A Weekend of Nothing but Doing Good, Being Well, & Eating Right!

So this happened to be a rare weekend filled with absolutely nothing fancy planned for the family to do, participate in, attend, dress to the 9's for, etc., and gosh was I excited about that!  Don't get me wrong...the previous weekends have been wonderful, but the Holidays can be quite exhausting with all the hustle and bustle that surrounds the beautifully crazy Season. I mean, Thanksgiving was grand & gratifying, Christmas was blessed & lovely, and New Year's was bright & festive, and all were delicious as usual, but it's just non-stop partying and eating for a good month and a half.  So I was appreciative for a weekend of nothing.

Well, honestly, there is ALWAYS something to do at my house on the weekend, namely reminding the Girlies to share & play nicely, asking the dear Hubby to tackle the "honey do" list, and constant tidying of the house by Me, as well as contemplating the bane of my existence~laundry~and constantly heading in and out of the laundry room.  So, I guess this weekend was one of lots to do, but at least it wasn't a hectic Holiday event, and we all even got to sleep in, watch some rented movies, plan our Spring Break vacation, and I more importantly returned to cooking some quick, easy, and yummy meals. So all in all, it was a lovely, relaxing, normal weekend at home with my favorite lovies and activities...yes, even doing the laundry.

Overall, I really loved how normal, relaxed, clean, and healthy this weekend was.  Maybe the look of this weekend had something to do with my renewed sense of calm following the hectic schedule of holiday party after holiday party after holiday party and my little family's concerted effort to be team players all weekend.  Maybe I am just psyched about starting 2011 with a clean slate.  But I feel confident that this will be my year to do good, be well, and eat right.  I think the dinner I prepared for Sunday's food offerings lends itself to my new mantra.  I wanted to prepare something quick & easy, yummy & pleasing, so I decided on Apricot Ginger Glazed Broiled Salmon, Edamame, & Brown Rice:

I must admit, this was quite a lovely and healthy meal, nothing fancy, nor quite Michelin star worthy, but certainly tasty & satisfying.  And when picky Elena and the rest of the family of eaters deem even a taste of the plate "very very very good,"  that's better than any gourmet award out there.  So in order for you to make a healthy and delicious meal like that seen above, find yourself a nice filet of salmon at your local fishmonger, massage is touch of extra virgin olive oil and season with a combo of salt/pepper/dried thyme or a ready-to-use seasoning such as:

Broil the salmon at 450*F for 15 minutes.  Once done pour the prepared Apricot Ginger Glaze using ingredients such as:

Apricot Ginger Glaze = 1 cup of apricot preserves
a couple of dashes of soy sauce
a couple of dashes of worcestershire sauce
a couple shakes of salt/pepper/dried thyme or your fave salmon seasoning
approximately 1 tsp or so of grated fresh ginger
(courtesy of hubby Alex & his web searches for a glaze similar to the one described above)

Remember to return the freshly glazed salmon back to the broiler just for a 1 minute or 2 melt the flavor into the fish. (Even lovelier, is that the seasonings and glaze work wonderfully on pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, scallops, and other fish...so versatile the ingredients, all yummy in the tummy the result.)  And to make things even easier for food prep/accompaniment purposes, I partnered the salmon with the following Trader Joe's delicious must-haves: Frozen/Fully Cooked Edamame (I just steam for less than 5 minutes to bring them back to edible life) and Organic Brown Rice (which can come to fruition following a quick whirl in the microwave for a mere 3 minutes).  And there you have it.  See...nothing fancy, but rather healthy and delicious.

I did well in choosing ingredients that were easy to make and nutritious to eat...I feel well, even wonderful, after a meal that me and my little family enjoyed...I certainly ate right and helped myself and my family choose healthy options for this dinner.  I'm very happy this normal weekend of nothing gave me sooooo much inspiration for the year ahead.  I hope I inspired you to also do good, be well, and eat right. Enjoy!