Confession time — my name is Joy, and I’m a lazy girl (at least when it comes to food.) A lazy girl who gets mad when her pants don’t fit. So, what’s this lazy girl to do? Figure out a solution.
How about…run 3 miles a day! Seems simple enough, right? Well, I’m still not quite there yet. Most days I only have energy to walk (somewhat briskly, for about 40 minutes) and I am still working my way through C25K (again). As I rapidly approach the end of my late ’30s, what I used to do for exercise isn’t cutting it anymore. I’ve come to the realization that I need to change my diet and in a rapid-fire manner so that I won’t have to go shopping for a new wardrobe.
The easiest thing for me to do would be to eat a salad for one meal a day (that meal being lunch), except (and here comes another confession) I’m just not a big fan of salad. I quite like cooked vegetables of nearly any kind, but raw leaves? I could do without. But, as I mentioned before…pants need to fit.
I had to make a change. Salad will be my new BFF. I need to make it interesting, so I came up with a plan. Make up my favorite sandwich, just remove the bread and add green, leafy stuff. Brilliant!
What you need:
1 bag of green leafy stuff (I like Les Salades du Midi, Sorrento blend from …yes, you guessed it, Trader Joe’s)
1 serving (4 slices) of your favorite deli meat (I like sliced Smoked Turkey Breast or the sliced Original Mortadella with Pistachio from TJ’s), torn up into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp. shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tbsp. Roasted & Salted Sunflower Seeds (this is for the crunch factor…try sliced almonds if you are not a fan of the little grayish bits that I adore)
1 tsp. of Extra Virgin Garlic Olive Oil (a little goes a long way with a toss)
1/2 of a ripe avocado (optional)
1 big bowl in which to toss these goodies
What you do:
Make it easy for yourself. Put these ingredients in a big reusable bag and bring them with you to work. Put them in the fridge until you are ready to use them. When you’re hungry, take them out. Put 1/3-1/2 a bag of salad in the bowl, and put all the other ingredients in on top. Add the oil and toss.
I actually enjoy making it as salad assembly is a welcome break from the virtual insanity of teaching and it allows me to take care of me in the short time that I have for lunch. Here is what mine looked like the other day:
Eat…and be happy!
Does it carry you through the day or of you need a snack around 3 like I do when I eat a salad for lunch?
It does, I don’t really get hungry as it is pretty filling. I do sometimes get a crazing based on stress, so I’ll eat a mandarin orange or a clementine or have a few jelly beans. For me (and everyone is different), I find that the more protein I eat, and the more high quality carbs, the more satisfied I am.
You had me at “lazy girl”. Admittedly, you almost lost me on the “salad” but actually it looks good 🙂 . I should definitely take a (wait for it) leaf out of your book and up my salad intake. There are some great salads around.
LOL Thank you for giving me my first laugh of the morning. Thanks for your comment.