One Teaspoon From Disaster

It's "officially" summer now, but come on. We've been feelin' it for awhile now. It's way to hot to turn the oven on and even standing over the grill doesn't sound like that great of an alternative.

Rummaging through my recipe box yielded quite a few no-heat, yet delicious, recipes.

The chicken salad in an all-time favorite and I like to serve it in a lettuce cup. (Seems more special.) This fruit salad is also wonderful, thanks to the ginger. And the banana smoothie is no slouch either. (Don't worry if you don't have the wheat germ. That's just a little health bonus.)

Basic chicken salad
Ingredients:
½ c. reduced-fat mayo
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
¾ C. unsalted almonds, sliced in half
1 C. grapes, sliced in half
1 rotisserie-cooked chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces

Directions:
Bake almonds until lightly toasted. Then, mix ingredients well, adding chicken in last. Serve on lettuce leaves, croissant, bread or alone.

Ginger citrus fruit salad
Ingredients:
Fresh fruit, diced or small slices
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
dash of cinnamon
Directions:
Stir ingredients together and pour over fruit, tossing to lightly coat each piece.

Citrus-Banana Smoothie
2 Tbsp. Wheat germ
2 medium bananas, cut in one-inch slices
1 C. unsweetened orange juice
1 C. plain low-fat yogurt
4 ice cubes
In a blender, process wheat germ until finely ground. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.