Making a salad a meal

Hi, I’m in a salad rut.  [never a bad thing]

 

As I’ve repeatedly blogged about, I’m a bit of a prep queen.  Whenever I know I have several shifts in a row, I make sure to prepare healthy and flexible food options ahead of time.  I hate coming home to an empty fridge (and after 12+ hours on my feet, I definitely don’t have the energy to start cooking a meal from scratch). 

This week’s examples:

Lentils & wheat berries.  [Soaking on stand-by]

Veggies. [I always have greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, & carrots on hand]

Quinoa.  [A pantry staple that takes no time to make in bulk]

Wild rice.  [In addition to quinoa, I try to rotate other kinds of grains]

I even pre-made green monsters to freeze and eat with a spoon on the way to work! 

Even though the weather has been on the cooler side, because I start my days with mini-exercise sessions I’m often in the mood for cooler things in the AM (aside from my coffee of course).  Rather than wake Kyle up with the whirring of the blender at 5 am, I just blend and freeze ahead of time. 

Frozen banana, spinach, Vega’s chai flavored whole food health optimizer, soft tofu, water, non dairy milk, ice.

 

The best part about freezing green monsters after you make them is the texture doesn’t really matter.  If it’s too runny, it still freezes fine.  If it’s too thick, it also freezes fine. 

I take the tupperware of green goop out of the freezer when I first wake up, and by the time I’m driving to work (or sitting in the hospital’s parking garage) it has thawed a bit and makes the perfect icy green frozen breakfast treat!

Of course I still have my oats as breakfast number two while at work. 

Chai chia oat pudding.

Now about those “rut” worthy salads…

I forgot to mention this before, but I also bought a big container of WF tempeh salad to last me through the week.  I know I mentioned how obsessed I was with this spread before, but I feel the need to re-emphasize it, so if you ever see it in your local WFs get it!

Here’s how I make my salads both (a) delicious and (b) filling.

• include a whole grain (quinoa, millet, couscous, rice, whatever)
• use as many different colors as possible (veggies, fruits, etc.)
• add some healthy fats (avocado, seeds, nuts, quality oil-based dressings)
• round out the macronutrients with some protein (tempeh, tofu, beans)

 

Here’s a layered look as I made my recent salads employing the above guidelines…

Quinoa, followed by spinach & tomatoes, followed by carrots & bell peppers.

 

With tempeh salad & Bragg’s liquid aminos on top. 

 

A little shake ‘n bake action (to get everything evenly coated).

 

And voila!  The tempeh salad has vegan mayo and sunflower seeds which meet the healthy fats requirement.  As you can see, the colorful nature of the veggies in the salad makes it visual appetizing and thus a desirable meal (who wants to eat a salad if it looks blah and boring?).  The quinoa as a base has protein but also satisfied the grain/pseudo-grain category providing long lasting energy (the complex carbs offer a slow and stable carbohydrate release for sustained blood sugar levels).  Plus the tempeh and sunflower seeds have protein which helps provide a sense of fullness that lasts.  

The rest of my work lunch?  The usual suspects.

Mary’s Gone crackers, Larabar, ProBar, Enjoy Life choco loco bar (a newbie to be reviewed in detail later), apple, candied ginger.

When I got home from work, I was dreaming of the exact same salad for dinner.  I was literally salivating at the thought of it my entire way home.

 

Since I had all the ingredients ready to go, it was assembled in no time at all.  [I did shower first though]

The only alterations with this version were kale and sesame sticks.

 

All I can say is mmmm.

 

How about a ‘lil zoom zoom. 

I was so satiated after finishing this salad that all I had afterwards was milky chai tea.  No dessert cravings?  What is this craziness? 

Then it was time to pack up my work food all over again.

 

This salad was also the same (but different) with wild rice, spring greens, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, and (duh) tempeh salad.

Did you know that wild rice is actually a grass?  Technically speaking.  Of course it’s sold in it’s dried form as a grain and (like quinoa) is also gluten free, high in protein and fiber.  It’s also super simple to cook, and has a fabulous chewy texture that provides a nice contrast to the rest of my salad’s crunchy veggies. 

Why to the you to the em. 

[For those confused by my lingo, that translates to y-u-m]

I had a partially thawed green monster for breakfast #1 and oatmeal for breakfast #2.

Blueberry & lemon crème oatmeal to be exact. 

 

A new oat concoction! 

 

This recipe was inspired by a recent gift from my mom’s cousin (who I stayed with over the Carmageddon weekend), Honey Ridge Farms’ Lemon Honey Crème.

 

My nose went into sensory shock when I opened it.  It smelled just like freshly squeezed lemons!  The only ingredients are honey, lemon concentrate, and lemon peel (I know honey is not vegan).

In the words of Tim Gunn, major wow factor!  I only needed a little drizzle to bring the zing to my taste buds.  It was tart, which is why I used blueberries to balance the flavor profile (sweetness helps cut through & mellow out tart/acidic tones).  The oats were excellent so you will see this recipe again.

The rest looks pretty similar, huh?  If it ‘aint broke…

I had an average day, but was completely blown away when I discharged a patient and was presented with this gift basket!

I could hardly believe it.  I had a hard time lugging it home and that’s even after I left a ton of it’s contents (to share) in the nurses lounge. 

I didn’t even look through it until the next day…and I’m still in disbelief by this patient’s kindness.  Like Mary Poppins’ bag, the contents were never-ending.

To give you an idea how massive this was, please observe…

A mix of healthy and not-so-healthy.  I am going to bring a ton of this back to share with the unit, but I can guess which items Kyle will try to steal beforehand…

Anyway, back to dinner. 

Yeah, it’s getting predictable. 

Nothing wrong with a rut when it’s such a healthy one, though.

For dessert I indulged my salt cravings and ravaged the container of sesame sticks.  There weren’t many left when I finally had the self control to pop on the lid for good. 

I know “variety is the spice of life”, but in this case, I was (and still am) very much in love with this salad.  Even the slightest alterations (different greens and grains) is enough to keep my taste buds intrigued over and over and over again.  Who else has the same thing for lunch and dinner four times in a row??  My next step is getting the Whole Foods tempeh salad recipe and mastering it on my own.

Looking for extra tips on making a salad a meal?

• Variety, variety, variety!  When creating a salad think of textural differences – like chewy [grains, dried fruit], crunchy [veggies], crispy [crackers, chips] as well as flavor differences – like sweet [dried fruit] and salty/savory [nuts, seeds], et.
•  Complex carbs! Veggies on their own are great, but if you’re metabolism is like mine (my blog is called hungry hungry hippie for a reason) your appetite probably won’t be held over with by veggies alone.  If you’re looking to make a salad a meal, add complex carbs.  These release sugar slowly into your bloodstream, thereby creating a lasting plateau of energy. 
• The two “F”s – fat & fiber.  Fiber makes you feel full, and fat slows your stomach’s rate of emptying.  Both of these are key in keeping you satiated over the long term.  Beans are full of fiber and when combined with a healthy fat (ie tahini-based dressing) you have an instantly delicious plant-based salad.  So use hummus as a dressing and you’re set!  I promise pairing fat and fiber will keep your body healthy and happy.  Other sources of healthy fats include avocado, quality oils, and nuts.

Anything to add?  What are your salad building tips?