Grilled Cumin Spiced Pork Tenderloin

Summer parties and dining al fresco doesn't get more convenient than this – lean pork tenderloin seasoned with a quick, flavorful rub then grilled to perfection served with the easiest salad ever!!

I love having my friends over in the summer for BBQs, but I don't love spending hours in the kitchen. Instead I prefer to keep things simple so I can actually enjoy my company, which is why I love these new DeLallo SaladSavors.

If you're not familiar with DeLallo; I first discovered them last year. They are the only brand of whole wheat pasta my family will actually eat, but they sell tons of other quality ingredients like olive oils, vinegars, olives, roasted peppers, marinated artichokes and more. So it only makes sense that they took those ingredients and conveniently packaged them to create quick and easy salads – all you do is add the lettuce!

Whatever you throw on the grill; whether it's pork tenderloin, shrimp kabobs, pesto chicken kabobs, harissa lamb chops or even just burgers – making a salad with one of these salad toppings takes minutes to put together – EASY!

These are brand spanking new so at the moment they're only available in select supermarkets, but I'm sure you'll be seeing them everywhere soon! And here's the BEST news – I've partnered with DeLallo Foods and a few of my food blogging friends: Sommer from A Spicy Perspective, Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil, Ali from Gimme Some Oven, Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod and myself to host the Ultimate Al Fresco Dining Giveaway!

You could win A YEAR of SaladSavors (10 SaladSavors® sent monthly), plus tons of stuff from Crate & Barrel and West Elm: a beautiful patio set, a salad bowl, platter, serving tub, flatware serving set and more!! If you love entertaining outdoors in the summer as much as I do, click here for a chance to win this giveaway.

And back to the pork tenderloin – it's super lean, a serving is under 175 calories (4 points plus) and is gluten-free, clean, paleo-friendly, & takes 25 minutes to make. You can easily double the recipe to serve more. Enjoy!

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Aloha Teriyaki Shrimp Burgers

If I can't be in paradise, at least I can bring a little paradise to my backyard with these grilled shrimp burgers topped with grilled pineapple and a homemade pineapple teriyaki sauce – just under 300 calories!

It's June and the weather is getting hot out there, which means most of my dinners are being cooked outside on the grill. Last year I created a shrimp jalapeno patty which I modified slightly to come up with this Hawaiian inspired burger. I found making the burgers ahead of time and keeping them refrigerated before grilling helped them maintain their shape perfectly and I had no issues with them sticking to the grill.

They only take a few minutes to grill on each side and you can grill the pineapples at the same time. This recipes makes 8, but if you want to halve it, you can certainly make enough for 4, although I would probably keep the teriyaki sauce as is and use it for another day.

I served these on whole wheat potato buns but you can skip the bun and serve it over lettuce if you wish to go low-carb.

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Turkey Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

Sweet strips of plantains are layered with savory picadillo and cheese. It's that sweet salty thing that makes this taste SOOOO good!

It's Hispanic heritage month and in it's honor I thought this delicious Puerto Rican comfort dish (made light of course) would be an excellent recipe to honor it. My Mom is from Colombia, so we grew up eating plantains a lot in my home.

Plantains are like a cousin to the banana, and depending on the ripeness you'll cook them in different ways. For this recipe, you'll want them pretty ripe (they should be browned and soft). My plantains could have used a few more days to ripen, but I couldn't wait, I needed to make this.

I spent many summers as a kid with Aunt and cousin who moved to paradise (Puerto Rico). Those were some of my best childhood memories and the food I ate their were some of my favorite meals. Pasteles, empanadillas, pernil – their food is like no other, and they cook with so much flavor, only sometimes they tend to be a little on the not-so-light side. But with a few tweaks I was able to make this dish lighter, I just used a little less oil to cook the plantain, and to further lighten it, I made the picadillo with turkey instead of beef, and part skim cheese and I think it's just as good as the real deal – without the extra fat. To serve this, I sliced it into 9 slices and served it with a big salad on the side and my husband and I felt totally satisfied.

This is delicious (and gluten-free!), and now that it's gone, I'm craving some more! I just bought more plantains and this time I'm letting them get really ripe. Enjoy!

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Grilled Shrimp Tostadas

Grilled shrimp, homemade guacamole, fat free refried beans and lettuce on top of a crispy tostada. Super easy and quick – you're going to love these!!

I've been dying to make share this shrimp tostada recipe with you guys and finally got around to photographing it. It's still hot enough this week to make these outside on the grill, but if you prefer to keep it indoors, just use a grill pan, you can make them all year round.

Seasoning the shrimp with salsa verde and crushed garlic is my secret to fabulous tasting shrimp. I discovered this from my friend Doreen, who also added sofrito to her shrimp and I just couldn't stop eating it. I didn't have sofrito, but it was just as good without. These are super filling, one is all you need! If you have a crowd, you can easily double or triple the recipe.
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Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Mango Salsa

Grilled chicken breast, seasoned with cumin and spices and topped with a fresh salsa made with sweet mango, protein-rich black beans and lots of lime and cilantro for flavor.

Let's face it, grilled chicken can be pretty boring, but not if you serve it with this zesty salsa. You may want to even make this salsa on it's own, it makes a fantastic dip if you serve it with chips – seriously good! Sometimes, I even throw in some diced avocado – yum!

This is perfect to make for a weeknight dinner, it's quick and light, high in fiber, protein, and gluten-free.
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The Best Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers

I set out to make a great tasting grilled portobello mushroom burger that even a meat lover would love. The mushrooms are marinated then grilled and topped with melted Swiss Cheese, grilled red onion,  tomatoes, spinach, and avocado – yum!!

The only thing my husband said would make these burgers better is adding bacon... maybe next time.
I wanted to give the mushrooms a meaty flavor, so I marinated them with balsamic, soy sauce and Montreal steak seasoning. These were so good, perfect for meatless Mondays or any night of the week.

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Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp Kebabs

Grilled shrimp on skewers seasoned with cumin, garlic and finished with fresh squeezed lime juice and cilantro.  

I use my grill all summer long, and since we LOVE Cilantro Lime Shrimp, I adapted for the grill. This would be perfect for back yard parties as an appetizer, or you can serve this for dinner for 4 people with cilantro lime rice, fiesta bean salad, a big garden salad with avocado, or whatever you desire.

Since making the salmon kebabs last week, I loved how the lemon wedges looked between the salmon chunks, so I thought it would be pretty to do the same with the lime here. Completely optional but if you decide to do this, keep in mind that the lime juice will begin to cook the shrimp if you prep these too far in advance.

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Easy Grilled Fish Fillet in Foil Packets

 

This super easy method for grilling fish is pretty foolproof, and you can use any fresh fish that's available to you in your area. It's almost 90 degrees today, which means I'm grilling tonight. In fact I use my outdoor grill just about every night in the summer to make quick, easy, healthy dinners.

Living on the east coast, I love to take full advantage of the fresh caught local fish available to me here on Long Island. Nothing is quite better than eating fish that came out of the ocean the same day! My local fishmonger suggested the Long Island porgy that was caught early that morning – delish! I asked him to fillet it for me, and I kept the skin on, just my personal  preference. Oh, the possibilities are endless when making fish in foil, you can add any fresh herbs you like, wine, garlic, shallots, whatever you like! I also do this in a 400 degree oven in the Fall and winter months.

When I do this outside on the gas grill, I cook the foil on indirect heat, which basically means I heat up one side of the grill with the cover closed so it gets good and hot, and keep the burners off on the other side. You can also do this with a charcoal grill with a cover, by leaving the coals on one side. The fish goes on the indirect side of the grill so that it cooks from the steam created in the foil. In about 10 minutes, the fish cooked to perfection. My whole family enjoys this, even my three year old.


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Grilled Pesto Chicken and Tomato Kebabs

These chicken kebobs just SCREAM summer, made with my skinny basil pesto and grape tomatoes. Serve this as an appetizer at your next backyard bash, or have them for dinner any night of the week with a great big salad or over pasta.

We grow sooo much basil in my garden all summer long, so I make a lot of pesto and use it so many ways. This is super easy and can be made a day ahead, in fact the longer it marinates the better! Doubling the skewers helps keep everything in place while grilling, and makes them easier to turn. I love how the tomatoes taste after they are grilled, and they smell just divine when they come off the grill. To make my pesto skinny, I use less oil and make it without the pine nuts – but it's still so flavorful you won't miss them! If you're having this for dinner, I would serve 2 skewers, rather than one with salad or grilled veggies on the side.

These are gluten free, inexpensive, low-carb, clean and simple. If you want to make them paleo, you can leave out the parmesan and swap it for pine nuts. If you love pesto as much as we do, you may also love Skinny Chicken Pesto Bake, Grilled Pesto Shrimp Skewers, or this delicious Eggplant Panini with Pesto – so good!!

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Grilled Salmon Kebabs

These lovely grilled salmon and lemon kabobs are delicious and easy to make – with mega omegas in every bite! Seasoned with fresh herbs, lemon, and spices and grilled to perfection.

This was last night's supper, it was a beautiful night and we ate outdoors, oh how I love summer! I served this with a great big garden salad and everyone loved them – including my 3 year old which was a happy surprise for me.

I have so much oregano growing in my garden and I'm always looking for ways to use it. I came across this recipe on Bon Appetit and was intrigued because I would never think to combine cumin and oregano with sesame seeds. I also loved how the lemon sliced looked between each cube of salmon. This was fantastic and I plan on making lots of variations of this all summer long.


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Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Yakitori

I love these Japanese inspired grilled chicken and zucchini skewers marinated with yakitori sauce and threaded onto bamboo sticks with green onions. They are perfect as an appetizer if you're having a backyard bash this summer, or you can turn it into a meal any night of the week served with rice, salad or more vegetables.

Yakitori reminds me of my college days in Soho living on a student budget. Me and my BFF Gabbie used to meet 3 to 4 times a week after class at this cute little Japanese restaurant in the Village where paper origami birds hung from the ceiling and Japanese music played in the background. I didn't have much money then, so I usually ordered the chicken yakitori off the appetizer menu which always came with white rice... a perfectly good meal when you're broke.

Now days I can make it myself, and although this could certainly serve a crowd as an appetizer, I still like to eat them for dinner like I did back in my college days. I also like to add some zucchini to my skewers so I'm grilling my veggies at the same time. As for the chicken, I prefer dark meat to white so I use Perdue Fit & Easy thighs, which calculates to a lot less points in recipe builder than generic thighs (I'm assuming because the generic isn't trimmed of all fat? Not sure!) You could also use chicken breast if you prefer white meat. Only one tiny issue I had was it makes 14 chicken skewers, so to divide that in 4 servings, you are going to get 3 1/2 skewers. Oh well, you'll just have to share!! There's plenty of marinade left if you want to make more chicken or zucchini.

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Grilled Thai Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Pizza

Move over hot dogs, this sweet and spicy shrimp grilled pizza made with my Bangin' Good Shrimp recipe is so good!

I've had my eye on Archer Farms thin crust pizza crust for a while and thought it would be perfect to make on the grill, so when Target's A Bullseye View asked me to create a guest post for their blog, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.

Being part of the Target Inner Circle I get to attend some really fun events. A few weeks ago Target set up a life sized dollhouse in the middle of Grand Central Station decorated with their Threshold home collection, how COOL is that??!

It was incredible to see this giant dollhouse in the middle of one of the busiest places in NYC!

My favorite part was their outdoor area, especially their ottomans and tables. When I went to Target to pick up all the ingredients for this pizza, I found this adorable bistro table on sale for $199 and picked up some Threshold lanterns, pillows and ottomans... LOVE!!

These ottomans make the backyard feel like an extended part of my home. But more about the pizza, for 8 servings it's just under 300, or 8 weight watchers points plus each. If you want to try this yummy pizza recipe, head on over to A Bullseye View for the full recipe.

Servings: 8 • Size: 1/4 pizza • Old Points: 6 pts • Weight Watcher Points+: 8 pt
Calories: 293 • Fat: 9 g • Carb: 30 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 21 g • Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 388 mg • Cholest: 96 mg

Grilled Hawaiian Teriyaki Burger

If you're looking for a new way to enjoy a burger, then I think you'll love this Hawaiian inspired teriyaki burger made with Laura's Lean ground beef, carrots, scallions and topped with a homemade pineapple teriyaki sauce and a grilled pineapple.

Last weekend I spent four days in Disney World with my husband and youngest daughter Madison. I attended the Food Blog Forum which was truly inspirational, and we stayed at the Grand Floridian Resort which was a lovely place to stay. One of those nights we ate dinner at the Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort, where I had a delicious teriyaki steak topped with pineapple; which was the inspiration for this burger recipe.
 

I did a little research into what goes into a Hawaian teriyaki sauce, and after reading many recipes I came up with my own version which was so good, this will certainly be a regular. You could of course buy teriyaki marinade to speed this up, but making it from scratch tastes sooo much better.

I'm a huge fan of Laura's Lean Beef, because it's low in fat and saturated fat, and free of hormones and antibiotics, which is important to me when choosing meat. Their beef is available in many supermarkets, and I even found it at Target. I'm also running a giveaway over at Skinny Bits for two $25 vouchers so if you haven't tried Laura's Lean Beef, here's your chance (click link for giveaway)

And I just have to share this contraption that easily cuts pineapple into perfect rings. My girlfriend Gabbie bought this for me a few years ago, and I love it; it's called the Pineapple Easy Slicer. It's simple to use and it's awesome. If you prefer canned pineapple, be sure it's packed in juice and not syrup.

By the way, this is also great without the bun if you're watching your carbs, just serve it on a bed of lettuce and drizzle the teriyaki sauce on top. Without the bun, the burgers are Weight Watchers 6 points plus.

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Grilled Harrisa Lamb Chops

I love the Mediterranean flavors of these grilled lamb loin chops marinated with fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin and harissa.

We LOVE lamb chops in my house; I probably make them twice a month but I wanted to try something different and use up my jar of Mina Harissa so I thought it would be fantastic marinated over these lamb chops (and I was right). I served this with a simple salad and made my skinny tzaziki to go along with it put you can also serve this with pilaf on the side for a quick light Mediterranean inspired meal.

If you don't like lamb I'm sure this would be a great marinade on a lean steak such as flank.

Calculating loin lamb chops are a little tricky because they only provide you the nutrition for the meat, and since these are on the bone, I cut a few chops off the bone to see what the meat weighed and found the bone weighed about 1 oz, so I subtracted 8 oz from the total weight since I'm not eating the bone. My chops weren't very large and sizes will vary so you may want to weigh yours to be accurate.

If you don't have a grill or grill pan, you can also cook them in a skillet or under the broiler. Enjoy!

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Skinny Chicken Fajitas

Lean strips of chicken breast, bell peppers and onions served sizzling hot with warm tortillas and shredded cheese. If this is your idea of delicious, you are not alone!

My husband Tommy is a creature of habit; anytime we go out for Mexican he always orders chicken fajitas. In fact when we went to Mexico a few years ago, he may have ordered them almost every night! I find that amusing because I get really bored of eating the same thing twice, and tend to always take a chance and try something completely new to me.

But chicken fajitas are a regular in my home, we make them at least once a month and the whole family enjoys them. My younger daughter Madison likes her bell peppers raw, so I chop some up and just set them aside for her and cut up the chicken. You can make the whole thing outside on the grill using a cast iron skillet to cook the peppers and onions as we usually do in the summer, or you can cook this indoors in a skillet. Enjoy!

This recipe was from the archives, but I made some minor changes to the original, and found those cute fajita cast iron skillets and tortilla warmers at Target by Imusa (a brand I love for Latin cookware), which was the perfect excuse for a new photo. They really make you feel like you're having a fiesta!!! I may need to buy this tortilla press next!

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Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw

It's 80° today, perfect day for grilling so I thought I would highlight this recipe from the archives. Turkey burgers with a cayenne pepper kick! Here's a fun way to turn boring turkey burgers into something with a little more exciting. If you're a buffalo wing fan, you'll love the flavors in this turkey burger topped with a broccoli slaw tossed with my very own homemade blue cheese dressing.

Someone recently emailed me and gave me this idea, she took my zucchini turkey burger recipe and dipped it in hot sauce after. I decided to add it to the turkey meat instead, and figured you can always serve more on the side if you wish!

And by the way, there's carrots in these burgers but I promise, you can't even tell. It's a great way to add more fiber and vegetables into your diet whether it's for yourself or your family.

I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy food, so Frank's hot sauce is perfect for my taste, but if you really like it hot you could use Tabasco or your favorite cayenne hot sauce.

To make these burgers gluten free, you can sub the breadcrumbs for gluten-free oats.


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Grilled Shrimp Avocado Fennel and Orange Salad

Grilled shrimp, slices of avocado, shaved fennel and oranges are served over baby kale and mixed greens then topped with a citrus vinaigrette.

Spring is here, although today you would never know it with this crazy cold weather we are having in New York, but my allergies are kicking in to high gear and confirming that Spring is hear indeed. Just a few more weeks before the warmer weather approaches and I already started switching up my meals from those cozy comfort dishes to lighter salads.

This recipe is for my friend Raquel who texts me photos of her fancy dishes she eats when she dines out, then asks me how to make it. I told her I would try to recreate it for her, but wasn't too excited about the idea of fennel. Because she raved about it so much, I bought all the ingredients anyway and to my surprise, the fennel didn't bother me at all! I think the trick is that I shaved it real thin with my mandoline, and I loved the way it paired with the citrus and the grilled shrimp.

I felt like I was eating dinner at a fancy-shmancy restaurant, and kept thinking what a great dish this would be for Mother's Day. My daughter Madison (yes, my three year old) enjoyed the salad too believe it or not! Here she is on Easter, she's getting so big...

She liked everything except the avocado and baby greens, but ate all the shrimp, oranges and fennel, go figure! I packed the rest for lunch and leftovers tasted just as good as yesterday.

This salad is light and delicious, less than 300 calories, and perfect for Weight Watchers, Clean Eating, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, Low-Sodium and I'm sure others dietary restrictions I'm not familiar with. I am starting to label all the Clean Eating and Paleo recipes from my site for those of you who asked for this, you can see them in the column on the right. I have a lot to go through so it will take a while to get through them all.

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