

Ingredients

3 pound chub of 80 or 85% lean ground beef
table salt (nothing fancy)
spice rub

Directions

Carefully unwrap the chub by slitting the package lengthwise and peeling it off. Sprinkle the chub with salt and the rub, using your hands to make sure it's covered evenly. Some of the rub will fall off onto the work surface, so don't be afraid to roll the chub around to pick up the those spices!

Loosely wrap the rubbed chub in some plastic wrap or foil, place it on a platter, and stick it in the fridge. Let it rest (and the rub do it's work) for several hours or all day.  This is important for both flavor and moistness. Time is of the essence! ...Emeril's Essensce, in this case! ;)

rubbed chub

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the unwrapped chub on a baking pan or cast iron skillet and bake for about 90 minutes. If a tube shaped meatloaf is weird to you, then feel free to flatten it a bit before cooking.

ready for the oven

I inserted a meat thermometer into one of the ends of the loaf and cooked it until it was about 140° F. After a few minutes out of the oven, the temp was up to 150°. It was certainly done, but still a bit pink inside, which kept it moist. If you like it more cooked, then give it more time.

By the way, never cut right into a meatloaf after pulling it from the oven. Always let meat "rest" for 15-20 minutes before cutting into it, otherwise the juices will flow out onto the cutting board and all your careful salting will have been in vain.

ready to eat

Variations: Eat it cold or reheat it in the microwave. If you're on a higher fat diet, please try pan frying the slices in a little bit of oil or fat. Try topping it with salsa or a tapenade instead of the typical ketchup.


Pros: high in meat and protein. Easy. Lots of leftovers. Meatloaf seems to be one of those foods that's even good cold.


Cons: if you don't salt it enough on the outside, the inside can be bland. Because you don't kneed the meat into a loaf, the inside texture can be a little crumbly in spots. Not bad, just inconsistent. It's a big tube of cooked meat, and might seem weird, although you can flatten it out a bit before cooking if you like.

Spinach Scramble with Toast

What to buy: Eggs, Fresh or Frozen Spinach, Ezekiel or other high-quality bread, butter
Where to buy: Any grocery store, supermarket or Farmer's Market
Why we approve: Tasty, fast, and a perfect meal



As I was eating my lunch, I realized that a lot of my meals fit into the "under 10 minutes" category and I may as well post them--especially since this week I am childless and cooking for myself and suddenly have lots of free time to post.

I often have eggs for a meal. Let me rephrase that.  I eat eggs every day for some meal or another.  One of the main reasons I do is that I have chickens who lay amazing, tasty eggs.  Because they're mostly pasture-raised, free range chickens, the nutritional content of my eggs is fabulous, with a great balance of Omega 3's.  I suggest you buy the best kind of eggs you can, choosing organic and free range or farmer's market--pasture raised are the absolutely the best-- when you can.  Eggs are incredibly healthy, and now that the cholesterol scare has worn off, I hope most people realize that whole eggs are just about a perfect food.

My method of cooking this meal is to put a little butter in a cast iron pan (whatever pan you have will do) and putting in frozen or fresh spinach (I use Trader Joe's frozen). I usually use about 1/3 of a pound or more.  Cover and leave on low for 10 minutes; if there's a little water in the pan, drain it and set aside.

I then scramble the eggs, use a little more butter in the pan (I use organic or Irish Butter from Trader Joe's, the latter is from pasture-raised cows) and pour in the eggs, letting it set and stirring infrequently. When the eggs are just about done, add the spinach and stir gently. Do not add the spinach to the eggs until the eggs are cooked unless you want an unpleasant-looking,green tinged eggs. If I'm in a hurry I just push the spinach to one side of the pan and scramble on the other side, combining at the end.

I dress this scramble up in all sorts of ways.  Sometimes I use artichoke hearts from TJ's--about a half a pound given the same treatment as the spinach, above; the only difference is that you don't have to be so vigilant about the mixing. Saute some onions, put in leftover veggies, mushrooms, just about anything is good. A sprinkling of cheese is good, or hot sauce.

I eat my scrambles with toast, I prefer Ezekiel bread as I'm a little intolerant of grains.  In the above picture I had already taken a bite out of my toast when I realized I needed to include it in the shot.  I cleverly hid the bitten off part under the eggs.

This meal keeps me filled up for hours. I add extra bread or starchy carbs if I've just worked out, but I think the addition of butter and a large amount of vegetables is the satisfying part of the dish for me.

There are no cons to this dish--it's healthy, satisfying, and quick!

Polenta and tuna lunch

What to get: 1 packet Sunkist Tuna, 1 avocado, 1 roll of cooked polenta
Where to get it: your close to home chain-type supermarket is very likely to have it all; I got my polenta roll at Trader Joe's

Why we approve: This meal takes only minutes to assemble, since all the ingredients require zero cooking. Tuna in a package is very convenient and always delicious. If you opt for the packed in water, you get a whooping 18 g of protein in a very small amount of calories. This may be all a girl needs for lunch, for heavier individuals, go for one of the larger pouches and get 4 instead of 2 oz of tuna. 

Avocado has healthy fats and is very filling, and polenta is a great, satiating and delicious precooked source 

of carbohydrate. 

 

You can get polenta precooked in a roll (kind of like salami) at the store, or you can get dry polenta and cook it according to directions on the package. All you need to do after is to place it in a container where it can solidify and you have enough cornmeal for a few lunches or dinners that you can pull out of the fridge anytime.

So let's recap: this meal has polenta for the carbohydrate, tuna for protein and avocado for the healthy fats. You can serve it with some vegetables or grab some carrots or cherry tomatoes out of a bag and you have a meal.

Preparation: cut two slices from the cooked polenta roll and heat in a pan. You can use a touch of butter and salt and pepper if you wish to spice it up. Feeling adventurous? Use lemon pepper. After you heat up the polenta, serve on a plate, top with the fish and cubed 1/2 avocado and enjoy.

Variations: You can use other types of tuna, not necessarily in a pouch. You can try salmon or sardines, instead, especially if you are pregnant or nursing. Sardines have a lot less mercury than tuna, and are a safer choice for all of us if we eat fish regularly. You can top polenta with turkey breast or roast beef, pastrami or prosciutto. See, you just built so many different meals with just changing the meat! Of course, you can also use sun dried tomatoes, pickled peppers, and olives, to make that meal more interesting. Overall, this is a very good option when you can get to a plate and knife and can even be office friendly if you are willing to eat it cold.

Pros: high in protein, and good fats, no actual cooking involved, you can eat it cold, too
Cons: you need some assembly time to prepare it

Leftover salmon veggie scramble

What to get: frozen salmon fillets, onions, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots
Where to get it: Trader Joe's or your local grocery store
Why we approve: cooking salmon in bulk and having some leftover enables you to make a quick and nutrient rich meal in a matter of minutes

Preparation: to bulk cook your salmon, defrost by leaving it in the fridge for a day or outside in a bowl for a couple of hours. Take out, season with salt and pepper, and cook in a pan over medium heat for 15 minutes. You should have beautiful salmon to leave in the fridge to top salads, include in sandwiches and mixes. It should last for 3-4 days in an air tight container.

To make this recipe for 1 I used:

1 salmon fillet, precooked
1/2 white onion
1 cup baby carrots
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil 
a few sprigs fresh thyme from our balcony

Use a cast iron pan to heat up the oil and cook the onions until translucent. Add the carrots and cherry tomatoes and cook for an additional 10 minutes. You can add some salt to taste and cover the vegetables for another 5 minutes. Once everything is soft and the onion looks like it's caramelized, you can add the salmon, cut in strips, and the thyme, and stir in. Turn off the heat and let everything cool off for a few minutes. Serve by itself or with a touch of guacamole or sour cream.

Variations: You can use any vegetable you like, such as zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower or green beans or snap peas. See what's in your refrigerator and use it without hesitation.

Pros: very easy to prepare, rich in protein and good fats, abundant in fresh vegetables and fiber
Cons: you still need to have precooked salmon. This may work with canned, but I haven't given it a try.

Let me know how you cook your left over salmon?

Stuffed Cucumbers

What to buy: Persian cucumbers, canned salmon, avocado, lemon pepper
Where to buy: Trader Joe's or get the cucumbers at your local farmers' market
Why we approve: This quick to make meal is packed with protein and healthy fat and provides a good amount of fiber.

Preparation:
Open the can and pour the excess liquid.  Depending on how big of a can you bought go for 2 servings (26 grams of protein) or 3 or 4 if your target weight is higher. Mix in half an avocado, season with lemon pepper and a touch of lime juice and you are ready with the stuffing. Cut two or more Persian cucumbers and gently core them to make space for the stuffing. Distribute stuffing and enjoy!

Variations:
You can get braver and add a touch of Tabasco sauce to hive heat to this meal. If you are eating it post workout and need some carbs it will be very nicely paired with a baked potato. You can also use the stuffing and cut up cucumbers inside and roll all of that up in a tortilla.

Pros: high protein, healthy fats
Cons: the fish comes from a can, but at least it's wild salmon, fishy aftertaste which some people may not enjoy but is easily remedied with an apple or other crisp fruit or vegetable

Leftovers salad

What to buy: avocado, cherry tomatoes, basil
Where to buy: Trader Joe's
Where to get leftover meat: restaurant, last night's homemade dinner, local Deli counter
Why we approve:  It has at least 20 grams of protein, healthy fats and satiating fiber

We went to a wonderful Cuban restaurant last night and I ordered our favorite - Osso Bucco . If you haven't tried this heavenly way to enjoy a pork shank, please order it the next time you see it on a menu.

The serving was too large, so I took some of the meat home and used it in this 5 minute salad that you can make to enjoy at home or take to the office every time you have some leftover meat.

Preparation:
Serves 1:
4 oz cold meat
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup loose basil leaves
1/4 avocado
salt to taste

Chop the basil and mix with the cherry tomatoes, cut in half. Salt and mix one more time. Cut the meat in thin slices, place on top and top with the mashed avocado. Enjoy immediately :)

Variations: This salad combines essential protein, the awesome fats of avocado, and enough fiber to keep you full for hours. If you wish, grab a tortilla and make it into a delicious sandwich to take to the office and make everyone jealous of your lunch! You can also double up on the meat if your target body weight is higher than the regular female.

Pros: fast, easy and convenient to make if you have leftovers
Cons: you need to have leftover meat or cold cuts (keep a few cans of salmon, tuna or sardines and replace with those instead)

Two 5 minute arugula salads

What to buy: arugula in a bag, canned salmon, fresh pork loin, avocado, Thai Green Curry Summer Sauce
Where to buy: Trader Joes
Why we approve: arugula has a lot of flavor, and takes a while to chew, unlike other tasteless leafy greens, it is bite sized, and combines very well with any sort of meat; the Thai Green Curry Sauce has healthy coconut fats and adds a lot of flavor for a moderate amount of calories; salmon or pork are a great source of protein

On a recent trip to Trader Joes we picked up a huge bag of their delicious and crip Organic Wild Arugula. Just two cups of it make a great tasting and memorable salad. You can have it at home or take it to work, either way it makes a great meal!

Here are the two salads I had for lunch the last couple of days:

Preparation:

Pork loin honey arugula salad

We always have a piece of meat that we precooked, whether it's pork loin or roast beef. It's handy for a sandwich, to cook stir-fry or to top a salad for a protein rich lunch.

It's easy to slow cook or oven cook a piece of meat once a week, it takes no preparation time and always ends up delicious.

Serves 2:

4 cups arugula leaves

8 oz pork loin (previously cooked)

1/2 avocado

2 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

pinch sea salt

Cut the pork loin in strips or cubes, the avocado in cubes and mix the mustard, honey, olive oil and lemon juice. Put the arugula leaves in a bowl, sprinkle the salt and pour dressing on top. Stir well and serve.

Wild salmon Thai salad

For this salad I used a can of wild salmon and a can of Thai Green Curry Summer Sauce. You can get them at Trader Joes - the wild salmon is a generous can of two servings and the sauce can be used in salads or for cooking. It's mild and creamy and you can really taste the coconut in it!

Preparation: 

Serves 2:

4 cups arugula leaves

6 oz canned salmon (1 can)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp Thai  Green Curry Sauce

pinch sea salt

In a bowl, mix the arugula leaves, salmon, olive oil and sea salt. Mix and dress with the curry sauce. Enjoy with a glass of home made lemonade! Les us know what you do with arugula!

Variations:

You can make either salad with any type of meat or fish you have at hand, including smoked fish, such as lox. You can chop more vegetables, such as cucumber, tomato or pepper and double up on the protein if you are feeling really hungry or your target body weight is relatively high. For example, I want to weight 125 lbs and I shoot for about 4-6 oz of protein per meal. 

Pros: Arugula is delicious and the salads are complete meals.

Cons: It takes about 5 minutes to make each salad and another 5 to clean up, sorry! Try to do it faster or do it the day before to save time!