I know that the core of most healthy people’s diet is salad of some form – replacing some of those calorie-dense carbs with a bed of lettuce of some kind or another. I also know that I’ve yet to crave such things – I am the last girl to ever look straight at the salads at a restaurant. Still, Husband has been making them for me for years now, so I am very familiar with his way of doing things:
Husband’s formula for salad:
Start with good greens: Husband doesn’t like iceberg lettuce, though more power to you if that’s how you get in some salad time. He tends toward mildly bitter lettuces, like spring mix from the grocery store, though we’ve recently been getting local butterhead lettuce which is even earthier (i.e. dirt-flavored).Β
Add all the veggies in the house: his staples are peppers, carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms.
Dress with balsamic and oil: Husband has a comically huge jug of balsamic vinegar he got on super-sale one time last year, and we always go through a lot of olive oil, so instead of a dainty bottle of dressing he’s always got these two jumbo containers to contend with.Β
Add cheese: Husband will put a generous topping of whatever cheese we have in the house, which I always ask him not to do with my salads. Why would I put one of my favorite foods on top of my least favorite? If I have to eat salad, I want to feel like I’ve won a medal for healthy eating. He, on the other hand, actually enjoys it.Β
I really love that he can get excited about salad, especially since it gives us nice tasks; if I’m finishing up a pasta dish, he’ll come in to the kitchen and prepare two salads, usually not giving me a choice, one with all his favorites and mine with no mushrooms and no cheese. It’s a labor of love, I’m sure, to get me to eat my raw veggies, but he’s doing it.
This post just made me smile this morning. And I’m not even out of bed! Lol
It sounds like dh and I, but reversed.
Salads give me life!
And when we go out to eat, I order a great big Greek salad, while dh orders some calorie filled fried dish that I never make at home.
Your dhs salads sound very similar to my “go to” at home. Except I had tomatoes, croutons, chick peas, and olives, if I have them.
And yes! Shredded cheese! Mmm. π
I also buy balsamic and oil in bulk too. But I did recentky find a balsam glaze that is suppose to be amazing on salads. (Picked it up at Walmart the other day.) I haven’t opened it yet.
It’s suppose to be for salads and “healthy toast”bπ€
Oh! Cheers to Spring Mix! But oh! Butter crisp is SO good! We are presently trying to grow it.
Now I am off to make a kale and mustard green smoothie. Why don’t y’all swing over for breakfast. Haha! π
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Hey, give yourself a high five, at least you’re eating salad as a side instead of French fries! I’m happy you bothe enjoy salad and I feel the same way about getting kudos for eating it. I make mine like a meal as well, adding in romaine, peppers, black olives, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. Whatever I have on hand, and then I top it off with fresh avocado slices. My guilty pleasure is ranch dressing, however, when I’m being good I make my own Paleo-fied or I use raspberry balsamic dressing with walnuts. Yum!
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I agree, salad is generally a colossal bore, but sacrifices have to be made for marital harmony!
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He’s decades ahead of my husband. I wish mine ate that many vegetables. Mine prefers iceberg lettuce, though will put up with spinach or swiss chard if I force him, and will smother it in cheese, bacon, croutons, and french dressing. He tries, he really does. All this talk about salad and I’m craving one now. I think salad is, “what’s for lunch” today.
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I crave salad for supper at times. I just get tired from all the chewing, like a cow and her cud. I do make my salad a spaghetti salad occasionally and that does help the greens go down better.
My favorite way to get a salad in, as my whole meal, is to fix a cornbread salad. That is a reward in itself for me : )
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That’s cute that he gets excited about making and eating salads. Lol
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My hubby is like your’s, and would eat salad rather than have carbs (unless it’s pasta) any day so I, too, have got used to eating them over the years.
I admit to adding as many other ingredients to it as I can, including either balsamic or, if feeling naughty, some mayo, though, like you, I don’t like putting cheese on mine – I prefer that with some nice seeded crackers, and a glass of something tasty with it π
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A very happy husband, I guess. π
Great recipe + lovely vibe !
Sabrina πΌππ
http://www.OrganicIsBeautiful.com
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do you add olive oil to yours? And do you like bacon in yours?
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I don’t usually; I’m somewhat anti-dressing on salads, weirdly. I love some bacon but we rarely can make it and have it last till dinnertime for salads!
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How about adding some crunchy seeds — sunflower, chia, or some chopped walnuts? Sometimes salad can be the most inspiring food to make on the fly. In our house our motto is: “We eat our mistakes.” But sometimes you find a combination that really shines. Good on you both for designing salad!
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I do appreciate walnuts on a salad… I’ve never tried chia! What does it taste like? π
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The “dry” chia seeds are a little nutty — with a texture more like poppy seeds. (So you might need to brush teeth after the meal if you’re going to be giving a speech.).
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Yes. And the gel that forms when the seeds get moist, you’ll be picking out of your teeth for hours. Eat it though, it’s soooo good for you!
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Ha! Labour of love comes down to salad don’t it. Love is a battlefield! Against my own ridiculous inclinations. Against the scourge that is the raw mushroom…..Blech!
My husband also makes me eat salad, and I like growing the stuff, I’m a lazy gardner with a 15 foot wall of tomatoes, love em? Nope. But I eat them, coz red things are good. And there can be grilled cheese laterz.
Cheers to enduring weird size containers for no good reason. I wield a massive bag of floor near a fancy wool rug every time I need a tablespoon. Its dangerous. Dangerous living.
Dangerous living means eating Kale, coz I still don’t really like kale. But it’s good for me and my husband puts it in my salad.
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We eat a lot of salads. I always serve it with pizza or any pasta dish. A crunchy salad can balance a heavier pasta for dinner. Try some fruit in your salad, for a change. Our favorites are fresh pear or strawberries. And seared Ahi tuna is delicious with a mixed green and vegie salad. Some hearty bread fills out the meal.
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I like salad. You know, to feed rabbits. I’m with you. When I do eat salad I tend to drown it in oil, cover it in bacon and chicken and hope for the best. Which turns my salad into everything else I eat… just without a bun, or the joy.
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I LOVE putting cheese on top of salad. Then again, I do love both π
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This is HILARIOUS because I am your husband and you are MY husband!!!!
I throw all kinds of things in my salad — to make it even YUMMIER! My husband won’t put dressing on it. He doesn’t even like a sprinkle of salt or pepper. To me he is torturing himself by eating it like that, but perhaps it is more of the way YOU think about it. (“Why would I put one of my favorite foods on top of my least favorite? If I have to eat salad, I want to feel like Iβve won a medal for healthy eating. “) Interesting. I will try to see it that way . . . for him. Thanks! Cheers!
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