Spinachfest

2 smoothies, 4 salads.

That is what it takes to finish off an entire bag of spinach around here evidently. I’m on one heck of a serious spinach kick.  They were buy one get one free so I did.  Easy peasy.  Getting down to the bottom of the 2nd bag.

So far the challenge of a salad a day is going awesome! one the first day, 2 the second,then a lunch one, another yesterday & then lunch while I blog.  I am loving them.

Ok confession.

Maybe not loving them as much as I was the first couple of days.  In fact today;s, well it actually may not have been technically a salad.

BUT I am counting it.  Think of it like a bread bowl only completely all around!

Wrap, salad… either way it is lots of veggies.  Girl has to switch it up a little every now & then.

Slightly surprised how easy it has been to have it as my go to meal.  Much better than some drive thru dash.

Another confession….  The training for the 5K completely off track.

I could give a million excuses, but why both? Fact is I don’t feel ready.  Still backing out is NOT an option I am willing to consider so off to the Electric Run I go Friday.  Come what may it will certainly be an experience new to me.

What you say? a Salad a Day?

Imagine how happy a body would be if it got what it wanted all of the time.  The good stuff, not the indulgences that end up leaving you feeling crashed and lethargic.  The fresh vibrant healthy stuff.

As while back I started making smoothies again and it has become a habit.  One I missed while away.  Thankfully when visiting my family usually I still get a smoothie thanks to Dad letting me have some space in the freezer to store stuff and a mini blender that is ready to pack & go where I need it.

 

Salads however, I have really gotten out of the habit of eating.  Frankly many salads I see people eating just gross me out.  I’m not a fan of dressings or mayonnaise (I don’t even like the sound of that word) or an iceberg girl.  Wish I had a penny for every time I got a strange look when I ordered my salad dry.  I would be living at Disney World.  Yes THAT often.  I admit that it is odd to many but we all have our food quirks.

SALAD

1.  a. A dish of raw leafy green vegetables, often tossed with pieces of other raw or cooked vegetables, fruit, cheese, or other ingredients and served with a dressing.  b. The course of a meal consisting of this dish.

2. A cold dish of chopped vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, or other food, usually prepared with a dressing, such as mayonnaise.

3. A green vegetable or herb used in salad, especially lettuce.

4. A varied mixture:

I’m still lost as to what officially makes a salad exactly, but for me I will define it as something that is mostly fruits or vegetables and less cooked than a typical dish.  Fresh, healthy ingredients.  Another step in my attempt to live life in full vivid color  – even on my plates!

Truth is I remember a time where I ate salads daily & loved it.  Was easier then working somewhere that had a fresh salad bar with various seasonal ingredients.  Also was easy to grab ingredients for home prep.  Why did I quit?  Because after I stopped that job, it was just easier to grab other stuff.

One thing I have learned in bringing back the smoothie addiction is preparation is everything.  If I don’t already have the ingredients in the house, it simply isn’t going to happen for me.  Same goes for salads.  Might take me a while to get back into the habit again, but organization and planning should be a little work at the go but come natural as I go.

Luckily we have several farmers markets in the area and some great retail options to get local, fresher than fresh good stuff.

As far as equipment, I already have a salad spinner, bowls, cutting boards and plenty of storage for ingredients.  Easy peasy.  Good to go there although I know I will come across gadgets and gizmos that I will want along the way.

With Pinterest, blogs & recipes galore all over the web and magazines there should be no shortage of inspiration.

The possibilities are endless.  I think you could have a salad for 3 meals a day every day for 10 years and there would still be combinations you didn’t think of or try.  Just so much goodness out there.

Promise I won’t become one of those chicks who only orders a small salad on dates and barely picks at it.  Nope.  I like to add the extras.  I have to think that piling on cheese, chicken or whatever on veggies is still going to be healthier and keep me feeling more energy than just having them on a sandwich without the vegetables.

So the idea is a salad a day.  Break the bad habits I have fallen into with comfort and quick on the go fast food.  Get back to what actually makes me fell good on a daily basis.  Sure there will be days I slip, but if the good out weights the bad, I’m all for it.

Off to get groceries & get this plan in action.

Comfort Me

Sometimes you just crave comfort food.  Especially as the days feel so much shorter & the stress piles up.  So I searched for a casserole.  Something new yet full of familiar favorites.

I found my way to a recipe for Chicken Broccoli Casserole on Family Oven.  Still I ended up switching it up slightly.  Instead of the Cream of Mushroom soup, I used Cream of Celery.  In place of the french fried onions, I went for crushed crackers as a topping.

Seven ingredients that some people even already have without the trip to the store.  Not me! But here they are now ready to go.  Start by cooking the chicken.  I went for just simply boiling it up.  But I can see you fixing it most any way.  As long as it get cooked thoroughly & then chopped or shredded into bite sized chunks.

While the chicken was cooking, I start on the cheese sauce.  Over a low-medium heat I mixed together the butter (instead of margarine), the cream of celery, the cheese & the milk.  At first I had my doubts.  Its wasn’t looking so great.

Chopped up the 2 bunches of broccoli into bite sized pieces.  That is about the time it hit me, this is making a lot of food.  Looks like its going to be a share some or eat it til I’m sick of it type meals!

Layer the chicken in the bottom of the pan.

Next layer on the broccoli pieces.

The cheese sauce goes onto the broccoli layer.

Crushed up the crackers & added that layer to the pan.

Popped it all in a 350 degree oven for around 30 minutes.  The original recipe had it baking longer, but it was smelling REALLY good & the crackers were browning.  I figured everything had cooked that needed to cook by then.

I was right!  It was done.

Its delish!

I love the flavors of this.  The broccoli roast, which is not a way I typically have cooked or eaten broccoli but it is great.  Funny enough I just recently read another blog discussing roasted broccoli & didn’t even remember it til I tasked this.  I now get why she loves to roast hers!

The only thing I may change about this recipe is that I expected it to be creamier.  Turned out drier than I thought it would.  At first I thought – mental note double the sauce recipe or decrease everything else by half next time.  After I had dinner, I don’t know if I will change it after all.  Sure it wasn’t quite the consistency I was expecting, but in the end it wasn’t bad at all.  Actually maybe some home made applesauce would be a perfect side for this.

Guess even when things don’t end up the way we want them to, we shouldn’t just toss them away, but rather enjoy them for what they are.  We may indeed find a new favorite after all.