At the end of the rainbow you'll find...

a salad recipe?

It was so much fun to hear about everyone's experiences getting in more colour this week via my meetings this morning as well as on your blogs! I think you rose to the challenge nicely and I'm going to reward you by giving you a salad recipe I created this week.

There's probably a million versions of this salad out there, but I loved the combination of colours and flavors.

Ashley's Colourful Salad

2 cups corn (thawed if frozen)

1 can black beans, rinsed

2 peppers, chopped (I used red & orange)

1 tomato, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 jalapeno, minced

juice of 1 lime

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until everything is evenly distributed. Makes roughly six servings at 2 Points each.

We enjoyed it with some raw tacos in dehydrated shells.

I screwed up the raw tacos and accidentally used double cumin instead of cumin & coriander. Oops. Joey was not a fan, but I still enjoyed them the next day for lunch.

The taco shells were my second experiment in the dehydrator. I enjoyed them, but I'm not sure that I would make them again. I found them to be a little tedious (especially since you make them in one large sheet and have to cut the circles out individually) and I don't mind enjoying my raw tacos in jumbo lettuce leaves or rice paper wraps.

Some of my other colourful meals this week included a yummy fruit salad with banana, kiwi and cherries

A veggie burger with cauliflower, broccoli, blueberries & cherries

Eggplant Cannelloni with "ricotta" and tomato sauce (from Go Dairy Free - review coming soon!)

This was so delicious, I can't even begin to describe it. I also made baked pears for dessert (from Meals that Heal Inflammation)

This week I also made a trip to the Farmers Market and picked up some yellow beans, asparagus, cauliflower, romaine, cherries, and strawberries plus some apple butter and cinnamon honey (the new love of my life!)

And lastly (but unrelated to colour, except for the brightness of my belt) I saw the new Harry Potter movie on Tuesday night.

I LOVED it. I thought they really captured the essence of the franchise and I think the kids are really great little actors. I also loved Jim Broadbent (aka Harold Zidler) as Slughorn. I'm really looking forward to the next one!!

This week's challenge for 4 Weeks to 5 Servings is to fill half your plate with veggies and fruits.

Just like we talked about in the meeting today, it's a great strategy for everyday eating, but especially when you are travelling or on vacation! It helps to get your portions in check and make better choices overall. I can't wait to see how it goes!

I also just wanted to tell you guys how much I enjoyed reading your responses and hearing your feedback regarding my last post. It was interesting to hear what you wish you would have learned earlier. I'm also glad that I could share that part of my journey with you! I know that many of you only met me once I got to goal or had started to change my eating, but please know that it was (and still can be) tough for me to transition and make these changes in my life. Thank you for being such lovely readers!