Making a Salad a Meal

So if you love Michael Pollan like I do (in a non-creepy, I-jussa- love-what-you-write kinda way!) you'll know he recommends the following when it comes to eating. "Eat food; not too much; mostly plants." Those 7 words are very sexy - and obviously helpful in simplifying how to eat mindfully, and healthily. So, how do you incorporate some more of that "mostly plants" bit into a meal and not get sick of just munching on carrots? Salads of course! I have some great ideas for you to make any salad into a meal by adding a few items.

Greens:
Okay, so by now I hope we're all buying more than just the iceberg lettuce at the store, and are steering away from those packaged "salad in bag" thingos. Anyone else ever notice how those things just never taste right? I mean, they say "washed and ready to eat" but somehow, they taste like plastic or chemicals. What IS that taste? Anyway...I digress...let's talk about greens. There are heaps of varieties of greens you can use for your salads, and the greens will be the bulk of the recipe. Romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, spinach, baby romaine, arugula, mixed organic greens, kale, Swiss chard, beet leaves..whatever you want! Toss a little of everything in there if you love it. Green = good for you (unless it's rotten, of course, and if you're eating rotten food and haven't noticed, you may have bigger problems than how to make a good salad). The darker the leaves the better, but don't ignore salads because you don't like the darkest greens. It's all good - even the iceberg.

Protein:
If you eat the dead stuff, chicken breast or salmon are perfect additions to salad. Grill it, season it the way you like it, cut it up & toss it on top. Steak or beef slices work as well in this way. There's nothing wrong with having your meat mixed into your salad instead of on the side. Hemp seeds are also a fantastic protein source, and you can toss a tablespoon or two onto your salad. Or, if you're in the mood for eggs, boil one, cut it into slices & toss it on top.

Beans & Legumes
Chickpeas, black beans, red beans, lentils, edamame beans (out of the pod) all taste fantastic in salads. They give extra fibre, protein, nutrients, texture and color to yours salad meal, making them healthy and satisfying. Mmm. I am getting hungry just thinking about chick peas in my salad.

Fruit
Slice up any of your faves - apples, oranges, raspberries (especially delish in spinach salads!), strawberries, mango, pineapple, avocado - whatever you like & toss them in. I make a watermelon & feta salad that is just beautiful & refreshing in summertime (my best friend Shauna doesn't like it but she is dirty, so it doesn't matter. Haha!) I'll post the recipe on the Mindful Eating page.

Dried Fruits
Cranberries (watch for sugar in these), raisins, chopped dried apricots or dates...the dried fruit world is your oyster...and is yet another lovely addition to a salad meal.

Veggies
Long gone are the days of just lettuce, celery, cucumber & tomato in your salad. Bo-ring! Shred some carrots, or beets into your salad, slice up some red, orange , yellow or green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, radishes are all welcome additions to salad meals. They add flavor, texture, additional nutrition and of course - color. Who doesn't love to eat a beautiful, colorful salad?

Nuts
Almonds, cashews, pecans, and pine nuts are some of my favorite additions to salads, but you can use whatever you enjoy. I usually use sliced almonds or cashews, and at times, toss my pecans in a hot pan with a tiiiny bit of maple syrup before adding them to salads. Ohsoyummy! Pine nuts are also great slightly roasted -they spoil very quickly, so keep them refrigerated.

Cheeses
Feta cheese is great in many salads (goat feta is my fave), as is Parmesan, asiago, or whatever you like. Remember that things like cheeses are not supposed to be the ENTIRE salad, so go easy on them, and use them for additional flavor.

Dressing
Now, you've gone to all this trouble to make sure this salad is whole, real and fresh...don't add some junky, dirty salad dressing from a bottle. I'm sure you can find some out there that contain very few ingredients, and no crap in them. Personally - I make my own. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic are pretty standard ingredients for me, but at times if I'm making a sweeter salad, or have a different mixture that doesn't play nicely with those particular ingredients, I'll toss some fresh squeezed orange juice or fresh ginger in for the ride. If you don't have a magic bullet - go get one. Life is just so much happier with a magic bullet blender. I think it might be responsible for making the sun shine every morning. I don't know that for a fact...I'm just saying...it's awesome. Toss all your ingredients into the bullet and in a few seconds you've got a fresh, delicious salad dressing.

With summer approaching, and all of our local farmers markets opening, now is the perfect time to get into the habit of picking out those fresh ingredients and making the healthy choice to make salads into meals. When you add some of the additional items that I've noted above, you get a complete wholesome meal with protein and fibre, and those two things help make sure you're not left feeling hungry for more. And that, is eating mindfully :-)