Eating fruit has been shown in scientific studies to be connected to a lower (ideal) body weight... with that in mind:

this is my idea for a salad

salad idea

purple cabbage, chopped
black beans
cilantro
tomato, chopped
red onion
avocado, chopped
corn
chopped mango

dressing:
lime juice, honey, olive oil
(maybe use frozen mango? let it thaw in the fridge?)

***edit****

so I JUST made some of this.  I found an amazing ripe mango at New Leaf, and I added a scallion and some garlic.  I think it will be even better after it sits in the fridge for a bit to let the flavors blend, but I couldn't wait so i'm eating some now!

so in reference to this post

http://weigh2gobd.blogspot.com/2012/03/frozen-cherries.html

where i shared my smoothie recipe

i was guessing that cherries have the same benefits as chocolate...  i googled it again and turns out chocolate, green tea, red wine... all have catechins...  and so do cherries!

:)

Mom's broccoli salad

raw broccoli broken into little florets (2 lb?)
white cheddar cheese (medium or sharp) (6 oz?) diced small
dried cranberries (1 cup?)
toasted pecans (1 cup?) chopped or broken
red onions (1/2 large??) chopped small
yogurt (1 c?) & frozen oj (1/4 c?) , and some mayo (1/4c?), for dressing

frozen cherries - smoothie

I have been adding frozen cherries from cascadian farms to my smoothies and they are SO GOOD.  I don't eat chocolate because of the caffeine (and I guess sugar and fat too) but I think the cherries have some of the antioxidants that chocolate has because I get the same good feelings after eating them that I do from chocolate.  They are SO GOOD!  I almost feel guilty about how good they are, but why?  They are "health food" Right?

:)

More cherries, please!

I googled it, and cherries contain anthycyanins 1 and 2, healthy antioxidants not contained in blueberries (from the red color) - no wonder I like them so much!  Good to get that dark red in there!

yay!

:)

Here's what I put in my smoothie:

banana, frozen cherries, NF milk, whey protein powder, peanut butter, carob powder

the peanut butter and carob powder make it taste sweet and rich (as does the whey powder) so it's like drinking a healthy milkshake!

:)

Kale Soup

I made a "soup-er" delicious soup the other day and I just wanted to write down the recipe for it.  A suggestion was posted at New Leaf above the kale, and I just filled it out.

-Kale
-White beans
-Potatoes
-Turkey
-Low sodium chicken broth
-Parsley (from my garden!)
-garlic
-grated carrot
-mushrooms
-barley (what the new leaf recipe suggested) OR
-brown rice (what I used) and it turned out tasty

I think this was everything in it...  It tasted amazing...  the potatoes gave the broth a nice creamy taste and I always feel virtuous eating beans.  I think it was good for weight loss too because it had lots of healthy veggies in it, not too much salt, and the turkey helps with sleep.

:)

EDIT:

the 2nd time making this I am thinking this would be better with adding a caramelized white onion and some chopped celery.