2 simple, fuss-free salad recipes

happy friday everyone!

i have been on a major salad kick lately. i can think of nothing better in the summer than a cool salad with fresh fruits and vegetables. today i am sharing not one, but two of my favorite salad recipes that i made myself for today.

i made this salad today for lunch. i added grilled chicken to add protein, but you could also add a hard boiled egg or chickpeas for other protein options. i really think the artichokes make the salad! i make this salad to go with entrees for dinner as well but without the added proteins and a little bit smaller. it has become a favorite in the parsley house!

artichoke salad

spinach, kale or lettuce of choice

mushrooms, sliced

chopped artichoke hearts

grape/cherry tomatoes, halved

banana pepper, sliced

green onion, finely chopped

feta cheese 

pepper, to taste

1. assemble salad with enough of each ingredient to serve each person you plan on serving.
2. for dressing, we like to use Ken's Low Fat Sweet Onion Dressing. 

this next salad is great to serve with a heavier meal. it is a light addition to an entree that just needs a little side dish. it is a salad recipe that can be altered for whatever fruit is in season, but this is my favorite version of it. to serve it as a light main dish, i like to add cottage cheese or greek yogurt instead of the feta and add more greens. 

melon cucumber salad

cubed watermelon

cubed cantaloupe

cubed honeydew

cubed pineapple

sliced cucumber
grapes

feta cheese

spinach, if desired

1. assemble ingredients in large bowl and toss together. 
2. if a dressing is desired, plain balsamic vinegar pairs well with this salad. 

both of these salads are super simple and super delicious (the melon cucumber salad is made even easier if you buy a pre-cut fruit salad)! they are the perfect way to round off a summer meal, or even serve as a light main dish if you add in protein. 

retreat ended today and it was such an improvement over last year. we as a chapter, and especially our r-team, have worked extremely hard and i think it will pay off when we get our new pledge class come bid day! i am so excited to see what this year has in store for the delta pi chapter of alpha chi omega! 

hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! mine will be filled with all things alpha chi omega and moving into my new apartment! 

xoxo,

clp 

throwback thursday: then and now

i start my junior year of college on wednesday. it seems like just yesterday I was moving into my little dorm room in humes freshman year. a lot has changed in the two years since i came to big orange country. changed for the better. here i am the day i left for knoxville to begin my college years (unfortunately my cat, sapphire, could not join):

so what all is different? my appearance for starters. the second semester of my freshman year i got on the health train and have been riding it ever since. some may say i have even been the conductor. over the twelve months of 2013, i lost a total of 50 pounds and have kept that weight off in the months since then. i lost all my weight the healthy way: eating right and exercising. i don't believe in crash diets or cleanses and i don't recommend them. i truly believe that "abs are made in the kitchen" and i have changed my diet completely. in the past, i wouldn't touch vegetables and apples were the only fruit i would eat. i thought cheese dip was a food group. now, my fridge and pantry is filled with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, lean meats and other high protein, high fiber foods. what you eat really does matter. exercising is just as important as eating healthy and i regularly left weights and do cardio. i even run now, which if you knew me two years ago you would never guess. just last week i completed my third 5K. here i am a month before the beginning of my junior year:

my appearance and health habits aren't the only thing that has changed about me. i know that i am more serious (which isn't always a good thing) and much more organized (my lilly planner is my life). i hold my family very close to my heart. my mom is my very best friend and i am my dad made over (which is why we disagree sometimes). not only is my family close to me, but my friends are very important to me. i have found a core group of girls in my sorority, alpha chi omega, that i know i could depend on for anything. without alpha chi omega, i would not be the person that i am today. it has change me for the better. i also have maintained relationships with certain people from high school that mean the world to me. 

my interests have altered too in the past two years. i still love fashion but i think my style has changed some. it is more mature, but always with a signature pop of color of statement piece. i am not afraid to try new styles as i was in high school. i changed my major as well last year. i started school with the intention of being an interior designer, but after being accepted into the program, i decided that it was not what i wanted to do for the rest of my life. i am now a supply chain management major with a minor in retail. i could not be more excited about the next two years here and then future job prospects (hopefully in fashion or based in nashville). 

i am happy with how my life has changed over the past two years. college was definitely a major adjustment for me but i feel like these next two years are going to be the best yet. this coming year i turn twenty-one (which isn't that big of a deal to me but still) and that is considered a milestone in a lot of people's lives. i don't regret the past and i'm excited to see what the the future holds. i am still the claire with red hair that i was when I began college, just a better, healthier, happier version.

xoxo,

clp

top five knoxville restaurants

now that i am back in knoxville, i thought i would share my favorite places to eat around here with y'all! there are countless delicious restaurants in knoxville but these are the ones that i frequent quite often and always take out-of-towners to.

1. aubrey's: by far one of my favorite restaurants ever. their menu has a little bit of everything, from soups and salads to burgers to pasta. my favorite thing to order at aubrey's is the baked squash vegetable side dish but i honestly haven't had a thing from there that wasn't good. the service is always excellent as well. 
2. sunspot: i just discovered this at the end of last semester and wish i had discovered it sooner! as part of the aubrey's restaurant family, it does not stray from having delicious food and top-notch service. the atmosphere and design of the restaurant is really cool, with large patios and open air-seating. this menu too has a little bit of everything, including many dishes for vegetarians. my favorite is the sweet potato tamale that comes with portobello mushrooms, black beans and salsa. i need to try something new but i can never resist it! as a bonus, all the food is prepared with fresh, local ingredients. they also have a half price wine night on wednesday that many of my friends enjoy! 
3. tupelo honey: well worth the wait. i cannot express how good this restaurant is! the menu boasts items that are traditional southern but with modern spins. i hear their bloody mary's are to die for and they serve breakfast all day (my favorite meal of the day). the complimentary biscuits and honey are mouthwatering and serving sizes are generous. my favorite breakfast dish to order is the breakfast bowl, which is made up of goat cheese grits topped with black eyed pea salsa verde, an egg and bacon. i also love their black bean burger with any of the fresh sides. 
4. dead end bbq: best barbecue around! dead end's barbecue is some of the best that i have had. i like it because it is not "wet" bbq but it is also not dried out. their hot sauces have just the right amount of spice and they also have other choices on the menu that don't include barbecue. i always order the pulled pork plate with the mayor's beans and jalepeno cornbread. my whole family loves it and we may even get it for a tailgate this fall! 
5. chesapeake's: i have been going to chesapeake's for as long as i can remember. it is a locally owned restaurant specializing in seafood, but their non-seafood dishes are excellent as well. the entire family (and by entire, i mean entire) usually makes a trip to chesapeake's at least once during football season but mom and dad and i try to go more often. you can't leave without getting a slice of key lime pie! its a little piece of heaven! 

other restaurants that i enjoy here in knoxville are ye olde steakhouse, surin of thailand, litton's, don gallo's, copper cellar, cafe 4, tomato head and calhoun's. there are even more that could go on this list but if i had to choose only five to eat at, those described above would certainly be at the top of the list. next time you are in knoxville, i definitely recommend any of these restaurants! you won't be disappointed!

xoxo,

clp 

its only tuesday?

what a whirlwind of a past two days i have had. now back in knoxville for the semester, i feel like i haven't had a moment to sit down...

yesterday, the plan was for my mom and i to move in everything (with the exception of things that required manly-men) into the apartment that i would be living in this year. however, upon arrival we were informed that the unit was still under construction and that i was supposed to move into a temporary apartment until it was ready (which was a 3 bedroom - there are 4 of us). the funny thing was that we had called over two weeks ago and were told that the unit would be ready for me to move in. also, my uncle, who owned the unit, had given me the key to my room that very morning. obviously there was some miscommunication. you can imagine our frustration when we learned that we would be having to move my things not once but twice and also that we couldn't unpack everything and get settled. and then to top off this saga, i discovered that diet coke leaked onto my clothes on the drive here. the cards were just not in our favor. nonetheless, after a few tears and a breakdown or two, my mom and i got everything moved in the best we could (neatly stacked in piles) and my cousin was kind enough to let me sleep on her mattress. fingers are crossed that the apartment is ready by saturday so i can officially move into my first apartment!

my little bedroom for the week! 

after our horrible day, mom and i went to Sunspot for my first dinner back in knoxville. it is one of my favorites and mom had never been there. i love the sweet potato tamale (i need to branch out and try other things) and mom loved her fried green tomato BLT sandwich. i must say hers looked as good as mine! they also bring you yummy salsa and fresh chips to accompany your meal. 

it is officially recruitment time in tennessee! retreat began today and as a chapter we are working on getting the best possible pledge class. i have no doubt that we will do so with all the improvements that our recruitment team is making. 

since i will be spending the majority of the day at the alpha chi house and the TRECS is closed, my workouts will not be as intense this week. i think it will be good for my body to treat this week as sort of a "recovery week" and give my body a break for once. i will still be doing some cardio, but it will mostly just be walking at a fast pace on an incline and then some light weights and ab work. everyone needs to lighten the load sometimes. 

being the homebody that i am, i am already missing my mom and dad (and i guess my brother too). it will take some adjusting for me to get back in the swing of things here in knoxville, especially with the craziness and stress that comes with recruitment. add in the apartment saga and i am about at my stress limit but i will just have to keep on keepin' on. there may not be many recipes or OOTDs this week but i will be trying to blog as often as i can. fingers crossed that the rest of the week goes smoothly and that the unit is ready for move in saturday! 

xoxo,

clp