Avocado Quinoa Salad and Buttered Cod

I love cod! But I find that the more intricate the recipe, the worse it tastes, because it hides the naturally wonderful taste of cod. This simple way to cook cod yields a succulent and flavorful fillet.
Serve cod with this tasty and nutritious Quinoa Salad. I honestly didn't think my meat loving husband would care much for the Quinoa Salad, but he loved it!


Avocado Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup dry Quinoa
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped roma tomato
1 cup spinach leaves
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
1 avocado sliced

Bring water and dry Quinoa to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 11 minutes. Mix together Quinoa, red onion, tomato, and red onion. In a bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and a little salt- stir into Quinoa mixture. Season with salt and pepper-serve over slices of avocado.

One pound Cod (about 3 fillets)
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper

Simple Buttered Halibut
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place cod fillet on top. Melt about 1/4 cup butter (for 3 cod fillets) and spread on both sides of the cod. Salt and pepper both sides. Bake for about 8 minutes covered with foil, and another 10 minutes uncovered- until cod flakes off easily, do not over bake or it will be dry.

Blueberry Banana Power Smoothie

I have been experimenting with power smoothies lately, and this is one of my successful smoothie recipes that give you lots of energy and keeps you full because it's loaded with protein. Spinach may sound odd in a smoothie, but it's a great way to make sure you get all your servings of vegetables in for the day.
Also, my digestive system can't handle lots of raw vegetables, so if you are a

person who is sensitive to raw fruits and vegetables smoothies are a lot easier for the human body to digest.

Makes: 1 serving
1 very ripe banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup fresh spinach
1 tbs flax seed
1/2 cup unsweetened Greek yogurt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Place in blender or magic bullet and blend until smooth.
*I recently bought a magic bullet, and it's my new favorite appliance! It's so easy to make a smoothie for one, because you can blend it right into the cup your going to drink out of. It's fast, and virtually no clean up!

Best Pesto

My aunt gave me this recipe, and it really is the best pesto I have ever had. The secret is to use a few walnuts instead of all pine nuts (not to mention it's cheaper).

Makes: 1 1/2 to 2 cups
2 cups packed fresh basil
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup walnut meats
1 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine basil, garlic, pine nuts, and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until basil is chopped, add olive oil in a steady steam while food processor is running until a paste is formed. Scrape down container, and add Parmesan cheese, combine. Refrigerate up to three weeks, or pour into ice cube trays, transfer to a bag and freeze.
*If you have a magic bullet you can also combine all ingredients together, and adding olive oil in a few batches at the end*

If you are looking for new ways to use pesto I highly recommend adding a couple tbs of pesto to some healthy Quinoa. I also like to mix half pesto, half mayo together instead of plain mayo on my sandwiches.

*Quinoa was once called the "gold of the Incas." And it's no wonder: it's a whole grain; and a complete protein, making it a great choice for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus.