SALADS – WHAT’S YOUR VIEW?

Growing up, when my mum said ‘it’s salad for dinner’ I would be filled with dread and disappointment.  Salads were just boring, not very tasty or particularly interesting and comprised neatly lined up rows of lettuce, tomato and cucumber with a protein (either sliced meat, tinned tuna or boiled eggs), the only excitement would be a blob of salad cream on the side.

This view of salad held strong throughout my teens and twenties and if I ‘had salad’ with a meal, I’d pretty much buy a bag of leaves and dump it on the side of the plate and that would be that and I never contemplated anything different.

Upon embarking upon any weight loss programme (I tried pretty much everything in my 20’s and early 30’s) I’d know I’d need to eat more salad but couldn’t muster any enthusiasm whatsoever so was already setting myself up for failure before I’d even begun whatever fad diet or programme I was ‘punishing’ myself with at the time.  For me, salads were dull, left me feeling as hungry as when I’d started eating and were just boring.  Now, I wasn’t very inventive with my food choices, had no nutrition knowledge and my cooking skills were non-existent at this time so I always just stuck to what I knew – that bland lettuce, cucumber and tomato affair my mum had dished up!

Two salads which challenged my views!

Now in my 40’s and having spend over 10 years eating healthily and changing my relationship with food, I’ve eaten hundreds if not thousands of salads but there are two stand out salads which started me on the journey to change my mind about what the concept of a ‘salad’ could be!

Firstly, on a holiday with friends in Portugal, I was tempted to try a ‘sunshine salad’ on the menu at the local little cafe – it was the name which intrigued me, what exactly would be in a sunshine salad and how could it be a whole meal at the same price as my usual choice of pizza or a burger.  I was rather taken aback when it arrived with slices of orange strewn throughout, along with beans I didn’t recognise, olives, a variety of leaves and other items (some of which I recognised, others I didn’t have a clue!).  I was quite sceptical but it was a riot of colour and textures and looked so appealing so I tucked in and it was absolutely delicious.  In fact, I went back to the same cafe most days for lunch to have it again for the rest of the holiday.

_{(Picture isn’t the salad I had on holiday but a stock photo!)}

The second life-changing salad was another holiday at a beach front cafe in Cape Town, South Africa.  I was away with a friend who was a healthy eater and she selected a salad for lunch so I thought I do the same and plumbed for a blue cheese, pear and walnut number.  A very brave choice for me at the time but I remember so clearly the amazing taste sensation in my mouth (even so much that I tried to replicate several times when I got home!)

So began my changing relationship with the humble salad!  

Combined with the realisation that if I wanted to take my weight loss journey seriously, I’d have to make a long term commitment which included being more experimental with my food choices, investing in recipe books, learning how to cook and educating myself about balanced and nutritious meals.

Me and salads today

I eat salads all year round, I never sit down to a salad meal thinking this is going to be boring or that it won’t fill me up and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten the same combination of foods in a salad for years – each one tastes different depending on what I’ve got in the fridge.  Salads can be thrown together in minutes or can be things I take time over preparing when I can and the key is they are tasty, satisfying and usually very pretty to look at!

So, if you are a bit like I was, here’s a few of my top tips to make your salads a delightful meal to enjoy:

1) Make them filling – my basic principle for most salads is:

     – Lots of salad / veg 

     – A protein (eg cheese, eggs, meats, fish, beans, chickpeas)

     – A carbohydrate (eg potatoes, rice, cous cous, grains, bulgar wheat is my current favourite, pasta)

– A low fat or fat free dressing (balsamic vinegar is one of my favourites or a fat free vinaigrette – there’s some lovely ones in the supermarket) 

2) Prepare in advance and batch prepare!

If I’m roasting some veg for dinner, I always do loads on purpose to keep a supply in the fridge to add to salads for lunches over the next few days.  Cold roasted veg tastes absolutely delicious the next day mixed with salad leaves and your protein and carb of choice.

I always cook extra new potatoes and rice at dinner for the exact same reason – repurposing in a salad for lunch the next day.

And if I’m making some cous cous, quinoa or bulgar wheat, I’ll make enough to last for a few lunches to save time in preparation later in the week.

3) Have a chopping session

Rather than having to get out your chopping boards and knives on a daily basis, plan a half hour at the start of the week, grab a big tupperware box and batch chop all your salad items (onions, cucumber, radish, spring onions etc) so that you can just grab them to throw in with your leaves and other bits – a big time saver

4) Pickled stuff

I love throwing in some pickled onions, red cabbage, beetroot gherkins and my favourite jarred red peppers – firstly they add ‘juice’ to the salad and that tanginess, secondly, they last for ages in the fridge and thirdly, need minimum effort to add to your salad.

5) Be inventive!

I love adding fruit to salads – that combination of sweetness just makes it pop in my opinion.  Figs and watermelon go amazingly well with feta cheese but this summer I’ve been throwing all sorts in there – blueberries, strawberries, nectarine, grapes and apple to name a few.

A ‘love it or hate it’ addition is cold baked beans (I’m in the love-it camp)

Leftovers – I hate any food waste so usually by the end of my week, my fridge is full of tupperware boxes of bits of leftovers from meals from the week – my most inventive salads usually occur on the day before food shopping day!

I’d love to hear any of your top salad tips – whether its what you put in them or ideas to save time – just comment below!