Super Salad

I LOVE LOVE LOVE salads. Even as a child I loved eating salads. When I was younger my parents would take us out to eat at the restaurant of our choice on our birthday. I distinctly remember choosing a place known for its steaks but only because it had the largest salad bar I had ever seen! My father thought I was nuts….he may have been right.

Now when I start to feel sluggish and worn down from over indulging in not so healthy foods I like to load up on fresh fruits and veggies for a few days. This is where going to local farmers markets or having a food share is great! You can get local and sometimes organic fruits and veggies for a reasonable price tag!

One of my most favorite things to eat is a huge fresh salad loaded with veggies. I know..I know it doesn’t sound as good as say Buffalo Chicken pizza but believe me its good and your body will love you for it!

I start by loading up plate with about 2 cups of spinach, I prefer baby spinach and I always tear the stems off of my spinach leaves. I have no idea why I do this, maybe it’s because I hate taking a big bite of salad and having a stem poking out of my mouth or maybe its just one of my weird quirks. If you don’t care for spinach maybe try only 1 cup of spinach and a cup of lettuce or other type of green goodness. Spinach is so healthy for you, and you can usually get it anywhere you shop! If you are not a fan, start by adding it to things a little at a time and in no time I bet you will love it!

After I have my spinach down I chop up ¼ cucumber, 2 jumbo black olives, 1 stalk of celery, 2 large fresh mushrooms, ¼ green pepper, ½ tomato, 1 egg white hard boiled (no yolks for me!), and about 5 baby carrots.
I then out some freshly ground black pepper on top of it all and use one of my favorite dressings. My two favorites are Kraft Fat Free French Style dressing and the Kraft Italian Vinaigrette made with Olive Oil. I only use the serving size which is normally 2 tablespoons. If you measure it out it’s actually a LOT of dressing.
Now this salad is very filling however it’s also very low on calories (for above salad with dressing Calories: 140, Carbs: 24 Fat:2 Protein:9) so on days when I am running or working out I will add grilled chicken breast to it. On days that I am especially hungry I will just add more of the veggies. The add-on possibilities are endless which makes salads so much fun!
You can also pair this salad with a big bowl of soup or a sandwich because lets face it you can’t live off of 200 calorie salads, your body will love all the veggies but hate you for not eating enough!