Healthy Eating Plan?!

Friends, my husband agreed to embark with me this week on a "healthy eating plan!" Yes, to some of you that is actually called a DIET. However, I heard someone recently state that it is all about your mindset when you set out on a diet, and even just the thought of being on a diet scares most of us into not doing it. Now, please hear me accurately: I LOVE me some baked goods and decadent desserts. Puhleeese! You know that about me already! Yet, the pants are getting snug due to lack of exercise and some major over-indulging, so it was time to get healthy again before the holidays arrive. We have found that if we are consistent exercisers and practice general moderation, we can pretty much enjoy what we want without too much guilt. It is that lack of exercise (thanks to grad school and a super hot summer in Houston) that got me into a rut, so I need to take off a few pounds AND head back out to my favorite running course.

So, one should always listen to their hairdresser, right? I can remember sharing many woes of lumps and bulges we women carry with my hairdresser back in Dallas.Years ago I went in for a trim and boy, did she ever look trim. She shared with me an eating plan from Men's Health Magazine that she had gone on that is supposed to jump start weight loss, get your metabolism going, and is easy to follow and stick with because it is a lot of healthy food, packed with fiber to fill you up. She shared it with me and it has become our "go to" plan for getting into gear. I don't have the exact amounts, but generally if you are practicing discretion you can figure that out, so I'm outlining the plan below:
Breakfast: oatmeal and a banana
Mid-morning snack: apple
Lunch: green vegetable, small grilled chicken breast (size of deck of cards), brown rice
Mid-afternoon snack: celery sticks with 2 Tbsp peanut butter (I eat the chunky - yum!)
Dinner: fish (not batter fried!), green salad, green vegetable
Dessert: mixed berries (week 1 only)

Now, I don't know all that much about cooking fish and it is not something we honestly eat all that often, which is why this post got created, because I got creative. I want to share with you our dinner from Tuesday night which was absolutely delicious and a creative way to stick as close to this diet--ahem, excuse me, healthy eating plan--as possible. I'm truly sorry I don't have all the exact measurements, but I know you can figure it out within reason based on my guidelines. Also, it calls for flavored olive oil and vinegar. If you don't have any of these, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? At present I have about 8 flavored vinegars and 6 oils in my kitchen. You need to start getting creative with the flavor combinations. I find my favorites at Oil & Vinegar in The Woodlands (near me here in Houston), but also purchased these used from The Olive Branch when they were in town recently for the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show.  Enjoy!

Mahi Mahi w/Broccoli Slaw and Edamame


frozen mahi mahi filets from Costco - thawed
butter & olive oil for sauteing 
1 bag broccoli slaw
1 bag frozen edamame, shelled
1 red bell pepper chopped
toasted almonds
flavored olive oil (Meyer Lemon)
flavored vinegar (Peach White Balsamic)
salt & pepper to taste


1) Drizzle oil and one small pat butter in pan and heat until hot, then saute thawed fish fillets about 3 minutes on each side. Check with quick-read thermometer for adequate cooking: internal temp of minimum of 145 degrees F per USFDA.
2) Thoroughly thaw edamame and/or microwave for a few minutes to desired temperature (some people like them cold!). I used my Tupperware steamer with a bit a water for a few minutes in the microwave.
3) Mix broccoli slaw, edamame, and red bell pepper in large salad bowl. 
4) Whisk together oil and vinegar. The magic ratio here is 3 to 1: 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. I made enough for about a cup, but depending on your taste, less may be more.
5) Add almonds and 3/4 oil/vinegar mixture to salad and toss. Add salt & pepper to taste.
6) Serve fish atop mixed salad and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette - delicious! 
OK, so I know it was a bit outside the boundaries of our framed "healthy eating" prescribed plan, but not enough to matter. This dish was made up on the fly and couldn't be healthier.