My momma always says, “we eat with our eyes first” and also, ” a colorful meal is a healthy meal!”. Both Tina-isms- and both true! This salad is pretty straight forward, but I wanted to post about it because I’ve had some questions about my diet since I’ve been trying to keep it clean! (Also, I thought the colors in these photos were so beautiful- I couldn’t NOT post!)
If you’re thinking, “this looks simple but like it required a lot of prep.” You’re right on both counts. I do a lot of my food prep on the day I go grocery shopping. I’ll clean out my fridge, and then take all my newly purchased fruits and veggies, and wash, dry and chop them and store them in air-tight containers. (This is a big time saver- especially for lunch and snacks to take to work!) This way I always have healthy options on hand and ready to go!
I’ll have the bf throw a ton of chicken on the grill, and I’ll have it for all week. So- technically for this salad, all I had to do was pull each individual ingredient from their storage container, and slice up some romaine. and Boom!
I also keep a homemade vinaigrette on hand at all times. I use it on salad, raw veggies, and you can even us it on pasta and whole grains.
My base vinaigrette usually consists of (but you can sub almost any vinegar and blend of herbs, and citrus) I almost always use a 3:1 ration for oil to vinegar.
- 1/3 c vinegar (today I used balsamic)
- 1 c EVOO
- 1-2 Tbsp dijon mustard (or any mustard of your choice)
- squeeze of lemon juice (or orange juice) if you like more acidity. If you like less acidity, cut your vinegar down a bit, or leave out the citrus.
- 5 dashes of franks red hot
- Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder
This is just my basic balsamic vinaigrette. You can sub out any ingredients, or add any other herbs and seasonings you want. I use this as my base because it stays good sitting on the counter for such a long time and these ingredients don’t really spoil.
Also, does anyone else LOVE beets? Any time I see a beet salad on a menu anywhere, that’s what I order! They are so easy and stay good in the fridge all week- I mostly eat them on salads, but they go great in grains too- my favorite things to pair them with are: goats cheese, strawberries, wheat berries and farrow. I got my bestie to try golden beets after quite a bit of coaxing- she was absolutely sure she didn’t like beets before this. After I got her to try one of these golden beets, she changed her mind! I feel like the golden meets have slightly lighter flavor. If you’ve never given them a chance- do it! You just might change your mind too!
Salad Ingredients:
- 1.5 c shredded Romaine ( C:2.3 F: .2 P: .9)
- 1/4 c sliced strawberries (C: 2.9 F: .1 P: .3)
- 1/4 c blueberries (C: 5.2 F: .1 P: .3)
- 1/4 c sliced, roasted golden beets (C: 3 F: .8 P: .5)
- 4.5 oz grilled chicken (C:0 F: 2.7 P: 34.7)
- 1/2 Tbsp Chia Seeds (C: 2.5 F:1.5 P: 1.5)
Obviously these macros don’t include the salad dressing. . . I didn’t include them because this salad actually didn’t need much dressing. You can eat it plain (the berries add nice flavor) or add whatever dressing you’d like! I also didn’t include calories because I’m not counting them. I’m just kinda/sorta counting my macros as a prep for an upcoming event. (If you’re unsure of what macros are- they are “macronutrients- carbs, fats and proteins) and there is a system of counting them as a method of flexible dieting. (If you’re interested you can read more here at IIFYM.com for more information.) And- I included the macros here for those of you who are in my fitness group!
I hope this inspires you all to get creative and eat clean for your lunches and do a little bit of prepping ahead of time so it’s easier for you to make healthy choices through the week!
As always, please feel free to ask questions about my journey or any of my cooking/food prep methods! I love to hear from you guys!
Happy flex friday!
