Good Enough for the White House

Hello again!  Where did I go you ask?  Well, nowhere.

But you know those times when life is really overwhelming, the house is a constant disaster, and you are thankful for frozen leftovers because you don't have time to cook.  Yeah, that pretty much where I was...

Good news though, I just finished writing a final exam last night and think life might be a little more manageable again. So now that I have rediscovered what it is like to have some spare time, I get to cook and bake again. Yay!!

I have had my eye on this 'Biggest Loser' Salad that was served at the White House for some time now...

So along with a really delicious sandwich (which I will tell you all about in a minute), we had dinner.

Sorry for the half eaten sandwich...I have to remember to take pictures before I eat!

If you were to ask me a year ago if I thought I could ever have a sandwich again, I would have given a very confident NO!

Ask me now and you'll get a YES! paired with a big smile.  What makes this possible?  My gluten-free buns from Udi's and deli meat from May Family Farms which have g-free ingredients- both purchased at Save-On Foods. Tonight I added some bacon, spinach, and avocado and had one of the best sandwiches I have ever made.

Correction: I am taking all of the credit, the sandwich was actually 100% my husband's doing and it was so good!

The salad was simple to make and delicious.  I can get the credit for this part.  I do however regret the fact that I had to use tomatoes from Mexico, instead of a fresh, local ones.  But nonetheless, it was still really great!  My anti-tomato and onion husband even liked it...in fact he said "I am getting skinnier with every bite".  I don't know if that was actually true. 

Here is the recipe * (with my adaptations)- Serves 2

• 3 handfuls of baby spinach, big pieces ripped in half
• 1/2 cucumber cut in quarters
• 1 Roma tomato, cut into chunks
• Red onion (I used a very small amount..it's so strong!)
• A bunch of basil leaves cut up

Dressing**- mix together:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon
• 1 tsp honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Notes:
*I measured my ingredients based on how much I like them...for the actual proportions, check out the recipe here.
**I didn't add the dressing until I was ready to serve.  Instead I made each part individually and refrigerated both until I was ready to serve.