How to Like Salads

When I was preggers I hated all vegetables. Every single one of em. I tried really hard to eat them anyway for the sake of the sweet babe inside of me, but when you just throw them up anyway, does it really do much good? I don't know. But luckily she's here and healthy and I don't (totally) hate veggies anymore!

In fact, lately I've been finding I really like them. Maybe it's the Juice Plus, or maybe it's the fact that for 9 long months my body rejected them. Not sure. But I'm kind of loving it. Especially since even before I was pregnant vegetables were not really my forte. I'd find myself thinking I was eating pretty healthy and then I would realize well, actually I haven't eaten a vegetable for like a week... But, whatever.

In the spirit of trying to be healthier, I've really wanted to incorporate more veggies into my EVERY DAY (not just weekly...or monthly) life. I found myself actually following through, which for me is huge. So I want to share any tidbits if this is something you're interested in also.

NOTICE: This post is titled "How to Like Salads", not "How to Lose Weight By Eating Salads" or "The Healthiest Salads Around". No, no. You will not find that here. Someone else has written many a post about those other things. But these are for my peeps who are looking to dip your big toe into the big pool of salad-y waters (yuck). If you're looking to dive in, this might not be the post for you. But read it anyway! Hah.

Also, this post contains some of the most beautiful images of food you will ever feast your eyes upon. *Snorts*. No it doesn't.

Gosh, guys, don't you really want to keep reading?!

Step 1: Buy Salad

Yeah, I know. But really, you can't make yourself a salad if you don't have any salad in your house. There's seriously too much salad to pick from these days. Romaine, Arugula, Spinach, BABY Spinach (if you're afraid of the normal size), not to mention salad mixes with the weird purple lettuce that tastes like death. Just stick to something simple the first time, you don't want to scare yourself. I really like romaine. Is it as nutritiously amazing as kale? Nope, but it's green and it's going in my body instead of a McChicken so I choose to feel good about it. Also, if you don't mind cutting it yourself, buy the whole head of salad. The stuff in the plastic bins always seems to go bad faster. Sometimes I'll buy both and mix them together.

Step 2: Add Veggies and Toppings

Do NOT buy vegetables you don't like! Sometimes when you're trying super hard to be healthy, you can go a little overboard. I've done this. I've been known to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't even like and let it rot in my fridge. Example: I'm not a big fan of cucumbers, and if I try to be adventurous and put them on my salad, I don't eat them anyway. They just get pushed to the side and suck up my precious salad dressing like the dirty little thieves they are. Cucumbers, man. Listen, you know what you like and what you don't. Stick to what you know the first few times, you want to enjoy your salad, not regret every bite. As for toppings, I always have to have some protein. if you're the same way I recommend grilling some chicken (or steak, or whatever) ahead of time. Usually we'll have some leftover meat of some kind in the fridge. In the salad I made today I used some leftover chicken nuggets my husband made (by hand! Even the bread crumbs!! He's a keeper...) the other night. Make some tacos, bag up the leftover meat and throw it in a taco salad the next day.

 I love that man...

I always have to have some cheese too. I usually keep some feta on hand just for salads, but if not, I get creative. Cheese wiz, anyone? Haha, just kidding...maybe.

Step 3: Dressing

Dressing can make or break your salad. Usually store bought ranch is really gross. If you're going to go the ranch route but don't want to make it completely from scratch I highly recommend the Hidden Valley Buttermilk (HAS to be buttermilk!) Ranch packet. It's so so good, maybe a little too good. I'll eat almost anything if it's dipped in that. If we're going to dinner at a friends and we're asked to bring a salad, I almost ALWAYS make this dressing. Because I want people to like me. But if you're looking for a healthier alternative my favorite dressing is 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 (or a 1/3 if you really like lemon like me) lemon juice (I buy it to keep things simple), 1 tsp ground mustard, salt & pepper to taste. It tastes like a caesar dressing without all the work. And I always have the stuff for it so that's what I tend to go with. Get on pinterest and search easy salad dressings or vinaigrette's, there's almost too many great ideas. Keep some olive oil on hand. I always buy a back up because there's nothing worse than having your salad ready to go and realizing YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OLIVE OIL FOR DRESSING. Also, get a container that pours your dressing easily like the one pictured below. Then you don't have to make it every time you need it, you can just whip it out of the fridge.

This thing is pretty big so my dressing never comes close to filling it up. Inside is a honey mustard dressing. Equal parts honey, mustard and mayo (or a little less mayo if you want to make the sad version) s&p, whisk it up and you're done! Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Step 4: Prepare Ahead

Nobody wants to make a salad every day. There just ain't time for that. Get yourself some mason jars and some dressing cups and pull them out when you're making your salad. It's hard to only cut enough veggies for one salad. So just keep cutting and throw some in each jar as you go. It takes the same amount of time. I always do plastic cups (pictured below) for the dressing, because even if you put the dressing at the bottom of the mason jar, it tends to make everything a little less crunchy. I put my veggies and toppings in the jar first and my salad in last. I've found this keeps the salad the crunchiest and then I can just dump it on a paper plate and the toppings are already on top! Because I'm not going to try and mix up my salad and eat it out of jar. I'm just not.

And here it is! I promise there are vegetables in there, I just refuse to toss salads because then all the good stuff goes straight to the bottom to die.

Well, if you really hated this post, just replace the word SALAD with TACOS and re-read it. That should help. Happy eating!