How to make a quick, simple and easy chicken club salad

Eugene and I have recently resolved to live a healthier life style.

We've been frequenting the gym together (he just got his first membership, woohoo!), limiting how our fast food runs and trying to make healthier choices at home. Even though recently I've recently become a raging crave monster for all things Honey Pig.. Like. Every day. But anyway- We're trying to be healthier.

Today is Day 3. (haha.. baby steps, people.)

I've also been trying to make more food at home. We started eating breakfast more regularly- which usually consists of toast, avocado, an over easy egg and sriracha. I'm also trying to do a better job at packing him lunch! During the school year, I wouldn't see him for days at a time, and I never knew if he was gonna be home for lunch or for dinner so it was hard to cook regularly. Now that it's summer and he has a more predictable schedule - I should have no more excuses.

This is a salad I frequent quite often. It's really quick and easy to prepare - and it is so tasty!  I taylor it to my husband's liking - so you are more than welcome to embellish it in your own fine way.

 The key to this lunch salad is to try not to bring in too many steps in preparing it.  Especially if you're on a tight schedule or you only have a few minutes in the morning to whip something up - you want to make life as convenient as possible.  The steps included in preparing this salad is:

• Take prewashed spinach out of bag - place into lunch container
• Open package of Trader Joe's grilled chicken breast - lay a few strips on bed of spinach.
• Quickly rinse cherry tomatoes and pat dry.
• Peel and slice avocado  - you can even just leave the avocado as a half and skip the slicing step
• Hard boil a few eggs - peel, place one or two with the salad. (I usually pre-boil a few at a time and save it in the fridge in a ziplock bag! They're usually good for a few days at least!)
• Choose salad dressing - package it and keep it separate until lunch time.
• I usually never pre-mix my dressing with the salad, lest the veggies get soggy. 

In less than 5 minutes (minus the egg boiling time), your salad is packed and ready!

 

 I will usually just pour a tablespoon of the dressing on a medium-sized piece of seram wrap and twist all the edges together. The easiest way to open this "dressing package" is to bite a small hole directly on the dressing bag and squirt it into the salad right before eating. (sorry for my lack of professional lingo haha)

 

And just in case you didn't know - trader Joe's has the best salad dressing. Actually, they have the best EVERYTHING. I love trader Joes.

 

Cheers to healthy lunches and happy tummies!

XOXO

Happy May!

Hello!

It's been over a month since our last update - and a lot has happened since then.

Just to update you guys - I left the "new job" that I had started last month and actually went back to my old job. It was a bit crazy leaving and starting back again but I am soo much happier now!! I learned that grass is not always greener on the other side. Let's just say I will never take my job for granted again. :)

Eugene is finishing up his finals week and these last few weeks have been really, really crazy for him. He's been stressed, overwhelmed and extremely sleep deprived (he pulled another all nighter last night!)- but he's been surviving! I'm so proud of how he's been handling all the stuff going on these last few weeks - and we even got to eat a meal together today! Hooray!! He will be ending his first year of Pharmacy school on Monday and I can't WAIT! Sometimes, I think I am even more excited than he is... although he would disagree. :) Other than that, we've been keeping ourselves busy, anticipating the precious free time Eugene will have this summer and preparing ourselves for yet another transition...and no, I'm not pregnant... just in case it sounded that way.

These days I've been learning to be content in all circumstances. It gets hard sometimes when I'm not able to see Eugene for a whole week or when the only way I can spend time with him is to follow him wherever he goes to study.  I've had a lot more alone time in these last four months than I've ever had in my whole life but God's been teaching me that He is purposeful in every season of our lives.  It's been awesome to see how God has opened up so many opportunities for me to get more involved at work and at church because of the extra time I have without my husband home all the time. This is but a season in our lives and in our marriage- and I would hate to look back at this time and wish I had spent it more productively and fruitfully. How precious this alone time will be when we have kids to feed and bathe and soothe, etc!! All of my mommy friends tell me what a break it is when they're able to go to Target without the kids... yikes. :) I better take as much advantage of this free time while I have it! I'm trying to make a list of things I want to learn/do before this alone time becomes nonexistent. So far my "Things to learn and do before Eugene finishes school and we start (hopefully) having kids" list includes:

• Learn Spanish, Chinese and sign language.
• Learn how to play guitar and piano (Eugene said I could take lessons!!)
• Learn at least 10 praise songs on the piano
• Learn how to sew baby clothes with my sewing machine (I want to take a class at Joann's and learn how to use my sewing machine the right way - and not depend on youtube videos)
• Take a hip hop class (or a musical theater class) Don't judge me haha
• Compile a book a tried and true recipes - especially quick and easy slow cooker recipes
• Train for a 5K and maybe even a half marathon (YIKES! Eugene and I want to do this during the summer!)
• Make a baby blanket (Currently in progress!) and learn how to make a quilt
• Write more poems (and maybe hymns!)
• Learn how to make different kinds of banchan (korean side dishes) from my mom!
• Go on more medical missions

So as you can see, I have some ambitious goals here. Hopefully this will keep me busy for the next three years. :) Although it's challenging at times, I'm thankful for this season that God has given us in our life and marriage. We are constantly learning what it means to depend on Him for strength and grace to get through the day, to be steadfast in prayer, to communicate with each other in any/every way possible no matter how busy we are and to really live sacrificially and unconditionally for each other.

Plus -- it keeps things fresh! Because our time together is so infrequent, I get so squealy and excited and girly when I get to spend time with Eugene. I even get butterflies sometimes!!!

Only a few days left.... gotta finish strong!

 

Clearly, we are so happy and excited to be studying together!

And now I leave you with some extremely attractive pictures of us.

 

 

Toodles!

Give thanks: spending time with PA, Tina & Silas this weekend!!!!, God's faithfulness at Berean Peninsula, God's grace to Eugene in helping him persevere through finals, God's grace to me in teaching me how to love and serve Eugene during his finals week, 3 days til summer, good Chinese food, studying with Eugene, excitement for our new adventures ahead!