Salad Solutions

We all have this idea that salads are the magic solution to losing weight or staying svelte. While making a salad is a great way to up your veggie intake and get a little more fiber into your diet, you need to be mindful of what else is going down the hatch with that lettuce. I'll go over a few tricks I employ to keep the nutrition-value high and the negative-impact low (salt, high calories, and yes, even sugar).

First off, I'm a romaine girl. If we don't have romaine I'll go for iceberg, and occasionally I'll opt for a spinach salad-- but romaine ranks as my favorite.

I use others like arugula and kale in non-salad capacities. Sometimes I'll make smoothies and throw in some kale or top a frozen pizza some arugula. I even put arugula in a smoothie once because I didn't have any other suitable vegetables/greens, and it turned out pretty good! I was pleasantly surprised.

I always swap....
Roasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I'll take about 1 cup of the mixed seeds, soak them in some warm water with a little salt for maybe 30mins. Then roast them in coconut oil @ 425 for 8 minutes, stir, then another 6-8 minutes.

They add the crunch that I miss from getting rid of croutons.


My favorite salads:
(all dressings are "edited" :: see below)

Brunch salad:
(+) 1c romaine
(+) 1 diced hard-boiled egg
(+) 1 strip extra crispy bacon, crumbled
(+) 1/2 small tomato
(+) diced red/yellow/orange pepper
(+) a little cheese (if we have smoked gouda, I'll usually go for that.
(+) roasted seeds
(+) Balsamic dressing or mustard dressing

Sandwich salad
(+) 1c romaine
(+) 1 slice deli turkey
(+) shredded cheese
(+) diced red/yellow/orange pepper

(+) diced pickle (if I have stackers, I'll use one; if it's a spear, I'll use maybe 1/2)
(+) roasted seeds
(+) Balsamic or mustard dressing

Caesar salad
(+) 1c romaine
(+) 2-3 tbs fresh romaine
(+) roasted seeds
(+) if we have leftover chicken, I'll use that
(+) Caesar dressing

Monochrome salad
(+) 1c romaine
(+) cucumber
(+) roasted seeds
(+) TomaCado dressing
(+) because is not very colorful, I'll sometimes throw in other chopped veg if we have them on-hand

Spinach salad
(+) 1c spinach
(+) 4-5 walnuts
(+) 1/3 diced apple (I like the skin on)
(+) a few sliced grapes (if we have them)
(+) roasted seeds
(+) Balsamic dressing

Dressing Dilemmas
Mindless pouring of dressing is where a lot of people end up turning their salads into something light and nutritious... into something calorie-dense (you're still getting the nutrients from the veg-- but you've now smothered them in salty/sugary goop.

I've come up with a few solutions so I don't lose out on the flavor of the dressing, but still maintain the caloric integrity of the salad.


Mustard Dressing

(+) spicy mustard
(+) grainy mustard
(+) swish in a little water

Makes for a really light, but flavorful dressing. I love this whenever I use egg or deli meat in my salads




TomaCado
(+) 1/3 mashed avocado
(+) 2-3 tbs tomatillo salasa
(+) a little water
(+) sometimes I'll mix in a little srirracha if I want it a little extra zingy

This one was born out of boredom. I had made a salad for lunch and we were having another as a side for dinner. I opened the fridge and just took out a few things that I thought might go together. Success!



Balsamic
This one is super easy. For the first few uses, I just pour some dressing into a little bowl and dilute it with water. Same flavor, fewer... other things.

On many store-bought dressings, they add copious amounts of sugar and/or salt. By diluting it, you're reducing the weird shit in 1 serving AND you're stretching it so it lasts longer.





Creamy Dressings
This is a play on the same theme as the Balsamic dilution strategy. I cut anything creamy with Greek yogurt. Just pour it into a little
bowl, a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt, and a little bit of water so it mixes better.

I do this to Caesar and ranch dressings. I also do it to anything involving mayo: mixing it into chicken salad, tartar sauce, etc...

Today, I ate...

I recently had someone ask me what I eat in a day. I was a little surprised since I'm not a trainer or a nutritionist; merely a hobbyist I guess. I don't subscribe to any particular diet, but I do research a lot of different food trends and pull some ideas from each one. I'll go over 2 days worth of food; be ready for some startling honesty.

The past few days have been moderately inactive. There was a big snow storm and my car isn't super capable in the snow. I've basically stalked my FitBit stats to make sure I'm not totally sedentary, and I've been pretty successful in getting in 8,000 to 10,000 steps without even leaving the house!

Mind you, I set up shop in the kitchen most days so I'm face-to-face with food-cues all day. I decided to use Thursday and Friday of last week because they most honestly represent my eating patterns. I'll explain a few of the items/meals below!

home popped popcorn: I love popping popcorn on the stove top. It's a filling and satisfying snack and the best part is you know exactly what you're getting: popcorn and the small amount of (olive) oil its popped in. I like to sprinkle a little grated paremsan or cumin over mine.

Joseph's wrap: I recently discovered this wrap has 7 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber with only 70 calories and a relatively short ingredient list.

roasted seeds: I buy packages of seeds from the store and roast them at home and keep them in an air-tight container. I use both sunflower and pumpkin seeds, soak them in salty water for about 30 mins, and then roast them in a little coconut oil at 375 degrees for 7 minutes, stir and then another 7 or 8 mins. I like mine to be pretty well done, so sometimes I let them go a little longer. They're fantastic salad or soup toppings and give you a crunch without all the cals/carbs/salt of croutons!

homemade tomato soup: 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks, 1/2 of an onion, 2 plumb tomatoes, 1 can diced tomatoes (I only used this because I didn't have enough fresh tomatoes), 2 bullion cubes in 1 cup water, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil. Sauteed the onion, celery, and garlic in 1 tbs evoo until soft. Added garlic and 2nd tbs evoo. Add tomatoes. Remove from heat and cover. Dissolve bullion and let cook. Throw it all in the blender (or use an immersion blender) and when combined, moved to a medium pot and let simmer for 20-30 mins.

homemade banana "ice cream": This is great. It usually ends up being vegan, but not always. 1 sliced frozen banana and 1/3 cup Greek yogurt are the only things I use in my base. Sometimes I add bacon and a little pure maple syrup. This time, I used cocoa powder, a few dark chocolate chips, walnuts, and a little almond milk to loosen it up a tiny bit. In a food processor, blend the base items (my sister adds dates to her base) until very well combined. You'll need to take the top off and stir the contents a few times... has a tendency to kinda climb the wall of the food processor therefore missing the blade. Then throw in your flavorings and BOOM. Delicious.

oatmeal: Friday, I home made apple sauce from 1 medium apple (took me 5 mins- super fast!) and stirred it in to 1/3 cup cooked steel-cut oats. Chopped walnuts and threw them in there, too and topped it all off with 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk. However, my faaaavorite is 1/3 cup oats, 1 tbs natural peanut butter, 1 medium banana, 1/2 scoop Jay Robb vanilla whey protein, and 1/4 cup almond milk. I eat this 3-5 times per week and it keeps me full for a long time.

smoothie: If I'm concerned about the nutrients for the day. Say, I know I'm going to go out to dinner or I'm eyeballing the carbs to the point where I know I'll give in.... I make a smoothie and throw in at least 1 serving of veg and 1 of fruit. If I know I'm going to reach for something crappy, at least I'm getting the vitamins and nutrients in, too.

Chobani: I really like the Chobani passion fruit yogurt. There is a ton of fruit in the bottom, so I can stretch 1 container into 2 servings. I scoop out 1/2 the container and then mix it with a few spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt.

The crappy stuff: I bet you're wondering about the meatball sub and the pb&j toast. I have a huge problem with night time snacking. Like, mammoth. I do use my FitBit food log, so I know where I am for the day. Thursday, I had a particularly low-cal day because I also had a really intense gym workout. I'll usually look at my log and figure out if I've gotten enough fruit and veg, and then think up a snack option and log it before I make it. If it keeps me at/under my daily calorie goal, I'll go for it; otherwise I come up with other ideas until I find a suitable snack that works with my goals. I realize it is not the healthiest way to go about snacking; however, until I have complete control over the grocery list, this is the best way to handle it. (*I don't snack every night... just happens that I did on Thursday and Friday).