"Dinna dinna dinna dinna, broccoli errywhere!"

I'm still patiently waiting for my 21 Day Fix to come in the mail. In the meantime, my amazing friends (Nicole, Liz) have been inspiring me to start trying out healthy recipes.

So today I went on a little fridge-revamp spree!!!

I decided to go to the grocery store closest to our apartment (off-base) called MaxValu. There are a lot of things that the commissary on base has that the Japanese grocery stores don't, but the fruits, veggies, and seafood are so much more fresh that it's worth it. I'll probably have to pick up some grains and seasoning on base but we are definitely set for the week with fruits, veggies, and meat.

Now, let me be clear, I'm NOT a bargain shopper. I aspire to be one, but I'm pretty bad at it. I look and grab...it's a problem, I know. Despite that, I think I didn't do so bad today!

This was all under 10,000 yen (roughly $100) and I splurged a little on fruit (which can be expensive here depending on the kind) and a few other things.

So this week will be healthy recipe testing week! I'm thinking since I haven't actually started the program yet and something I make tastes like poop we can still order a pizza (hahaha just kidddingggggg [maybe]).

On today's menu is baked salmon with a garlic Dijon sauce. I'm also going to throw some brown rice and basic blanched broccoli on the side for John, and a tomato and cucumber salad for me. John hates tomatoes and cucumbers, which is ridiculous, but I love him anyway. Keep in mind that the portion sizes here are probably a bit more than I'll be having on the 21 Day Fix.

Here's how it turned out:

Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of John's broccoli (bummmmerrrr) because he had to run to work.

Here's the recipe for the salmon:

You will need:

2 salmon fillets

2 tsp Dijon mustard (5 calories per tsp)

a pinch of garlic flakes or powder

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. I'm using a glass pan, and I greased the bottom with 1 tsp olive oil, using the other to rub down the fillets. Season one side with salt and pepper and flip. Put the mustard on the other side, then sprinkle the garlic powder over that as well as a bit more salt and pepper if you like. Bake for 15 minutes or until flaky.

(Fun fact, John took most of these pics and it would drive him pretty crazy to see that white space before the last pic.)

My cucumber tomato salad is literally chopped up cucumbers and tomatoes sprinkled with salt so that's pretty straightforward. You can also add a tsp of oil and splash of vinegar to dress it up.

Blanching broccoli is pretty easy. All you have to do is bring a pot of water (throw some salt in there too) to a boil. Have a bowl of cold water nearby.  Now put your fresh chopped up broccoli in the pot, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Take it out with a slotted spoon and put it directly into the cold water, then serve. It only needs to be in the cold water for a second so it stops the cooking process. This makes the broccoli tender but still crisp so its not flapping around all sad looking.

For the brown rice just follow the instructions on the back of the bag. My only tip is not to forget to season the water (I throw some garlic powder in there too, not sure how legit that is but it does give it a bit more flavor.)

And voila! Dinner is served.

Now all I have to do is not lose my mind waiting for my challenge pack to come in! I'm hardcore stalking USPS for my package. Patience is not one of my virtues.

My dog can't wait either!