Island Style Potato Mac Salad and Other Healthy Summer Salads


July 4 is nearly here! Like all summer celebrations, July 4 can be tricky terrain to navigate if you're trying to eat healthy or even lose weight. Whether you're hosting the get-together yourself or taking a dish to a potluck event, try one of our favorite strategies for eating right anytime, anywhere: Make sure you have plenty of healthy options. In this case, plan ahead and prepare healthy side dishes for a sure-fire way to lighten your summer.

For this month’s featured recipe we chose our Island Style Potato Mac Salad because it satisfies a craving for one of America's favorite July 4 and barbecue sides -- potato salad -- while still keeping it light enough for anyone who is counting calories or watching their weight. Using shirataki noodles instead of traditional, carb-heavy and calorie-laden pasta, our healthy potato salad recipe with island flair is just as tasty as any regular version but has only a fraction of the calories and carbohydrates.

Island Style Potato Mac Salad
Ingredients:
  • 1 8 oz package Skinny Noodles Macaroni

  • 2 C potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sizes pieces

  • 1 boiled egg, cooled and chopped

  • 2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 C grated carrots
  • 

1/3 C cooked green peas (optional)
  • 
1/2 C light mayonnaise

  • 1 tsp yellow mustard

  •  Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Rinse and drain Skinny Noodles Macaroni, microwave on high for 1 minute. Drain liquid and set aside to cool. Cook potatoes until fork-tender; drain, set aside to cool. In a separate bowl combine egg, onions, carrot, peas (if desired), mayonnaise and mustard. Fold in cooled potatoes and Skinny Noodles Macaroni. Mix in salt and pepper to taste; cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. May require more salt. Serve chilled.
Makes 4 serving.
Per Serving (without optional ingredients): 194 calories, 11g fat, 63mg cholesterol, 21g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 3g protein
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 5

Visit us at www.getskinnynoodles.com to learn more about shirataki noodles and shirataki rice, get cooking tips, and explore all of our shirataki noodles recipes!

Looking for more healthy salad options to make your summer buffets delicious and healthy? Try one of these two other terrific options:

by TwoPeasandTheirPod
Who could resist this festive salsa?

by SkinnyTaste
Did someone say Greek dip? Opa!



The Secret to a Slimmer Summer

Summer officially begins June 21, but unofficially starts Memorial Day weekend. That means (gasp!) summer is here. It's time to take off the sweater, put on a pair of shorts, or maybe even a bathing suit. While many of us dread showing more skin, summer is also a terrific time to get energized -- to get outside, get active, and start eating lighter and healthier. If you'd like to slim down this summer, many weight loss experts recommend focusing on one key factor when planning meals: Fiber.

Why is fiber so important to weight loss? According to Web MD, healthy foods that are high in fiber help you feel full, which means you are less likely to overeat. Not only are you less likely to eat more than you should at meals, but you are less likely to snack between meals. Fibrous foods also take longer to chew, which gives your brain more time to figure out you're full.

Tanya Zuckerbrot, © Instagram.com/F_Factor
Tanya Zuckerbrot, a registered dietitian and author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss and the The Miracle Carb Diet: Make Calories & Fat Disappear — With Fiber discovered the fiber and weight loss connection when she was working with cardiac patients and diabetics early in her career. She noticed her patients not only improved their clinical conditions by following a fiber-rich diet, but also lost weight too. Her eating plans allow for eating foods with carbohydrates if they are also high in fiber. Get Tanya's recipe for Miracle Carb Diet Risotto here.

http://www.getskinnynoodles.com/miracle-carb-diet-risotto_a/275.htm
Tanya Zuckerbrot's Miracle Carb Diet Risotto


The Nutrition Twins, © Instagram.com/nutritiontwins
When you're planning summer meals to help you slim down, stock up on plenty of whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. The Nutrition Twins, Tammy Lakatos Shames and Lyssie Lakatos, are nationally recognized registered dietitian nutritionists and personal trainers with 15 years of experience. They've also written the book on incorporating healthy fiber-rich veggies into your menus: The Nutrition Twins' Veggie Cure. They say everyone should love fiber because "it fills you up without calories, it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and it helps to prevent constipation." What to eat when you want to lose weight but also feel like a bottomless pit? Vegetables and other fiber-rich foods. Get Nutrition Twins' recipe for Skinny Cold Kale Noodle Salad here (can be made with Skinny Noodles Spaghetti or Angel Hair).

Skinny Cold Kale Noodle Salad


Roni Noone, © RonisWeigh.com
Countless weight loss bloggers write about the benefits of fiber. Roni Noone, popular weight loss and healthy lifestyle blogger and now author of What You Can When You Can: Healthy Living on Your Terms says one of her favorite ways to make food lighter and healthier at home is bulking up dishes with extra fiber-rich ingredients like vegetables. She suggests using fiber-rich veggies more as a base for meals rather than as a side. She says, "It decreases calories while increasing serving size and it adds fabulous flavor!" Chop up extra mushrooms, toss in fresh spinach, or add onions for example. Roni offers many more ideas for healthy meals on her website, greenlitebites.com.

Spicy Chickpeas & Shirataki Noodles, © greenlitebites.com

If you want to have your healthiest summer yet, focus on fiber. Most people don’t reach the daily recommendations -- 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. Make reaching those recommendation a goal, get active at least 20 minutes a day, watch the weight fall off and your overall health and well-being improve. That's a recipe for a super summer!

Visit us at www.getskinnynoodles.com to learn more about shirataki noodles and shirataki rice, get cooking tips, and to explore all of our shirataki noodles and shirataki rice recipes! Made from the Asian konnyaku or konjac root, shirataki noodles and shirataki rice are naturally good sources of fiber. Each variety of Skinny Noodles contains 3-4 grams of fiber per serving.