Karma is coming back to kill. I would like to publicly take back all of the times that I ever said salad should not be eaten as a meal. I apologize; I really do. For some strange reason the entire concept of consuming vegetables as an entire meal is foreign to me. As a child we ate them… kind of. Occasionally at dinner we would have some type of steamed veggie on the side of our meat or pasta. We ate well, as you can tell from my size, but I never took a liking to vegetables.
I’m four days into my third week at the Ridge Athletic Club. Sugar is still hard some days. I’m doing well not going out to eat, but this week’s challenge may be the most difficult so far. I am not taking anything out of my day, in fact I am adding to my “options for success”. This week Lana challenged me to eat FIVE (5) servings of veggies a day. I used to see the consumption of rabbit food for an entire meal as a form of torture. If I did have salad, it was always a small side covered in ranch. I would force myself to eat it after loving the twice-baked potato and medium rare steak.
Yesterday and today I must say I have started to eat (not enjoy) salads for lunch. Today I put some chicken in my salad, which helped a lot! Yesterday I skipped the protein, and I think I burned more calories eating the salad than what was actually in the salad. So for me, protein is key. But, what else can I do to my salad for it to be slightly enjoyable? Do you eat 5 servings of veggies a day? How do you do it?! I need some major help. Any tips and tricks would be much appreciated!
One Less Day
Sister:
ReplyDeleteI have one LOW SODIUM V8 a day. That counts as one veggie serving and it's only 30 calories. Then I have baby carrots when I have a sugar craving. I also buy those steam veggies. You can eat an entire bag and it's almost 3 servings! Trust me, I struggle with my fruits and veggies, but those are some small things I've done that have helped me.
There's this Soy Protein mix at Costco that has soybeans, dried fruit, nuts and seeds in it and it's delicious on salad and fills you up way more than just veggies. Make sure you're using a type of lettuce that you like. Arugula has way more flavor than Romaine or something like that.. maybe a lil more flavor would do it for ya? Carrots and Hummus... mmmm mmm such a good snack. I've got a great hummus recipe if you're interested. Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteI always use just baby spinach or mostly spinach, because it has way more nutritional value than just iceberg or romaine, so then your knocking out a big chunk of your veggie quota in the lettuce itself. Also, if you can't add chicken or whatever, add a nut, like almonds or something and it makes it so much better. I've been trying to eat a lot more veggies too and it's really hard to get use to, but stick to you, it becomes so much easier after awhile.
ReplyDeleteChelsea
Hey girl,
ReplyDeleteyou are doing awesome. I love a great salad. I lean toward making it a little mexican. fajita chicken, black beans, green chilies, salsa, and a some cottage cheese. That will keep you full longer with not so many calories as dried fruit and nuts.
You can go for cob salad, with hard boiled egg and turkey. Just be skimpy with the bacon and go light on the dressing. measure everything.
Hang in there. Konnie B.
I agree with Celeste, the Low Sodium V8's are pretty good. Even if you don't like the flavor, it's only like 5 ounces so you can just chug it! Maybe check with Lana about them though. I always worry that anything that comes in a can and claims to be healthy is actually a giant scam...
ReplyDeleteAs far as salads, I like topping mine with lots of red. Sliced red peppers, baby tomatoes, strawberries, or dried cranberries!
Serene..I'm so proud of you! You are doing great! I am actually a salad eater for lunch everyday...but like you I HAVE to have protein on it or I'm starving 2 minutes after I eat! I try to spice mine up alot with different things like fruits or nuts. I get sugar free dressing because it tends to be less calories as well. Another thing I snack on is Edamame and baby carrots. You can buy individual packs of the baby carrots and then they are measured already for you..35 cal/bag. Edamame is in the freezer section at walmart, you just pop it in the microwave and your good to go. Ken puts low sodium soy sauce on his and loves it...i just salt mine lightly! Keep up the hard work your doing AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite salad is Spinach, with almonds, feta cheese and dried cranberries. I put a cranberry dressing on it too, which is low-cal. Or you can make a corn salsa to put on the salad, with some southwest seasoned chicken. Delish!
ReplyDeleteSerene, my favorite thing to do with a salad is add nuts. I add sliced almonds and some chicken. Also there is a really great salad that Kevin's mom makes and it has celery and red onion and tomatoes and the vinaigrette is super simple it is olive oil vinegar fresh parsley and hot sauce. I can give you the quantities. It is super yummy. You can also add fruit like strawberries or blueberries, raspberries. So yummy. Also if add some low fat cheese. All I have to say is you can always call me. I have tons of recipes.
ReplyDeleteI have also recently begun eating salads every day for lunch. It's tough for me as well. I do not appreciate rabbit food. I keep it fresh by alternating between meat, cheese, and fruit toppings and different kinds of dressings. But the real thing that allows me to do it every day is my cup of greek yogurt. Yoplait greek yogurt is a lot thicker than regular yogurt, more filling. It has no fat and twice as much protein as regular yogurt as well. Eating a cup of this with my salad keeps me full a lot longer than just a salad would.
ReplyDeletespinach omletett - saute some bell pepper and a huge handful of spinach in coconut oil with some garlic powder - scramble 2-3 eggs and pour over the spinach/peppers to make an omlett. top with some plain greek yogurt. great breakfast! lots of protein to get you through the morning.
ReplyDeletefor lunch - chop up bell peppers, onions, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, radishes - any veg you want to add - in a bowl that has a lid. top with garlic powder, a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 tsp dried mustard, sea salt, italian seasoning or basil. cover with lid and shake to blend everything well. eat with 4 oz of grilled chicken for satisfying healthy lunch. salads don't always have to be lettuce based. but you can always add some.
good luck, keep going!