Week of Nov. 4 menu, based on Publix sales

These weeks are getting busy and with the holidays approaching, I can only image that I will have less time for cooking and planning.  But I will not let my grocery budget increase (as mommy needs some new fall clothes) and my family eat unhealthy.  This is my goal for the 4th quarter of 2012!

So with that being said, here is this weeks menu.  Starting on Sunday with a casserole that will leave some left overs for Monday, then some quick mindless meals for the week.

MENU

Night 1- Ground turkey casserole served with steamed broccoli
Night 2 -Left overs with a side salad
Night 3- Crab cakes served with fresh green beans
Night 4- Honey mustard split chicken breasts
Night 5 - Black bean soup with corn bread (hoping for a chilly night)

...and all of these meat are on sale!

RECIPES:

NIGHT 1: For the ground turkey casserole, I found this recipe HERE, but turned it into my own to make it healthy and substituted some ingredients, as I am not going to buy dry milk for one dish and my family loves fresh broccoli so no need to add to the dish (as I did when I first made it).

Ingredients for my version:
3 cups of whole wheat egg noddles
1 lbs. of ground turkey
1 small chopped yellow onion
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
4 oz. of fat-free cream cheese
1/2 cup of fat free sour cream
1 Tbs. of fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tbs. of dried)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Cook noodles.
2. In large skillet, cook turkey & onion over medium heat, drain.
3. Mix in spaghetti sauce & Italian seasoning. (you can add your broccoli into the turkey mixture here, if you want it in your casserole, but I think the broccoli got to soggy)
4. In a separate sauce pan, combine sour cream, cream cheese, parley and fresh garlic.
5. Cook and stir over medium heat until cheese is melted.
6. Drain noodles, add to cream cheese mixture.
7. Place into a 9 x 13 in. baking dish, coated with nonstick cooking spray
8. Top with the turkey mixture and cheese.
9. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

FOR the broccoli, steam or roast in the oven with some olive oil and lemon.

NIGHT 2: Left over night (t-ball night for my house lately)

NIGHT 3: Crab cakes-so easy and surprisingly inexpensive.  Tip, mix the crab mixture the night before and instead of making your own bread crumbs, I used panko crumbs.  And when I say inexpensive to make, you can get bumblebee crab cake cans, two for $5. Recipe is HERE. I served with my own sauce, as follows:

Sauce:
1/3 cup of dijon mustard
1/3 cup of mayo
1 Tbs. of lemon juice
1 tsp. of capers with juice
1 tsp. dill
salt to taste

Side Salad, not too fancy.  Just some tomatoes, cucumbers on top of a bag of salad, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic glaze.

NIGHT 4: Honey Mustard Chicken, recipe HERE.

SIMPLE, that is all I have to say.

NIGHT 5: Ok, so I will let you in on a little secret, I buy it pre-made from a can, ssshhh...

HERE is my top choice.  Just add some salt and pepper to taste.











For the corn bread, also, pre-packaged.  Hey I can't be amazing ALL the time.

GROCERY LIST:

• 1 lbs. of ground turkey meat - on sale $3.49/lbs.
• 2 split chicken breast - on sale $1.99/lbs.
• 1/2 carton of eggs
• 1 bag of shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 4 oz. of fat-free cream cheese
• 2 lemons
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 package of salad - Fresh Express salad on sale BOGO
• 1 tomato & 1 cucumber (if you want for your side salad)
• 1 small package of fresh broccoli
• 1 cup of fresh green beans
• Garlic bulb
• 3 small cans of bumblebee crab meat, in water (this is enough for approx. 9 medium crab cakes) 
• 2 cans of black bean soup
• 1 container of panko bread crumbs
• 1 bag of whole wheat egg noddles - Ronzoni pasta on sale BOGO
• 1 box of corn bread mix
• Honey
• Salad dressing or balsamic glaze (for the side salad)- lots of dressings on sale
• 1 small jar of capers (suggested,only for the crab cake sauce)
• 1 small jar of light mayo
• Dijon mustard (I like stone ground)
• 1 small jar of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce- Prego on sale BOGO
• Olive oil 
• Seasoning: salt & pepper, Italian seasoning, dried parsley flakes, seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay Seasoning), rosemary, dill

Week of October 15-19

Short menu this week, due to our crazy schedule, but I thought I would share what's on our menu this week.

MENU

Night 1 - Crock-Pot sweet and sour chicken
Night 2 - Spicy tomato, arugula, turkey bacon grilled cheese serve with a light Light Tomato Basil Soup

RECIPES

Night 1 - Click here for the Crock Pot sweet and sour chicken.

This recipe looks easy and great.  I love Chinese food, but I hate the calories that go with it.  This recipe does call for some perpetration, but it as the creator of this menu stated, most are staple items in your pantry and fridge.

Night 2- Spicy tomato, arugula, turkey bacon grilled cheese serve with a light Light Tomato Basil Soup - click here for the soup recipe.  

For the grilled cheese, it is pretty basic.  Between two slices of good whole wheat bread, stack pepper jack cheese, tomato slices, cooked turkey bacon and little bit of arugula. Grill on a panini maker or on the stove top...pictures will be posted soon :)

GROCERY LIST:

• 1 lbs. of chicken breast
• 1 package of turkey bacon
• 1 cup of plain greek yogurt
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 pkg. of monetary jack with jalapenos cheese. 
• 1 package of fresh arugula
• 1 lemon
• 2 small onions
• 1 small green pepper
• 4 medium fresh tomatoes
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1, 28-oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 small cane of tomato paste 
• small can of pineapple chunks
• brown sugar (only need 1/2 cup)
• white sugar (only need 1/2 cup)
• white vinegar
• olive oil
• vegetable or reduced sodium chicken broth (only need 2 cups)
• soy sauce (reduced sodium)
• cornstarch
• Rice of your choice (to be served with the crock pot chicken)
• 1/2 cup of fresh basil
• seasoning/spices: garlic powder, ground ginger, Italian seasoning blend (sage, oregano, parsley),  crushed red pepper flakes, sale & pepper.

Ready for Fall!

I, like every Floridan, am ready for fall.  And just because it is still humid and in the 90's during the day, doesn't mean you can not cook with the new season of produce, spice and flavor.  I am starting the week off with some easy dishes and hopefully by Thursday  the week calms down work wise and I have some time to experiment with this new pumpkin recipe I found while searching the web a.k.a Pinterest!

MENU

Night 1: Ground Turkey sloppy sliders served with a mixed salad.
Night 2: Left over turkey sloppy mixed with whole-grain spaghetti and a side of green beans.
Night 3: Pear Black Forest Bacon Frittata with fruit and whole grain toast.
Night 4: Pork and Pumpkin Noddle Bowls

RECIPES

Turkey Sloppy Sliders, click here.  This recipe has all of my favorite ingredients and LOVE LOVE LOVE that she likes to add flavor with spices and fresh vegetables and not with processed canned ingredients.  This recipe make about 8 sliders and 4 regular sandwiches   To make sure I have enough for the next night I am adding the ingredients by half.

For the salad, I am going to use some of the green beans I need for tomorrow, cucumber, crasins, sunflower seeds and a little bit of the feta needed for the last meal of the week.  Topping it with a blue cheese vinaigrette (my new addiction).

Left over creation - EASY. Boil half a package of whole wheat pasta.  In another pan, heat up the left over sloppy mix on a stove top over medium heat.  When the pasta is done, mix with the sloppy.  Top with some shredded low-fat cheddar cheese. DONE!

For the green beans  I simply steam, but you could easily bake in the oven with some olive oil, lemon, garlic and salt.  Gives them a fresh, crunchy taste. 

Frittata, click here for the recipe.  This dish isn't that bad for you, calorie wise, however, the sodium is pretty high.  To make this one with a healthy twist, I use turkey bacon, 2% milk and reduced-fat feta cheese.  Also, I am not adding potatoes, but if you want to add, go for it and just add to your grocery list. . 

Whole wheat mountain bread and pre-made fruit salad is on sale, so this was an easy side for my family. 

Pork and Pumpkin Noddle Bowls, here for the recipe.  This is a new one and very excited to try. Really have no tips as it appears to be pretty healthy and full of flavor.  I will keep you updated. 

ok, no bowls, didn't add sage and included red onion in the sauce... AMASSING!!

GROCERY LIST:

1 small package of Public pork loin - on sale for $4.99/lbs.
1.75 lbs of ground turkey (only if you are making approx. double of the sloppy recipe) - on sale for  $3.49/lbs.
1 loaf of whole wheat mountain bread - on sale for $2.59
1 package of small slider buns or pkg. of wheat wheat buns.

1 small red onion
1 small sweet onion
1 garlic bulb
1 cucumber (for the side salad)

2 pears - in season and on sale for $.99/lbs.
1 lbs. of green beans - on sale for $1.69/lbs.
1 pkg. of Fresh Attitude salad mix- on sale 2 for $4
Turkey bacon - Jenny O turkey bacon on sale for $1.99
1 box of whole wheat linguine

1/2 cup of canned pumpkin
2- 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 small can of black beans
1 pkg. of Crasins (for the side salad)
1/2 gallon of low fat milk
1/2 carton of eggs

1 pkg. (at least 4 cups) of Low fat cheddar cheese or Gouda (for the sloppy)
Feta or blue cheese crumbles (for the pork and pumpkin noodle bowls)
Salad dressing of your choice

Soy sauce
Cider vinegar
Small container of corn starch

6 fresh sage leaves
Spices: salt, pepper, paprika, ground cumin, celery salt, garlic powder, chili powder

Spatchock Chicken and more...

I have been inspired by a friend to try something new this week and since a whole chicken is on sale at my Publix, why not?  It's called Spatchock Chicken (breaking the back bone).  Martha Stewart has a great step-by-step guide (HERE), and her ingredients for the Chicken is AMAZING!
Another item for this week is Beef Cube Steaks, they are on sale and already breaded.  1 1/2 lbs. will make two meals for my family.  Plus Beef Cube Steak, per livingstrong.com, is a great source of protein!  However, to lower the calorie count, I seared both sides in olive oil then bake.  

MENU

Night 1- Spatchocked Chicken served with roasted sweet potatoes with olive oil, garlic, walnuts and rosemary.  

Night 2- Shredded BBQ chicken salad

Night 3 - Beef cubed Steak with a cilantro-humus sauce served with a side salad.

Night 4 - Left over cooked beef cube steak soft tacos.

RECIPES

Night 1-

Spatchock Chicken (breaking the back-bone of the chicken)

Click HERE for the ingredients.   I have created my own step-by-step on cooking this chicken because the recipe I followed cooked the chicken quicker than suggested.  But I am not complaining because dinner was ready in 40 minutes.

I would recommend to prep the chicken the night before with the ingredients.  It says to let chill for an hour with all of the ingredients rubbed on the chicken, but it will only make it more favorable if it is on over night.

How To: Place the chicken in a pre-heated oven at 450 degrees, covered with tin foil.  Cook for 30 minutes, check to make sure it is cooked (no pink meat or pink juices), it may need 10 more minutes as mine did.  Proper temperature for chicken is 165 degrees.

For the sweet potatoes: slice the potatoes into quarter inch round slices, quickly steam for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, combine 2 Tbs.of olive oil, 1-2 fresh garlic wedges, 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts and 1 Tbs. of rosemary in a small bowl.  After the potatoes are done steaming, place in an oven safe dish, toss with your nut & oil mixture and cook in the oven for 5-10 minutes.  (I placed the potatoes in the oven for the last 10 minutes of the chicken) 

I highly recommend to prep your chicken the night before because there is no way I would have spent an hour on a Monday to make this!

Night 2- With the left over chicken, I am making a family fav, Shredded BBQ Chicken!

Taken from a prior blog, shred and heat up the left over chicken, mix in about 1/3 cup of your favorite bbq sauce.  Click HERE to go to July's post.

Night 3-  Simple.  That is all I have to say.  The beef cube steak comes breaded.  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Heat up a saute pan with olive oil and fresh garlic on medium heat.  Sear each side for about 4-5 minutes then place in the oven for 20 minutes to cook.

I served with a classic side salad with cashews, tomatoes, cucumbers and cauliflower.





Night 4- Beef Steak Tacos.  This is a classic go to for me.  To make it healthy, I always make my sour cream from greek yogurt, add some lime juice and cilantro! If we use cheese, I use shredded, part-skim mozzarella.

Recommend to chop your left over beef steak in a processor, then re-heat on the skillet.

GROCERY LIST

• 4 lbs. whole chicken
• 1 1/2 -2 lbs. of beef cube steak
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 granny smith apple
• 1 bag of broccoli slaw or shredded carrots (for the salad)
• 1 container of spinach
• 2-3 shallots
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 3 lemons
• 1 small bag of walnuts
• nuts of your choice for a mixed salad
• 1 container of reduced fat feta cheese
• 1 small bag of part-skim mozzarella
• olive oil
• dijon mustard
• fresh cilantro, rosemary, & parsley
• salt, pepper, herbs de Provence

Crock pottin'

It has been some busy weeks for my family so I haven't been able to enjoy my blog lately.  But I am back in full swing!

I must share what I did last week!  The below recipes asked for basic ingredients that do not go on sale much, so I was still able to keep the grocery bill low.

I found an amazing crock pot dish on pinterest (my addiction), Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken.  I made this one night for friends,  then chicken stir fry with the reserved sauce from the night before, and since the family wasn't tired of chicken or oriental food, I made an amazing salad with all of the left over ingredients.

As noted above, my tip this week is to make the sauce required for the crock pot dish and save half for the stir fry night.

MENU:

Night 1 - Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken served with 10 minute jasmine rice and steamed broccoli   (This one cooks in 3-4 hours, recommend to make on a Sunday or day when someone at home can start the crock pot a couple hours before dinner)

Night 2 - Chicken stir fry with fresh peppers and left over broccoli served with oriental noodles.  You can use angle hair pasta if you don't want to buy special pasta.

Night 3 - Left over shredded chicken salad.

RECIPES/TIPS:
 Night 1- Click here for the online recipe from Chef in Training web page.  This recipe is a double recipe.  I followed the sauce recipe as suggested, however reserved 1 cup for the next night for the stir fry. I used 3 chicken breasts and that was more than enough for 4 adults. If you wish for your sauce to be a little more sweeter, I recommend to add a little peanut butter. Save the left over chicken for night 3.

Night 2- Chicken stir fry! Quick 25 minute meal.  Recommend to use 2-3 thin chicken breasts.
How to make:
Slice up fresh chicken breasts, 1 small yellow onion, 1 red and green bell pepper and broccoli if you have it.

Over medium-high heat, saute your onions in 1 Tbs. of olive oil.  After translucent, add the chicken. At this point, start boiling the water for your pasta!  Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes, then add the peppers and broccoli.  Let cook for 5 more minutes, then add the 1 cup of reserved sauce and let cook for 5 more minutes.

I added my buckwheat noddles to the saute pan after they were cooked.  Please note, if you use buckwheat noddles they only take about 5 minutes to cook so gauge your timing appropriately.



Night 3- Left over salad creation!

So the picture does not do it justice.  With the 2 cups of left over chicken from the crock pot, I added all of the veggies I had in my refrigerator;  chopped up romaine, cabbage, apple, broccoli (still extra from the night priors), carrot slices, and cucumber.  You get the jist!  Add what ever you want and make it your own.  I used some yogurt based ranch and it was delish!

For the kid, he got fish sticks! still working trying to get him to like   salad...one day.


GROCERY LIST:

• 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. of chicken breasts.  Normally 3 chicken breasts is a pound and a half. 
• 1 small bulb of garlic
• 2 small yellow onion
• Large head of leaf lettuce 
• Shredded carrots (or 1 large for the salad)
• 2-3 small heads of broccoli
• Cucumber (to be diced up for salad)
• 1 fuji apple
• Yogurt ranch dressing (in the produce department)
• Small jar of honey
• Low sodium soy sauce
• Ketchup
• Canola oil or olive oil (sauce recipe calls for canola, I use olive oil for EVERYTHING)
• Small container of corn starch
• 10 minute jasmine rice
• Whole wheat angle hair pasta or buckwheat soba noodles
• White or black sesame seeds, red pepper flakes (optional)

Another week of 2 meals from one dish!

I have been searching and experimenting with dishes that produce 2-3 different meals.  Well so far I have only found a few recipes and blogs that produce such ideas, but I found a great one this week, and it has the limited ingredients which I like and a little on the healthy side (or I will at least substitute some alternative healthy choices).

This idea has to be started on Sunday for me as the Primavera Quinoa takes a little longer to make then I like on a week night.

MENU

Night 1- Primavera Quinoa with grilled chicken breasts.
Night 2 - Southwest Shrimp and Quinoa 'Lasagna"
Night 3 - Shredded BBQ Rotisserie chicken served on whole wheat buns and healthy broccoli slaw.
Night 4 - BBQ chicken cobb salad.

RECIPIES

NIGHT 1  - Quinoa is a healthy alternative to rice.  I switched my family over to it about a year ago and they hardly noticed the difference, and surprisingly, liked it better because it has so much more flavor (added by me of course).  As stated above, this recipe takes about 15 minutes to prep, 25 minutes to cook in addition to grilling your chicken.  So I would make this menu when you have a free Sunday or don't mind being in the kitchen for an hour after work.

For the chicken, buy thin fillets or cut your breasts in half, this way they cook faster.  I use the rule of about 8-10 minutes per side on Medium-high heat.   I must admit, I am not the best griller and I am still perfecting this, so if you have a great web page I could read up on, please let me know.

Click here for the recipe for Night 1 & Night 2

NIGHT 2 - This may take a little more than 20 minutes to put together before you put in the oven for 30 minutes, but the leftovers for lunch will be AMAZING!  Enjoy.

NIGHT 3- Ok, so I am not a fan of making more than one trip to the grocery store a week, but nothing beats picking up a fresh rotisserie chicken sometime.  If you choose not to pick up a fresh one, the deli sometimes has cold rotisserie chickens that you can heat up when you are ready to use. Never done this, but I am sure it would be just as good.  I would recommend brushing it with some additional BBQ sauce though.

Needed ingredients for the Coleslaw: 1/2 package of pre-made broccoli slaw (in the produce section), 2/3 cup of light mayo, 2 Tbs. of apple cider, 2 Tbs. olive oil, 2 Tbs of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of celery seed, salt & pepper to taste.  Let me just say, it taste like Carolina slaw!

To Make: Add it all together in one mixing bowl!

NIGHT 4- If you have walked into a Publix lately and looked at the Aprons dinner suggestions, you might have seen the BBQ chicken cobb salad recipe.  I suggest making a few changes to make it your own, and also a little healthier.  Click here for the recipe.
My alternative suggestions are as follows:

• Instead of the frozen BBQ chicken suggested, use extra chicken from the night before.
• Instead of fried onions, use the left over broccoli slaw.
• Substitute romaine or mix green salad mix for the suggested iceberg.
• Substitute reduced-fat feta cheese, or any part-skim white cheese, for the cheddar jack cheese.
• Substitute a yogurt base ranch dressing (found in the produce section and LOVE!) for the light ranch dressing.

GROCERY LIST

• Chicken breast - Publix has 32 oz. pkg. of Chicken boneless skinless on sale for $5
• Frozen or fresh shrimp (about 1/2 lbs) - Large white shrimp on sale for $6.99/lbs.
• Deli BBQ rotisserie chicken
• 1 bag of broccoli slaw
• 1 bag of Salad mix- Publix salad blends are 2 for $4 (only need one so $2, or you can get a head of romaine that is a little cheaper)
• 1 Granny Smith Apple
• 1-2 plum tomatoes (it is not listed that any are on sale, I like the cherry tomatoes as they are easier to cut up for a salad)
• 1 bulb of garlic
• For the chopped veggies: 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, 1 small yellow onion, small bunch of broccoli (the recipe also calls for mushrooms but the family is not a fan)
• 1 bottle of Yogurt based Ranch dressing
• Whole-wheat hamburger buns, if the deli has them individually pick up the amount you need.
• 1 container of reduced fate feta cheese
• 1 small pkg. of a shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend for the lasagna
• Small container of reduced fat cream cheese (you only need 4 ounces, so pick up some bagel thins for the kids, they are BOGO)
• Parmesan cheese
• Small container of Part-skim ricotta
• 1 small carton of eggs
• 1 small can of whole kernel corn
• 1 jar of "better than Bouillon", you can buy the Bouillon cubes, they are just high in sodium.
• 1 1/2 C. of uncooked Quinoa.  If it is not sold in bulk in the organic section, you can buy a box in the same area, you might just have more left over for another week.
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil  or you can use dried
• Following condiments if you do not have them: Salsa, light mayo, apple cider, olive oil, honey,
• Celery seed, salt & pepper.

Not bad on the grocery list, around 24 items (give or take if you have some of the ingredients left over from prior weeks), comes to about 6 ingredients per meal!  Enjoy!

3 quick meals

Not really impressed with the weekly grocery flyer this week.  But still loving all of the produce that is still in season! There is a website that I love using.  It is called Peak-Season Map, click here and explore.  Now Florida doesn't have the best produce selection in the summer time compared to say California or New Jersey, but the basil is growing, the avocados are fresh and the seafood is delicious.  This week I am only making three meals as we have dinner plans, so even though my grocery bill will be low, my going out fund will be depleted.

Also, I am going to let you in on a little secrete, it's called "min-chopper"!  The best invention. My grandma bought me one over 8 years ago and it is used probably 3-4 times a week. If you don't have one, invest!  You can get them at Target for $20.

MENU

Tuna Salad (panini for the boys, salad for me) served with fresh cantaloupe
Cold sesame noddles with grilled chicken and summer vegetables
Shrimp or salmon tostadas with fresh guacamole

RECIPES:

MONDAY: Tuna Salad and fresh cantaloupe.  The cantaloupe is so juicy this time of year, we could eat two!
ingredients:
2 small or 1 large can of tuna (solid albacore in water)
1 7.5 oz. of gazebo beans
2 lemons
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup of mayo or miracle whip
2 tbs. of fresh parsley

To make: drain all water out of tuna and beans, and mix it all together!

Put on top a bead of lettuce or grab some bread and shredded cheese to make some panini's.

TUESDAY- Bring on the vegetables!  This recipe calls for bell peppers, carrots, radishes and cucumber, but add anything you like and make it your own, and if you don't have time to cut them match-stick size, go ahead and chop them up, it tastes just as good.  
Also, the recipe calls for buckwheat soba noddles, but I am sure you could make it with angle hair pasta (thanks sis for the idea!). Another added tip, add either a spoon full of peanut butter or teriyaki sauce to the vinegar/sesame oil mixture.  Gives it a little sweet kick.

For the chicken, I recommend to marinate for 10-15 minutes in the juice from 1 lemon, 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme (or what ever spices you have; cilantro, parsley, scallions). Grill it up on each side for approx. 10-15 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken breasts are.

For the direct link to this noodle recipe click here




WEDNESDAY- If you are using salmon, bake in the oven at 375 degrees.  I normally bake it about 10 minutes per one inch thickness of your fillet.  I usually just  buy a one pound fillet and that is more than enough for my family.  If you decide to use shrimp, simply saute in some garlic and olive oil until cooked. Chop up before placing on the tostadas.

While the salmon is cooking, you need to make your black bean spread.  To make you need a mini chopper.

Steps:

• Put the following ingredients in your mini chopper; 1 can of black beans, water drained, 1 cup of a of plain greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of salsa, salt & pepper and some fresh chopped cilantro.  Then blend all together. 
• Grab your tostadas and spray with cooking spray or rub with a little olive oil. Place them in your oven for about 5 minutes. 
• Take the black bean mixture and spread onto your tostadas
• Top with the salmon and you are DONE!

For the Guacamole, I mix the center of 1 avocado, 1 cup of greek yogurt, juice from 1 lime, salt & pepper to taste.  Mix in some cilantro if you have it.   I have some carrots that need to be eaten so we will be dipping those into the guac, but you can even chop up the tostadas for some chips if you need the extra carbs! 

GROCERY LIST:

• 2-4 chicken breasts (depending on how many you are grilling for the dish)
• 1 lbs. of salmon
• 3 lemons
• 2 limes
• Summer veggies for the sesame noddles 
• I am purchasing 1 red bell pepper, 1 bunch of carrots (you won't need them all though) and a 1/2 of a cucumber.
• 1 small bundle of scallions
• 1 small yellow onion
• Lettuce of your choice (if you are using for the tuna salad)
• 1 cantalope
• 1 loaf of bread of your choice (for the panini's)
• Cheese of your choice for the panini's
• 1 package tostadas
• Whole wheat angle hair pasta or buckwhat soba noodles
• 1- 15 oz. can of black beans
• 1- 7.5 oz can of gazebo beans
• rice vinegar
• olive oil 
• vegetable oil
• Sriracha (hot chili sauce, optional) 
• salsa
• 1 jar of black or white sesame seeds
• 1 container of plain greek yogurt
• Salt & pepper
• Fresh cilantro