Hey everyone!
After I sent a picture of the salad that I prep every weekend, I figured I'd write everything down and how to make it, just in case anyone wanted to add it to their meal plan!
I eat it every morning and it's so filling and nutritious that I look forward to having a big ass bowl as soon as I get into work. A perfect start to kick off healthy habits for the rest of the day! :)
And ladies, this salad is amazing - and I just realized that, after listing everything out, you get at least 10 DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF VEGGIES just from this one salad! No wonder I feel so good after I eat it…
FYI, I'm not a huge fan of dressing so I just sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar on top and I'm good to go! And notice how I said vinegar, not vinaigrette. Vinaigrette usually has oil in it and I prefer to get my fat from either the nuts (if I add them) or something else :)
Keep in mind, this is just how I like to do it. You can obviously add or take out whatever you want. Salads like this are great because you can literally throw in ANYTHING. And you can always add in some chicken or another lean protein if you want a complete, satisfying meal with all the macros.
But first, a few salad tools that I use to help speed up the process:
Now, if you're going to make a really big salad that you want to make sure lasts the whole week, get this! By spinning your lettuce first, it helps get rid of all that excess water so your salad won't be all wilty and gross by the time Thursday and Friday comes around. Also helps so you don't have to pat each piece of lettuce by hand after you rinse it.
I first saw this handy dandy tool at Subway when I ordered the chop salad and it was love at first sight. I HAVE to chop everything in my salad really good (I hate dealing with big pieces of lettuce) so this thing has been a huge time saver.
Now, let's get into the nitty gritty.
Ingredients:
3 types of lettuce of your choosing (I usually use kale, spinach, and romaine)
Half a head of Red Cabbage
Cucumbers
Red and Orange Bell Peppers (at least two big ones)
Brussel Sprouts
Asparagus
Carrots
Dried fruit (optional, no sugar added)
Raw nut variety (optional, no oil or sugar added)
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Rinse all vegetables
Cover baking sheets with tin foil and a layer of cooking spray
Chop carrots (you can use that awesome chopper I shared earlier)
Cut brussel sprouts into quarters and bell peppers in half
Roast carrots, brussel sprouts, asparagus, and bell peppers
The time is going to vary depending on your oven and how roasted you like your veggies. I usually do 20 minutes for the carrots and 15 for everything else
While the vegetables are cooking, chop up the lettuce, cabbage, and cucumbers and put in one big bowl
After the roasted veggies are done, cut the bell peppers and asparagus into small pieces and add to bowl
Chop the brussel sprouts with the device and add to bowl
If incorporating dried fruit, cut into small, bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl
If incorporating nuts, cut into small, bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl
Toss and Enjoy!
Hopefully this gives you guys a good foundation to work off of so you can start your day off with some nutritious greens!
