Mixed Greens, Kiwi, and Mango Salad

For the last few–okay, one–weeks, we’ve been broke. Utterly, horribly broke. It’s our fault for not budgeting, but it’s not our fault that S also got her account debited three different times for the power bill. That’s all on Georgia Power.

At any rate, broke means one thing around here: cutting back on food. We’ve already paid for everything else, including the power for the next three months, but we’d not bought groceries. This week was a series of pasta and rice dishes, with tater tots thrown in just for that regression to age three that we needed.

So today, S and I went shopping while G slept off anesthesia. We make a habit of watching Take Home Chef, mostly because Curtis Stone is pretty but he does also make some amazing food. Earlier this week, he put together a salad of arugula, pomegranate seeds, persimmon slices, and a raspberry vinaigrette. It looked like heaven on a plate, and I got paid yesterday. So part of the day’s goal for shopping was to find the ingredients for this salad. We’d add grilled (well, pan-fried) chicken, and it would be a complete meal. G could have vegetarian Jell-O and saltines.

Except that Kroger lacked arugula. And persimmons. And even–heaven forbid–the pomegranates. They did, however, have the raspberry vinaigrette.

I very much doubt you’ve seen a pair of twenty-two-year-olds pout so much in the produce section in your life. You’d think we’d been told no chocolate for the rest of our lives. And then we looked at each other, remembered that we know how to cook, and took a good look at what was available. No arugula? Okay, baby Italian salad mix of radicchio, Romaine, and spinach. No pomegranates? Um…how about kiwi? And as for that persimmon…well, a mango would do just fine, right?

Fortunately, they had the raspberry vinaigrette. I think we would have cried otherwise.

This salad is heaven. It may actually be more heavenly than the one Curtis put together. It is that good. Small pieces of mango and kiwi, mixed with the lettuces, three pan-fried and sliced chicken tenderloins (they didn’t have breasts last time I bought chicken, and I can’t justify a whole chicken in this house) tossed on top, all doused in that wonderful vinaigrette? One of the best meals I’ve had in ages, and it really was no effort. I think the hardest part was cutting the mango, because those things are impossible. There’s hardly any left. We each had at least two bowls. I am in love with this salad.

Mixed Greens and Fruit Salad
Mixed greens (radicchio, Romaine, and spinach, preferably, because that’s what we used), about three handfuls (like my measuring system?)
One mango
Five kiwis
Raspberry vinaigrette (you could make your own, but the name-brand bottled stuff worked just fine)
Four chicken tenderloins, thawed

Now, if you want to be fancy and have a grill, you can grill the tenderloins. Otherwise, get a dry non-stick frying pan very hot. Toss the tenderloins in and watch them closely. Now’s a good time to have your lazy beloved roommate start cutting up the fruit, if you want. Make sure you don’t burn the chicken. You’ll be sad. It doesn’t really need seasoning, either. Just wait for it to be cooked about halfway up the tenderloin and flip it over. Then wait for the other half to be cooked on the outside, and a few extra seconds to be sure. Take out of the pan, put on a plate, and let them cool so you don’t burn your fingers when you cut them. Dump water into your Very Hot Pan; it’ll be a lot easier to clean.

Now for the fruit. The kiwis are easier to do. Cut off the ends, then the skin in strips. Cut the kiwi into small cubes and toss into your salad bowl. Or, if you’re like S, a completely separate bowl. The mango’s the hard one. What’s supposedly easiest is something like peeling it, then cutting off chunks until you’re right to the pit. Then you can cube the chunks. Just make sure not to take off a finger with that sharp knife, dealing with that slippery mango pit. Add those to whichever bowl you’re using. Then add the greens to the salad bowl and, if you dirtied a second bowl with the fruit, dump it on top.

Remember that chicken? I know it seems really plain and bland, but bear with me. Just cut it into strips and add those to your salad. Now pour the vinaigrette on that thing. It soaks into your chicken, especially if it’s still warm. Toss the salad around, make your bowl, and remember that you can come back when it inexplicably vanishes the first time around. It is that good.

Especially good is when you realized that blackberries are currently cheap and got two containers plus a half-gallon of vanilla bean ice cream. That for dessert, plus the heavenly salad, is the best meal I’ve had in some time.

Up tomorrow: Turkey burgers for the omnivores, veggie burger for the vegetarian, and mashed potatoes for all. I need to buy butter. Buns might help, too.

NaBloPoMo #6: Nutrition

Apparently, coffee, eggs, avocados, mushrooms, and peanut butter all have definite health benefits. Now, for me, I can’t afford avocados, and I dislike mushrooms. But the other three are great news.

See, my financial situation is currently this. Last month, I paid my car bill, utilities, and rent, and that was just about it. I could barely afford eggs, milk, and butter substitute, and had to scrounge for gas money. This month should be better; I’m getting a raise, and my hours have increased, thanks to my promotion, but I still won’t be able to afford any particularly pricey foods.

G and I are grocery shopping this week, probably Friday night. We need to make a list, and I think eggs will top that. I made eggs with potatoes and crushed (canned) tomatoes last night, and it turned out to be very yummy. Glad I stocked up on herbs when I had the money. Eggs are versatile and great to cook with, so they’re a favorite of mine when we have them.

Another favorite is potatoes. Potatoes are incredibly cheap, just a few dollars for a five pound bag, and they can be used in just about anything. That egg dish I mentioned, baked potatoes, soups, stews, mashed potatoes…the list goes on, but I am not the Bubba of potatoes.

I also love tomatoes. Not only can I eat them fresh all day long, the canned versions are easy to add to anything and to season, and they’re really healthy. Lots of antioxidants and vitamins. I tend to add tomato paste to rice casseroles especially, but also beans, eggs, and potatoes.

And take a look at beans. You can’t get a lot cheaper than those. Sure, it takes some prep if you’re working with dried beans (much cheaper than the canned version), but you can make an easy vegetable soup with them, add them to a rice casserole, or just have beans. I’m not so sure about beans and eggs, though.

Brown rice is a fairly cheap source of fiber, and it’s filling. It also has more flavor than regular white rice, though the texture may not be to everyone’s tastes. It’s also a good mineral source.

I know most of those are not particularly good protein sources, but that brings us back to eggs. Twenty-six grams of protein per cup! No cholesterol, either, despite the reputation, and it does have vitamins and minerals. Eggs will certainly be on our shopping list.

Oatmeal! All we currently have is prepackaged and preflavored, but I think that’s going to change. Cheap and it lasts, so it definitely makes the cut for something healthy to add to our diets. And it can be modified fairly easily. One of my favorites is to buy frozen raspberries and add a small handful while the oatmeal is cooking; the raspberries break up and flavor the oatmeal, and it doesn’t really take any extra sugar. Make it with milk instead of water for some extra calcium.

It may be frustrating to have a highly limited grocery budget; in fact, I know it is. All it takes is a little research to find healthy foods that fit the budget, though, and some creativity to make it fresh and tasty each time.