Pick of the week....

Happy Halloween!  I'm glad it's come and gone!  Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays.  It has nothing to do with the amount of candy my four kids bring home. ( Well, maybe a little bit of that, my willpower is not what it used to be!) I don't like the pressure of the costumes.  We usually wait until the last minute and throw something together.  This year, surprisingly enough, my 3 younger kids had decent costumes that we planned ahead.  The oldest threw a sheet over his head and decided 5 minutes before we had to take him to a party to be a ghost. A little chaos, stress, etc.  Maybe next year we'll really have it mastered and all four will be planned in time.  Probably not....

I plan on eating lean this week because of my lack of willpower these days.  My favorite go to salad that is filling and delicious is my pick of the week.  Make it ahead of time and  this recipe will produce three days worth of salad.  It's from one of my favorite cookbooks, Clean Slate.

Beet, Avocado, and Arugula Salad

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BIG BATCH

• 2 beets, peeled and grated or thinly sliced
• 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 1 English cucumber, seeded, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions (green parts only), thinly sliced

FOR EACH SERVING

• 1 packed cup baby arugula
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds, toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, toss beets, celery, cucumber, and scallions.
2. To serve, toss 2 cups slaw with arugula, oil, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Top with avocado and seeds.

(I use canned beets that have no sodium and rinse and drain them.)

Enjoy!!

Best, Donna