SALADS - 101 & 102

As we gear up during "Prep Week" my assignments has mostly been "Think about the changes we're going to be making." But let's get productive here and talk about Salads. Eating a plant-based diet means eating a lot of salads, and if you are anything like me, that can seem a little trying. Initially, it sounds boring and a little limiting. But now that I've been living it for several months, I can't believe I ever felt that way, and I think you'll agree soon! It not unlike the folks that say "Drinking water is so boring." NO NO NO! Water is key to our survival, nothing quenches your thirst like it, it helps everything inside you work better, it calms your appetite. It's all in the ATTITUDE!

It's the same with salad, you will soon be getting excited about salads, I promise!! First of all, salad is only as boring as our imaginations. When I first started eating plant-based, I made what I now call a "Basic Salad" and for simplicity, I suggest you do the same in the beginning. It consists of what I think of as obvious salad veggies which is cut-up romaine lettuce (buy the mixes in bags, so easy), cucumbers, tomatoes, celery and carrots. Maybe some radishes if you like them. Don't forget beans! Drain and rinse a can of kidney beans, toss a handful (about 1/2 cup, more if you would like)on top.

One night my dinner entree was something Italian, so I "themed" my salad on Italian also, and included some red or green pepper, and Italian herbs in my dressing. Garbanzo beans on top. Easy to do and a little more interesting.

Another day I made an "Asian" themed salad, with thinly sliced carrots, cucumbers, radishes, sliced mushrooms. Soybeans on top. I could have included snow peas or snap peas or bean sprouts with it!

Another day I made a chopped salad, which totally shakes up the whole texture. A lot of the same ingredients, I just chopped everything into a dice. (Don't dice your beans unless you really want to!) Check your grocery store for Broccoli slaw or Asian salad, this is cabbage and broccoli shredded, which also provides and interesting texture.

Avoid iceberg lettuce, but beyond that explore the lettuces...how about Arugula? I like to add it to romaine. Spinach salad with sliced mushrooms and shredded carrots? Spring greens with blueberries? Please share with us YOUR favorite salad. The only rules are we're keeping nuts to a tablespoon or less per serving for now.

By the way, the smartest thing I discovered was NEVER MAKE ONLY ONE SALAD at a time! I always always get a plastic container out and make another salad for that night or the next day. It is just so simple to cut for two (or three if you have another person to feed!) dishes at a time rather that put a half of a pepper (or whatever) back in the 'fridge! And it makes it so much easy to stick with it when all you have to do is grab it, dress it, and eat. Plan ahead people!

Salad 102: Salad Dressings

During the next 28 days (and hopefully longer) we're going to be having No-Oil Salad Dressings. This also gives us a LOT of options.

Our Basic Dressing: The 3-2-1 Dressing: 3 Tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp pure maple syrup. You can vary this with different vinegars, such as rice, white wine, or balsamic. Also with the mustard, try different ones. For my Asian salad, I used rice vinegar and Chinese mustard. For Italian, white balsamic (or regular) and a regular Dijon. Easy, easy. easy. You can buy oil-free dressings also, and having one in the refrigerator for convenience is great, but to me dressings I mix up are SO much better.

*One of our souvenirs from France was a sampler of real Dijon mustard from Dijon! Let me tell you they are very different from Grey Poupon!! I don't want anything to interfere with their flavor so I use the most delicate white wine vinegar I have...(Look for an "imported from France" Dijon at your store, I found one at Publix, it's a little more expensive but worth it.) Share Challenge 2: Do you have a no-oil dressing recipe to share?

Lastly, speaking of recipes, I discovered "Spark People" Healthy recipes website this week. I started saving recipes, as well as writing a few into a cookbook there that everyone can access. Here's the link to my cookbook:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=242976

Let me know if you have trouble with it, but I recommend you go ahead and sign up as they had a lot of good stuff there. Check it out and let me know what you think.