Salad

I thought that perhaps if I blogged about something completely unrelated to my children or "real life" I would feel better about the chaos that is my home right now :)

So...

I love to make a giant salad for lunch! I throw everything in but the kitchen sink and I've learned a little about what I really like and what I really don't like. First, I really like iceberg lettuce! I know it's like the red-headed step child of the lettuce family, but I love the crispness of it. I also like spinach, but that requires a whole different set of fixins in my eyes, so I stick with the iceberg. Second, about a year ago I stopped using all salad dressing and just use oil and vinegar. It is fun to try different vinegars, balsamic is my favorite but raspberry is a close second! A good oil and vinegar and some salt and pepper and I don't miss the creamy, fat and calorie laden stuff at all!

Fixins...the best part...I like something sweet, something crunchy, something tangy, a little protein and then whatever veggies are laying around! For sweet I prefer grapes, blueberries, strawberries, craisins and raisins (not all at once mind you, I usually pick one). For crunch I love to add nuts, slivered almonds are usually what I have but I love pecans and walnuts too! I stay away from croutons, I like them, they just don't seem as healthy! Every once in a while I have sunflower seeds, they work too! Tangy...now this is my tangy, you might like something "stronger"...green apple, pomegranate, feta cheese, or on a low supply day...the vinegar is enough! A little protien might be cheese, a hard-boiled egg, some slices of pepperoni, diced up ham or chicken or turkey from dinner the night before, whatever. Once I diced up a hotdog and put it on my salad...I actually loved it...I do love me some hotdogs :) Then I add whatever veggies are literally laying around, you know, leftovers or ones bought specifically for lunch. The other night we had asparagas for dinner so I threw the left overs in my salad the next day. Dee-lish!

Today's salad was iceberg, feta cheese, slivered almonds, grapes, shredded carrot, and leftover peas from dinner last night! Filling and yummy...I finished the meal off with a granola bar and my tummy is full, my taste buds are happy, and my fiber intake should keep me...well, you know!