We've been away from home the past two weekends, you know, doing our summer duty and camping/grilling/swimming/not showering.
The four loads of laundry I'm currently tackling are proof.
Every year I am SO eager for summer to roll around, and then also inevitably come this time of summer I start kind of sort of looking forward to summertime's closing.
Garden harvests...
crisp sunny days....
beautiful sunsets that aren't so late that I'm already in bed....
...and seeing the Asian beetles fornicating on, then eating all my plants.
Ahh, late summer.
While it's always fun to be in vacation mode, we are in high need of reincorporating some veggies into our meals this week. One thing I recently made that was SO easy and SO healthy and went over SO well with the kids is baked salmon with lemon and dill. I made a simple quinoa and spinach to go with it. This is the epitome of a nutritionally balanced meal- the salmon is full of protein and heart healthy fats. The quinoa is a whole grain full of fiber with a little protein too, and of course spinach is a great source of vitamins and fiber. Bonus? The whole meal takes less than 30 minutes to make.
Lemon Dill Salmon makes four servings -1 16-oz fresh salmon fillet cut into four strips (the scales will be on the bottom- it's best to keep them on) -1 lemon, cut in half -1 teaspoon dried dill -1/2 teaspoon pepper -1/2 teaspoon salt #LemondillSalmon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the four fillets scale-side down on the foil.
Using half of the lemon, squeeze juice evenly over the four pieces. Combine the dill, pepper, and salt, then sprinkle evenly over the pieces.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Make sure internal cooking temp at the thickest part is at least 145 degrees. The salmon should flake apart easily with a fork.
Cut the remaining lemon half into quarters and serve a quarter with each fillet.
Quinoa Spinach Pilaf makes four servings -2 1/2 cups water -1 1/2 cups quinoa -2 cups spinach -1 teaspoon Italian seasoning -1 teaspoon dried parsley -1/2 teaspoon pepper -1/4 teaspoon salt #QuinoaSpinachPilaf
In a medium sized pot, bring water to boil over medium high heat. Add quinoa, cover, and turn heat to low. Stir occasionally until quinoa has absorbed most the water and is fluffy when stirred with a fork- about 15 minutes. Add seasonings, then spinach. Turn off heat and cover until spinach is wilted. Stir to combine.
Nutrition information per serving as shown in picture: 470 calories, 43 grams carbohydrates (including 5 grams of fiber), 20 grams fat (vast majority is heart healthy unsaturated kind), and 32 grams of protein.
