Here’s a rather personal question: What kind of foods do you keep in your cupboards and refrigerator? Do  you have those “go to” items that you keep on hand so you can whip up a meal in no time flat?

My favorites have changed over the years. I’ve found lots of extra space by tossing those items I tried and vowed never to use again. Sugar-free acai salad dressing with wine vinegar? Kalmata bruschetta topping (tasted like sour paste). We all have them. Admit it. Toss them out and move on. BUT, it never hurts to try new foods. Just make sure you read the labels. Google those ingredients. The more processed the food, the longer the list. Some of those ingredients are naturally occurring, but some are pure chemical. Educate yourself. I discovered that bottled lemon juice has sodium bisulfite in the ingredients list. Fine for most people, but it makes me miserable. Real lemons, those pretty yellow gems, are great AND every one of them comes with free lemon zest! Buy them on sale, zest them and freeze the zest, then freeze some juice in little containers. Just make sure to label them so you don’t wonder a few weeks later what on earth this could possibly be.

So what would you find in my cupboards and refrigerator? First, I love to make salads and dressings, so I keep good olive oil, several types of vinegar, including red wine, apple cider, a good quality balsamic, some citrus fruit, honey, and a wire whisk. Then there are nuts, like pistachios, walnuts, pecans (in containers, out of my line of sight to keep my little hands from unplanned snack-grabbing), fresh berries, kale and lettuces, plus other salad veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and onions.

What to make for dinner tonight? How about a great salad. Leftover chicken, some water-packed tuna (or a piece of seared ahi tuna), shrimp, salmon, plus great salad fixings make a dinner feast. If you have the right “stuff” on hand, dinner will be ready in minutes!

Want to know what else I keep on hand? Stay tuned for more.

Weekends always seem to bring about more relaxed eating, but relaxing doesn’t mean letting the whole healthy eating plan fall to pieces. Hamburgers are my first go-to for casual fare, but since our household tries to follow the Weight Watchers plan, one of those fast food wonders can pack  up to FORTY points. Come on, people. I only get 30 points a day.

But wait…there’s a way. It’s called the Turkey Burger. The best restaurant turkey burger I ever had was at the Yard House in Phoenix. Fabulous. Sort of like turkey meatloaf on a bun. I still drool thinking about it. Yummy, but probably not the healthiest burger. Why, because not all ground turkey is created equal. Never fear! You can make your own yummy burger.

Plan ahead for those weekend burger fests. Buy ground turkey that is labeled 93% lean. Check the nutritional labeling. No more than 7% fat. Look at the ingredients list. Make sure this is turkey, not a package of fillers and chemicals. Real turkey! Ready? Here we go!

Each Burger patty, with cheese, 6 PointsPlus

The Ultimate Turkey Burger
16 ounces ground turkey, 93% lean, uncooked
10 saltines (2 ounces), crushed
1 egg
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
4 slices (1 ounce each) light Swiss cheese 4 points

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, except cheese, until well mixed (I put on surgical gloves so I don’t get stuff under my nails).

Divide mixture into 4 equal patties. Grill on a grill pan until each patty reaches 165°. Top each patty with a slice of cheese and heat until cheese melts.

Hint: Since patties will not shrink like beef patties, after browning patties on both sides, cover with foil to force heat into the patties. They will be thick.

Remove from pan. Serve on a light hamburger bun (like Village Hearth or Sara Lee) with lettuce, tomato, and pickle.

Only one of you at home? Freeze three burgers for future cravings!

Here’s the scene. We either eat alone most of the time or the hubby (or roommate, kids, etc.) are gone for the evening and we’re now dining solo. It’s not those dinners in the nice restaurant that get us lost in a sea of unhealthy; it’s those times when I fix a meal for “just me” and no one is watching that I fall into the great abyss of bad food.

Here was a recent evening…My loving husband was out of town. The weather was a typical Midwestern spring evening (39 degrees, gray, raining, icky). At least my favorite design show was on that channel that makes us all want to throw out our furniture and remodel our homes. What to eat? My first instinct was to pop a bag of microwave popcorn. Of course, that would probably lead to chocolate, and then perhaps more popcorn with chocolate on top. There goes the healthy eating plan for today.

Sure beats microwave popcorn!

But wait! I’m worth more than that. I deserve something better; I DESERVE something fantastic. But…not too complicated. In the refrigerator was a large package of chicken thighs, some kale and a small bag of baby bok choy that I had been meaning to try. Admittedly, my kitchen cupboards have some rather interesting items that get picked up by traveling or from gifting.

The chicken thighs got a brush of Blood Orange olive oil from the Olive Mill in Queen Creek, AZ., and a sprinkling of Ginger Citrus spice blend from Victoria Gourmet. Onto a baking sheet and into the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. There were lots of pieces. Good! Chicken for another day. No fancy oil or seasonings at your house? Just use a good olive oil and some kosher salt, pepper, maybe a little garlic powder, lemon pepper; be creative. Do not start the rest of the meal until the chicken is done. It’s good to let roasted meats rest for 10 or 15 minutes after cooking. Remove the skin before eating.

Chop that kale into little pieces and put it in a small mixing bowl. Get out one of those little custard cups and that wire whisk Santa put in your stocking one year. Put one teaspoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar in the cup, add a sprinkling of kosher salt, a grind of fresh pepper and a teaspoon of honey. Whisk it up and pour it over the kale. Use a skinny spatula to get all the dressing. Mix up the salad and put it in a nice salad bowl. Add some almond slivers and some fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries.

Ahh! Baby Bok Choy! It’s my new veggie love. Rinse those babies in cold water, towel dry and cut in half down the middle. I had 6 of them. 4 would have been plenty, but hey, it’s a vegetable! In a non-stick sauté pan, heat one teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat. Mince up some fresh garlic (and a shallot if you have one). When oil is hot, add garlic and shallot. Toss bok choy in pan to coat. Add some kosher salt and pepper. Cook about three minutes, until bok choy gets slightly browned. Cover the pan with a lid and cook about two more minutes, until bok choy starts to get tender. Done!

Get out a pretty dinner plate. Use nice silverware. Find a napkin. Turn on the fireplace, set the channel to your favorite show or movie. Plate one piece of chicken and the bok choy. Pour a glass of wine. Have a lovely evening. You deserve it!

Ah, Julia! Julia Child once said the first meal she had in France was fish, eaten at a simple little cafe, and that it was simply the best fish she had ever eaten. Today, so much of the fish we eat is either fried or falls out of a
box from the freezer section of the grocery. If fish is supposed to be healthy, just what constitutes a healthy fish? OK, Julia, lead me to the good stuff!

Years ago, I was told that to eat healthy fish, it should be baked, so I baked it. Perfectly good pieces of fish went into the oven, and out came dried out, tasteless stuff. The only way to get good fish, it seemed, was to go out to eat in a fancy restaurant that offered walnut encrusted red snapper. The price tag was healthy, too. Aaargh!!!

Remember the movie (and book) “Julie and Julia?” The movie was actually a combination of that book plus the book “My Life In France” by Julia Child. Ms. Child had written “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” to help get American women away from the prepared glop offered in grocery stores and back into the kitchen to cook real food. I bought the book. It’s not really technical, more instructional, and I LEARNED TO COOK FISH!!!

Today, we can go onto the Internet to find Julia Child’s old cooking shows. Take some time to watch how she puts together wonderfully tasty meals with simple, real ingredients in a way we can all understand. If cooking intimidates you or if you feel that good food is complicated, take a look at Julia, relax and get cooking!

If you’d like to learn “hands on” how to cook great, simple fish, join our Finleys’ Kitchen Cooking School on Friday, March 20, 2015 for a couples’ night out. Check out the Cooking School Schedule to register for the class. Hope to see you there!