In the Beginning ...

In the beginning ... there was a lot of salads. I was militantly following the rules.

In fact, I admit to being a little terrified of carbs, as if one soda cracker would send me straight to a Willy Wonka Eat-a-Thon.

Case in point: If I went to Subway at lunch, I'd order the Veggie sub, American cheese, with just a little honey mustard on whole wheat. Then before eating it, I'd open it up and scoop out what I thought was the "extra" bread, leaving as thin a crust as possible to hold the rest of the sandwich together.

Freakazoid.

The truth is, I like to eat. I like to eat a lot. And I like to feel like I'm eating a lot of food. So this whole concept of limiting food was tough to get my head around. But when you look back at the Food Pyramid, you very quickly learn that it's hard to actually eat as much as it says you can in one day.

If I wanted to eat a lot, I just made sure I was eating a lot of vegetables.

Taco salad was light on the taco and heavy on the salad. I'd literally fill a medium size mixing bowl and eat the whole thing. A BLT with turkey bacon was stacked HIGH with lettuce.

Psyched myself right into thinking I wasn't really cutting down.

Here are two of my favorite salads. I usually keep a bag or head of some kind of lettuce on hand. If you're feeling really wild, toss in some spinach.

Taco Salad
Lettuce
Raw veg of your choice and lots of them. My favorites are carrots, red onion, red peppers. Fill the bowl!
Low fat shred ched
A handful of crushed baked Tostitos or Sun Chips (the Sun Chips stay crunchier)
Meat: I either take some of the previously discussed shredded rotisserie chicken and heat it up on the stovetop and mix in part of a packet of taco seasoning and water or I fry up some ground turkey and do the same. I prefer the chicken because I don't like the way the ground turkey LOOKS. It's too pale.
For dressing, I just plop on some light sour cream and a dollop of salsa
(My friend Kristen makes the world's best Taco Salad and this isn't as good, but it will work.)

Catered Salad
It seems I get served a version of this salad every time I have a meeting or seminar in a hotel, thus the name.
Mixed greens
A little red onion
A few sliced carrots
A handful of walnuts
A spoonful of blue cheese
One sliced pear (The red skinned ones look pretty)
Some rotisserie chicken (I like mine heated)
And Neuman's Own Light Cranberry Walnut Vinagrette or Raspberry Walnut Vinagrette