Green Goddess Summer Salad

The start of the CSA season calls for meals like this! Really, nothing says summer like a plateful of bright, organic greens with fresh ground pepper and a light but creamy dressing.

Salad:
whatever greens you have on hand (I used watercress, romaine, and green leaf lettuce)
fresh dill
thinly sliced scallions
1 T. shredded pecorino romano cheese

Dressing:
3T. non fat plain Greek yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
green goddess spice blend
2T. water

Rinse and tear up your greens and toss together. Top with the fresh chopped dill, scallions and cheese.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a mason jar or cruet and shake vigorously to blend. Then just drizzle on your lovely salad—and don't be stingy, it's fat free and sugar free, remember?!

I had this with 1/2c of cottage cheese on the side (with a little of the dressing mixed in to that, too) to make up my 27g. Happy summer!

Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip

We love to entertain, but it's tough to please normal human beings with diet-friendly foods. So next time you want to make sure there's something on the table for everyone, consider adding this into the mix:

3 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved, deseeded and chopped
16oz. fat free cream cheese
garlic salt
cilantro
hungarian hot paprika
1 bunch organic celery

This is pretty darn easy. Stir together the cream cheese with garlic salt, fresh chopped cilantro and a little hungarian hot paprika to taste. Form into a ball (refrigerate for a while first if too soft), and roll the ball around in the chopped jalapeno.

Set the cheese ball on your serving plate and sprinke with a little extra paprika for color. Then slice off the top layer of the ball so that it reveals the cream cheese dip—that way your non-spice-loving guests can dig right in without encountering a ton of peppers. (But if you're like me, you'll pile on the jalapenos. Plus, rumor has it that spicy foods can boost your metabolism, a nice added bonus!)

Serve with plenty of fresh celery and/or bell peppers for a nice crunchy contrast.

You'd have to eat an awful lo of this dip to make 27g of protein; 3T = 6g. But, free of carbs and fat, it's a good start!

Zucchini Pizza Stacks

In the mood for pizza? Me, too. Like, every day.

The good news is that you can (sorta) get your pizza fix even on a healthy diet. This recipe is full of cheesy deliciousness that won't break the calorie bank.

You'll need:

1 small yellow zucchini
1 small green zucchini
1/2c fat free ricotta
1/2c fat free shredded mozzarella
1 small jar pizza sauce (you won't use all of it, so definitely get a jar— not a can—then you can close it up and use the rest another time)
fresh basil
fresh ground salt and pepper

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and preheat your oven to 400°.

Slice the zucchini thin (about 1/8" thickness) and lay out half of the slices—preferrably the bigger ones—onto the baking tray for the bases. Top each slice with an equal amount of ricotta till gone, then with a tiny dollop of sauce, then a little bit of mozzarella. Layer again, this time with the smaller zucchini slices, a little more sauce, and the rest of the shredded mozzarella. Be careful not to overdo it with the sauce, otherwise you'll end up with a sloppy mess, not to mention a boatload of added sodium and carbs that you don't want.

Put the pizza stacks in the oven for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve topped with fresh ground salt, pepper and a piece of fresh basil on each stack.

Provides 1 person a satisfying meal, with the usual 27g of protein, nada on the fat spectrum, and super low on the carb-o-meter.