Veg Recipe of the Week: Sweet Chili Tropical Salad

Now that I'm in my third trimester and back from vacation, I'm easing back into healthy eating. The second trimester was a free-for-all, and even though part of my brain knew that you could gain weight that quickly, the majority of my brain is shocked at how much weight I gained in three short months. That was my inspiration for the February Salad Challenge, and so far I've been doing pretty well. I don't eat a salad as a meal every single day, but it does happen most days, and there have even been days where I've eaten spinach at breakfast, lunch, and dinner (not by itself, of course).

In honor of my salad month, I'm going to share one of my new favorite salad combinations for this week's Veg Recipe. It all started in Kaua'i with the salad above, which I ordered on our first full day there at a burger restaurant in Poi'pu. This salad is a Nina special - I mixed and matched several salad toppings from about three different salads on their menu. And then (this is the best part), instead of the balsamic dressing I asked for on the side, I poured on the leftover sweet chili sauce that came with our onion ring appetizer. The end result: grilled mahi mahi, pineapple, shredded carrots, tomatoes, croutons, spring greens, and the magical sweet chili sauce.

Since I've been home, I've purchased a few bottles of sweet chili sauce and recreated this salad a few different ways. As long as the two main ingredients are there (pineapple + chili sauce), it always tastes delicious.

Variation 1: Side Salad with sliced red peppers, spinach, pineapple, & chili sauce:

Variation 2: Side salad above + Gardein Chicken (minus the sauce that comes with the chicken):

Joe used to love eating the chili sauce with chicken, but now that's he's vegetarian he's gotten into the habit of eating it with veggies too. Trust us and try it, it's soooo good!

And here's a little update on some of my other salads of the month:

1. Chuck E Cheese Salad Bar: romaine, spinach, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, light ranch dressing, cottage cheese, gold fish, and jello salad (not pictured)
2.  Crab Cake Salad from Sesame Grill on Valentine's Day: two crab cakes, spring mix, shredded carrots, one sliced tomato, delicious sweet creamy dressing (not too much - just the right amount), and little flowers and grass adornments (I don't eat those)
3. Red Robin Southwest Salad with Fried Fish (instead of chicken): mixed greens, black beans, fried jalapenos (gave most of those to Joe), avocado, cheese & tortilla strips (took most of those off), fried fish (only ate one piece - tasted really salty to me), and salsa as dressing
4. Sweet Chili "Chicken" Salad
5. Sweet Potato Bean Veggie Pattie + avocado, mixed veggies, and a kale salad mix from Costco all sauteed with salsa, and then topped with more salsa and a slice of american cheese
6. Blueberry Mac Nut Salad: spinach tossed with a spoonful of honey greek yogurt, blueberries, pineapple tidbits + the juice they came in, and crushed honey macadamia nuts. Yum!! This was unexpectedly good. I was craving a fruit salad, and decided to add spinach to make it a "real" salad. The only ingredient I wish I could have added was coconut (I went out and bought some later, so I will have to make this again)
7. Sauteed Veggie & Hummus Salad: zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers sauteed with parsley and pepper for a few minutes, then tossed with spinach and eggplant hummus (from Trader Joe's) - so good!
8. Spanish Rice Salad + Black Bean Enchilada - Instead of a full serving of rice, I just used a spoonful as a topping to my salad, along with spinach, salsa, and sauteed bell pepper
9. Pineapple Chili Salad

27/28 Weeks Bump Update

27 weeks pregnant

We're back!! Kauai was amazing and I'll be sure to post lots of pics later this week. For now, I'm going to combine weeks 27 and 28 for the bump update:

Total Weight Gain: I ate ice cream every day for a week, so I'm not going near a scale.
Maternity Clothes: I got good use out of the summer maternity clothes Luana gave me on our vacation.
Symptoms: Nothing too bad. A little acid reflux and I'm peeing more often than usual.
Best Moment of the Week: Our entire week in Kauai was amazing, I couldn't pick just one moment.
What We're Reading & Watching this Week: Still working on the Constant Princess. We were constantly on the go so I didn't do much reading in Kauai.We did play a lot of Unblock Me on Joe's iPad and we discovered that I am the puzzle master.
Food Cravings: Macadamia nut ice cream and coconut french toast with coconut syrup. I want some right now... Luckily I brought some coconut syrup back with me.
Exercise: We did some snorkeling, some kayaking and some hiking. This week I'm back to wearing my pedometer and plan on going to the gym tonight.
What I Miss: Not peeing all the time and not getting winded walking up a flight of stairs.
Happy or Moody? Happy :)
Movement: Yep, he's an active lil guy.
Looking Forward to: I'm missing Hawaii :( The next exciting steps for us will be moving and birthing classes (hopefully both will take place in March). Oh yeah, and it's almost V-day!

Also, I didn't forget about my goal to eat one salad per day (as a meal) while I was on vacation. However, I'm a lil behind, so it looks like I need about two days of two salads to make it to 28 this month. Here's a glimpse of some Kauai salads:

Mmm, Salads

1. Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread
2. Round Table Salad Bar: Bell Pepper, Carrots, Egg, Onions, Croutons, Cherry Tomatoes & Jello Salad
3. Kauai Luau (I count this as salad cause most of my plate is veggies): romaine, cucumbers, hawaiian sweet potato, mixed veggies, mahi mahi, mac salad & mashed potatoes
4. Sauteed Mushroom Salad
5. Pineapple Fish Salad with Sweet Chili Sauce (my new fave salad ever!)
6. Tropical Fruit Salad (with Papaya, Pineapple, Banana, & Oranges)

Date Night & February's Goal

For Thursday's Date Night we got a Bloomspot deal for an Italian restaurant in West Hollywood: Marco's Trattoria. The indoor seating was limited - they only had a few two-seat tables, and two large party tables. When we got there the place was empty, but by the time we were being served dinner, only outdoor seating was available. Joe got mushroom lasagna with a pink sauce, which was delicious (I sampled it too). I got lobster ravioli with a lobster sauce - sooooo good! There were big chunks of lobster in the sauce and I devoured the whole thing. Dessert was cannoli, which neither of us had tried before. While I'm sure it was good as far as cannolis go, I don't think either of us is eager to try cannolis again. The filling was very rich, and the crispy pastry didn't do it for me - not that that stopped us from eating the whole thing.

February's Goal: Eat Salad

This week has been eh, as far as eating my veggies goes. I remember the days when I used to eat at least one salad per day. So since this is a brand new month, I figured it's the perfect time to set a new goal: one salad as a meal per day for all of February. I put together a little inspiration collage of some of my favorite salads, as well as salads that I pinned to a Salad board on Pinterest and have been meaning to try.

(From Top, Left to Right): Crab Cake Salad from Sesame Grill; Beet, Lentil, Goat Cheese Salad from Cafe Med; Citrus Kale Salad, Grilled Peach & Mozzarella Salad; Summer Berry & Cottage Cheese Salad; Inside Out Chinese Spring Roll Salad; Vegetarian Cobb Salad; Vegetarian Taco Salad, Falafel Salad.