Romaine Revolution

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Romaine Calm

If I were to take a poll during this time of worldly uncertainty and emotional strain, I would bet that everyone’s comfort food of choice would be salad. After all, what better way to soothe the soul than with a giant pile of yard clippings on a fancy plate. Am I right? Pause for laughter…

I hope you caught the sarcasm. Salad is anything but comforting. It requires a fair bit of work to assemble and it tastes like I’d rather be eating a donut. However, not everyone’s body can handle the carb and sugar load of the modern world’s diet. My body happens to be one of them.

My body thrives on a hunter gatherer style diet. The closer I get to eating God made food, not man made food, the better I feel. I’m more energetic, less achy, my mood is more stable, and I sleep better.

Sound The Arugula

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if I find myself eating out or splurging a little too often, I feel awful. I swell up like a balloon, lose all energy and motivation, and slip into higher anxiety levels. These are the alarms my body sounds to show when I’m full of the wrong fuel source and when it’s time to resume my rabbit food diet. Was the tasty food I cheated with worth it? That depends….was it cheesecake? Just kidding…moving on.

I don’t like to eat the same things over and over again. I’m always looking for new recipes to keep meal time new and exciting. This makes a diet mostly made of salad a little challenging. I quickly found a cobb salad, taco salad, steak salad rotation just wasn’t doing it for me. My boring menu plans made my cravings sky rocket and my will power plummet. So, I decided to get creative to make a bowl of “green things” a little more appetizing.

That’s So Radicchio-less

It sounds too easy, but I all I had to do was experiment to see which ingredients would make salad more enjoyable and less dread-able. I stumbled on other blog posts like this one from Hello Glow, that informed me there is a “formula” for creating the perfect salad.

I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that before. I am a sensory guru and love eating foods with a variety of taste and textures. I simply needed more palate pleasing stimulation to make my salads more enticing. Simple is a word not usually found in my vocabulary, so why should it be on my plate?

Butter Get Moving

I decided to try a couple new ingredients per grocery shopping trip. This way, there won’t be a massive grocery bill, a mountain of waste in my garbage can from expired goods, and my menu will be constantly new. Innovative, yet efficient.

It was cool to see how quickly salad became something to look forward to. Each day, I tried a new combination of colors, textures, and tastes. The pile of green grass became a pleasing, gourmet experience. I was eating better and feeling better. Win win!

One of my favorite add-ins, turned out to be roasted pepper. The soft texture is a great compliment to the crunch of the lettuce and other raw veggies. It also boosts the salad to a restaurant level dish and makes me feel like I’m splurging when eating it.

The other key find, was how much difference a good homemade salad dressing can make. It’s not too difficult or time consuming either! I can keep the same salad base, but change the dressing, and it will will feel like a whole new dish. Simple, but effective. One of my favorite creations, is a paleo honey mustard dressing.

Watercress Waiting For?

Below is one of my favorite salad combinations. It will pack a sensory load of texture and and a punch of flavor. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Have a unique salad combination you’d like to share? Comment below or message me on my contact page.

Step by Step Visual Guide

Step 2

While your pepper is roasting, lay your salad on your plate. Top with chopped vegetables and chicken.