I worked with California Pizza Kitchen and Nestlé to help spread the word about Balance Your Plate. I have been compensated for my time commitment. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.
Before Krista and I had Ava, we made it a point to have a date night at least once a week because our schedules were always crossing over and even though we work together, it was hard to find personal time together. It was our one night a week where we would go out to dinner and take a night off from preparing, cooking and cleaning up after a meal. Now that we have a three-month-old at home, our date nights look a little different. But it’s one of our “non-negotiable’s” that we vowed to keep up once we had a baby…even if we don’t actually ever leave the house.
The challenge we faced once Ava was here was that we didn’t want to spend our date nights prepping food, eating and then cleaning up dishes – it basically defeated the purpose! We also didn’t want to go completely overboard and overindulge by ordering take-out. So, we opted for the next best thing – a Crispy Thin Crust Margherita frozen pizza from California Pizza Kitchen! These delicious pizzas are a staple on our grocery list, and we’re always sure to snag one from the frozen aisle during our weekly shopping trips.
It tastes like a splurge, but won’t leave you feeling guilty – crispy thin crust topped with tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and mozzarella. Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants, as well as a good source of vitamins and minerals. Olive oil is rich in healthy monounsaturated fats and has been shown to help lower total cholesterol and while cheese seems to be getting a bad rep lately, mozzarella is actually a good source of phosphorus, protein, and calcium!
Nestlé frozen entrées and pizza have saved our date nights in by doing the leg work for us – reducing the stress and time required to prepare meals after a busy day.
Plus, when you lean on frozen entrées or pizza, you save yourself valuable time that you can spend on other things – like preparing a nutritious side dish of fruits and/or vegetables that will give your meal balance and a nutritious boost. And for us, it means more quality time together.
We love pairing the CPK Frozen Crispy Thin Crust Margherita pizza with one of our favorite summer salads, the Berry Mandarin Spinach Salad. What better way to celebrate Fruits & Veggies Month this September than with a flavor-packed fruit and veggie salad?!
Servings: 6-8 | Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 6 packed cups baby spinach
- 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
- ¾ cup (3 oz) strawberries
- ½ cup (3 oz) blackberries
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- Aged balsamic vinegar, drizzle
Toss all ingredients together in a bowl and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately.
Tell us how you plan to boost your fruit and veggie intake during the month of September in the comments below.