Spicy Grilled Pineapple and Red Onion Salsa

Like many of you, we try to maintain a healthy life-style through diet and exercise. A comedian was asked if he watched what he ate and quipped, “You bet.  I watch every bite when it goes in my mouth.”

Several weeks ago Meakin hit a plateau with his weight loss program and our trainer at the gym suggested that he keep a daily food diary. At first it sounded like a pain to write down every bite you eat and then calculate the calories, but apps and websites have changed all that. Meakin uses My Fitness Pal and what once would have been a chore is now a snap to do. We’ve found that it’s amazing that the simple act of writing down everything you eat makes you much more conscious of what you put in your mouth. My Fitness Pal is a free calorie counter and food diary using an app and a website that sync automatically.

Now, just like the comedian, we watch every bite we eat. But we wanted our bites to be delicious and low in calories, not boring and dull, so we turned to Cooking Light for help. It turns out that most of the Cooking Light recipes are on My Fitness Pal and those that are not are available on-line, making it simple to calculate your calories. As one of my favorite Food Network stars would say, “How easy is that?”

This spicy salsa with grilled pineapple and red onions is a perfect example of recipes that can be found in Cooking Light. The original recipe served the salsa with a grilled pork chop, but we substituted grilled slices of lean pork tenderloin. It would be equally delicious with grilled chicken, or your favorite fish. Enjoy this flavorful salsa and your waistline and the scale will thank you.

Spicy Grilled Pineapple and Red Onion Salsa
Adapted from Cooking Light – serves 4

4 slices of fresh pineapple, about ½” thick each
1 medium red onion, cut into ½” thick slices
Cooking spray, such as Pam
1 tablespoon seeded and minced jalapeno pepper
2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Coat a grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add pineapple and onion and cook about 4 minutes on each side or until onion is tender. Remove both from the pan and coarsely chop. Add to a bowl and toss with remaining 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice and chopped jalapeno pepper.

Printable recipe

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and I was not compensated to recommend this. This recipe will be linked to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable. Be sure to drop by and see what’s cooking.

Just so you don't think all we think about is food at My Carolina Kitchen, these pretty Black-eyed Susans have been blooming in our garden in the mountains for quite a while now.