Spaghetti Salad With Garden Fresh Produce

This morning was such a beautiful September morning.  Since I know the cold weather is not too far away I stayed outside enjoying the sun to the fullest.  I took a short bike ride first.  Then, of course, this time of year there is always a good amount of work to do in the gardens and the flowerbeds so I got busy pulling weeds.  My rewards for the effort I put into the garden this morning were tomatoes, cucumbers, and a sweet red pepper. 

I decided to use my freshly picked produce and last nights left over spaghetti noodles to make a cold spaghetti salad.  I Googled some recipes on line and got a few ideas.  The recipes I found all called for bottled Italian dressing and I never have that on hand since I make most things from scratch.  I prefer to make things homemade because then I can choose which oils and other ingredients go into the recipe.  Healing with nutrition is important to me, so cooking the food myself is always the best plan.

I used olive oil for its amazing health benefits along with red wine vinegar for the dressing.  The fresh veggies are just picked and full of vitamins and flavor.  The garlic and paprika are known for calming inflammation in the body. So this salad is a winner for staying healthy.   What I came up with is absolutely delicious and I hope you give it a try. 

Cold Spaghetti Salad

12 oz cooked whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 heaping teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 large tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1 sweet bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange)

To make the dressing, mix the oil, vinegar, paprika, garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and nectar.  Whisk the together well.  Pour the dressing over the cooked spaghetti noodles. 

Cut up the tomatoes, cucumber, and pepper into small pieces.  Add them, along with the Parmesan into the spaghetti and mix well.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. 

Sunshine, Tomatoes, and Salsa

After a couple of cloudy and rainy days, the sun made an appearance again.  It was refreshing to have a bit of a cool down and some needed moisture, but I am always happy to see the sun again. 

I have been in a surgical boot for about 3 1/2 weeks trying to allow my foot time to heal.  But this morning I put on my tennis shoes......
                                                          donned my new helmet.......

                        .....hopped on my bike and rode like the wind in the beautiful sunshine.

It was such a wonderful and freeing feeling.  I didn't put any weight on my foot and, taking extra precaution, used my heel to pedal.  I wonder if I could have been doing that all along.  Hmmmm......

When I returned home, I wandered out to my garden and found beautiful, lush, ripe red tomatoes tucked into the green leaves of the tomato plant.  I picked them with such excitement that had there been a witness they would have laughed at my enthusiasm.  Nothing beats the incredible scent of fresh picked tomatoes from the vine. 

 

 

By the looks of things I will be getting quite a few tomatoes this year.  I enjoy canning tomatoes for use in soups, stews, etc. in the winter.  One thing I haven't done in many years though, is make salsa.  When the kids were little my friends and I would get together during tomato harvest and make huge batches of salsa to can.  The first year we did this ended up with a trip to the emergency room for my friend, Gloria.  She had been scraping the seeds out of the jalapenos by hand without realizing the burning effect that would come to her skin later.  So, use caution or better yet use gloves, when prepping the jalapenos. 

 

Unfortunately, I don't have that recipe anymore, but, you can find some great salsa recipes on the Internet. Let me know if you have one to share :) The peppers, onions, and cilantro that go into salsa are nice and calming for inflammation.  As long as you do not get a reaction to nightshade veggies, then eat up and enjoy :)

Bittersweet progress and Curried Cranberry Chicken Subs!

I have been waiting to write a follow up blog post from The Biggest Challenge Yet  for the day I had great news to report.  Great news to me was reporting that my foot had healed because of cleaning up my diet again. However, my foot has not healed yet.  I have come to realize though, that I do have great news to share. 

Since I have cleaned up my diet again, the inflammation has decreased greatly in my body so that except for my foot, I am pain free.  Even though I may end up having surgery on my foot, I cannot negate the fact that an anti-inflammatory diet works for me.  I am thankful that this healthy alternative to medication helps me.  This is great news!

With summer here and in full swing (also great news) I am also thankful to be out enjoying the beautiful days.  I make sure that no matter what I do, I take my food with me.  When we go kayaking I pack a cooler full of delicious food that calms inflammation.  Some great inflammation fighting snacks to munch on are:

Kalamata and Green Olives

Fresh cherries

Hummus with cut up veggies for dipping such as celery, carrots, sweet peppers

Salsa and healthy chips such as Food Should Taste Good Tortilla Chips

Almonds and dried cranberries mixed together

 

 

For a delicious main course that is easy to pack in a cooler and convenient to eat while on an outing, try these Curried Cranberry Chicken Subs.  They are a favorite of ours :)

 

Curried Cranberry Chicken Subs



2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

olive oil

1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 teaspoon curry powder

4 hoagie rolls

Leaf lettuce

Mix together the chicken, red onion, mayonnaise, and  curry powder.  Add just enough olive oil to get a moist consistency.  Add in dried cranberries.

Spray the inside of the hoagie rolls with olive oil spray and place face down on the grill.  Lightly brown the rolls.  Watch closely to avoid burning.

Spoon 1/4 of the mixture on each hoagie roll and top with lettuce.  Serve and enjoy!

*You can also serve on a bed of lettuce as a salad instead of using the hoagie rolls.