I just want to say that I have the. most. awesome. salad for lunch today. Yeah, yeah--I know that "awesome" and "salad" don't appear together very often, but it can happen.
Makes two servings, or one if you're me and you're eating it for lunch. I also had a hard-boiled egg. And a brownie.
1 rib celery, quartered lengthwise and chopped (30 calories)
1 cup chopped raw broccoli (40 calories)
2 cups chopped or finely torn iceberg lettuce (20 calories)
1 Roma tomato (or 1/2 large tomato), seeded and chopped (30 calories)
8 manzanilla olives (or 4-5 large green olives), minced (40 calories)
2 tablespoons ranch or blue cheese dressing (I like Marie's yogurt ranch dressing, is lower fat without being "fake food". Actually, I like all Marie's yogurt dressings so far.) (70 calories for Marie's, 160 for regular)
Total calories for one huge salad: 230 - 320
Combine and toss thoroughly to distribute dressing.
Makes two servings, or one if you're me and you're eating it for lunch. I also had a hard-boiled egg. And a brownie.
1 rib celery, quartered lengthwise and chopped (30 calories)
1 cup chopped raw broccoli (40 calories)
2 cups chopped or finely torn iceberg lettuce (20 calories)
1 Roma tomato (or 1/2 large tomato), seeded and chopped (30 calories)
8 manzanilla olives (or 4-5 large green olives), minced (40 calories)
2 tablespoons ranch or blue cheese dressing (I like Marie's yogurt ranch dressing, is lower fat without being "fake food". Actually, I like all Marie's yogurt dressings so far.) (70 calories for Marie's, 160 for regular)
Total calories for one huge salad: 230 - 320
Combine and toss thoroughly to distribute dressing.
**Calories based on Caloriecount.com. I round calorie counts up to the nearest 5, which both keeps me from underestimating and makes it easier to add them up. Technically, coffee is 2 calories and 1 teaspoon sugar is 16, but it's easier to deal with 20 than with 18, and I know I've got my bases covered.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Actually, as I was eating this, I was thinking about how important it is to be able to eat food you like. I know that sounds silly, but . . . seriously.
I don't think it's that simple, though. I think you have to be allowed food you like, but you also have to like foods that are good for you. I'm sort of ahead of the game here in that I genuinely do like most vegetables and fruits, and, while there are certainly plenty of fried and fatty foods I also like, my tolerance for them is limited. I love a good barbecue brisket sandwich, but I don't want a huge one dripping in sauce, and I don't want them all the time. Basically, I don't want to spoil a good thing for myself.
Eggs might be my worst vice. They are by far my favorite source of protein, but, even though egg yolks aren't considered to be as bad for you as they used to be, I still don't want to overdo it. Egg whites are fine but they're not quite the same, are they? I love peanut butter, too, and I pretty much stopped buying cheese so I would stop eating too much of it. Cheddar on toasted rye with sliced tomatoes is good stuff.
Anyway, I didn't lose any weight this week, which was no surprise considering it was workshop-with-scones and then Kerby Lane Bakery-pancake-breakfast and then office-Christmas-party and then Teresa-sent-Christmas-cookies food Hell, but I didn't gain any, either, and I think that after yesterday, I will be able to resist baklava, at least for awhile. Whoa. I don't know what got into me. (That's where I got the brownie.) I don't feel badly about it, though.
Anyway, salads are not punishment. I'm kind of tired of people maligning green vegetables, as if they are the antithesis of sweets and comfort food. I mean, they might be the nutritional antithesis, but they shouldn't be the pleasure antithesis. I should be able to love brownies or fried okra, but I should be able to love watermelon or chickpeas or perfectly-steamed broccoli just as much, and not consider them poor substitutes for other things.
I don't think it's that simple, though. I think you have to be allowed food you like, but you also have to like foods that are good for you. I'm sort of ahead of the game here in that I genuinely do like most vegetables and fruits, and, while there are certainly plenty of fried and fatty foods I also like, my tolerance for them is limited. I love a good barbecue brisket sandwich, but I don't want a huge one dripping in sauce, and I don't want them all the time. Basically, I don't want to spoil a good thing for myself.
Eggs might be my worst vice. They are by far my favorite source of protein, but, even though egg yolks aren't considered to be as bad for you as they used to be, I still don't want to overdo it. Egg whites are fine but they're not quite the same, are they? I love peanut butter, too, and I pretty much stopped buying cheese so I would stop eating too much of it. Cheddar on toasted rye with sliced tomatoes is good stuff.
Anyway, I didn't lose any weight this week, which was no surprise considering it was workshop-with-scones and then Kerby Lane Bakery-pancake-breakfast and then office-Christmas-party and then Teresa-sent-Christmas-cookies food Hell, but I didn't gain any, either, and I think that after yesterday, I will be able to resist baklava, at least for awhile. Whoa. I don't know what got into me. (That's where I got the brownie.) I don't feel badly about it, though.
Anyway, salads are not punishment. I'm kind of tired of people maligning green vegetables, as if they are the antithesis of sweets and comfort food. I mean, they might be the nutritional antithesis, but they shouldn't be the pleasure antithesis. I should be able to love brownies or fried okra, but I should be able to love watermelon or chickpeas or perfectly-steamed broccoli just as much, and not consider them poor substitutes for other things.
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