Sunday’s With Joy: Shrimp Mango Salad with Maple Mustard Almonds

With all the cookie munching going on around here and while burying myself in mounds of butter, sugar and flour I noticed LTSL has been lacking something.

Something VERY important.

A salad.

Children of the playground, the fact is life is about balance.

It should be a mix of eating healthy, exercising, laughing, loving, having great friends and family … aaannndd of course a cupcake – – or two. But all in moderation.

Personally, I work out and eat well Monday to Thursday and then on the weekend (yes, my weekend starts on a Friday 🙂 )  I allow my body to rest and indulge in a little sweet satisfaction.  Honestly, I hate working out. HATE IT. I cry, scream and curse the entire time. But after – – I feel like superwoman and I’m happy to go about my day.

I also do it because I like eating things like this … and do we even have to go into my cookie cravings.  But I save that for the weekend.

During the week, I need salads – whole grains – lean meats and to have my cupcake kicked when I work out. I crave fresh vegetables and the crunch of an apple … or two.

I need it all. And it needs to be pretty. And delicious.

This week, I worked my magic and added a splash of Sunday’s with Joy and….

Taaadaaaa!!

Shrimp Mango Salad with Maple Mustard Almonds

1/2 Cup of Joy The Baker‘s Honey Mustard Cashews (see below for alterations)

2 Firm Mangos ~ thinly sliced

1/2 Sweet Bell Pepper ~ thinly sliced

1 Medium Carrot ~ thinly sliced

2 Cloves of Garlic ~minced

2 Tbsp each of fresh Cilantro ,Basil, Mint and Thyme ~minced

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tsp Granulated Sugar

1 Tbsp Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce

1 Cup of pre-cooked shrimp, seasoned to taste with Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Joy The Baker’s Honey Mustard Cashews

*Note: I used Joy’s recipe, that can be found in her fantastic book … buy it, trust me. It’s a classic and a keeper. It doesn’t even have time to sit on my shelf. I substitution Maple Syrup for the mustard and used Almonds instead of cashews.

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Shrimp Mango Salad

Prepare all of the ingredients, as advised above.

Toss together all of your vegetables and seasonings.

In a small bowl, whisk lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and Sriracha.

Add your salad dressing, to your vegetable and herb mixture and toss.

Top with shrimp and sprinkle with Almonds.

With all this yummy action, I don’t mind skimping on the sweet treats for a while.

Enjoy my sugarpies

Xoxox

Opa! Quinoa Kale Greek Salad

I’ve come to the conclusion that I need a pool boy.

A young good-looking man, that is well toned but not huge. He should have great hair, and the greatest smile.

He would be kind, and have amazing hands to delicately massage sunscreen on me.

His day would be spent brining me iced cold drinks and yummy snacks as I sit by the pool lounging in the sun – in a classy but still sexy bikini.

In this little wonder world, I would also be a size 2 and continuously scarfing down cupcakes …

A girl can dream can’t she?

Instead, I work Monday to Friday – suffer from humidity inflicted frizz ball hair and I don’t even have a pool.  

Size 2 – nope.

Scarfing down cupcakes … well that still happens 🙂 

In both my dreams and reality one thing stays the same – – I don’t want to do anything when it’s scorching hot outside.  

So we resort to bingeing on  salads.

This week, we went Greek and it was perfection. Add some grilled chicken or salmon and you’ve got yourself a meal!!

Opa! Quinoa Kale Greek Salad

1/4 Cup Quinoa

1 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Dried Parsley

1 1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Chopped Cucumber

1/2 Cup Baby Tomatoes

1/4 Cup Chopped Red Onions

1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives

1 Cup Shredded Kale

1/4 Cup Goat Cheese

Directions: 

Over medium heat, bring water to a boil.

Add the black pepper, onion powder, salt and garlic powder.

Add the quinoa and boil for 20 minutes ( or until all the water has absorbed).

Once the quinoa has become soft and yummy, fluff-er up!

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together quinoa – tomatoes – cucumber – onions – olives and kale.

Last but not least, top with crumbled goat cheese.

Refrigerate until ready to chow down on !! 

 

Stay sweet my loves, if anyone minds lending me their pool boy … let me know 😀

ohh and one more thing – – don’t forget to enter my tripple whammy cookbook giveaway 😀 … and now,

Stay Sweet xox