Clean Out The Fridge Salad

I like salad. Not for every meal, of course. All that masticating would give me a headache.  I don't know how the cows do with all that chewing. 

A couple of times a week, however, especially in the summer, a salad is quite lovely. It's not hot, at least, and is quite refreshing.  Since I am the only one in the house regularly acquainted with most fruits and veggies, I not only get to make the salads, I get to eat them.  I don't have to worry about anyone wanting to hog the spinach leaves or stealing all of my cherry tomatoes. I am also a bit of an experimental eater, mixing things together as the mood hits me.  As a result, I have developed my own salad making style, which I would like to share with you on this fine day. 
 

1. Be hungry.  Some people eat on a time schedule instead of listening to their tummies.  Cut that out.  If you're not hungry, don't eat!  But if your tummy is rumbling and growling at you, a salad may be in order. 

2. Raid the fridge.  Open that door and squat down at eye level, so that you can see all of the shelves.
What is in there that may be salad worthy?  Try to be open minded.  On this particular occasion, I find spinach leaves, mandarin oranges that are about to expire, and mozzarella cheese. I also find expired salad dressing. It is a Caesar dressing, which is a shame.  But I come not to bury expired Caesar, but to eat his nearest and dearest fridgemates. Caesar hits the trash can, as does any number of expired foods that are within reach, hence the name of the salad.

3. Raid the pantry.  Walk in there and really look at what you have.  What is in there that is salad worthy? Cereal can make a great addition to a salad, for instance.  Peanuts and other nuts are also yummy.  On this day, I find a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, green beans, and croutons. Perfect.

4. Mix everything together in a big bowl. Don't forget to drain the tomatoes, green beans, mandarin oranges.  Nobody likes a soggy, soupy salad, especially croutons!

5. Drizzle your preferred dressing all over.  Don't go crazy, just focus and aim on the bowl of salad.  Don't use all of the dressing, keep a bit to the side until after you've tasted your work.  As they say in the South/Midwest/West, sometimes ranch dressing/ketchup/BBQ sauce cures all ills, particularly in the kitchen.
 
6. Eat.  If the salad doesn't taste good, add more dressing or maybe pepper.  I felt that my salad on this particular day would have tasted excellent with Caesar dressing, but whatever.  You now have a healthy salad, and once you're done with that, there's some pudding cups hiding behind the butter on the top shelf.  Help yourself.


How do you make a salad at your house?

Eating Healthy is Hard

It's easy to eat healthy when you have two things that most people have none of:  money and time.  I would love to have the time to peruse healthy recipes, the time to buy fresh fruits, veggies, organic meats, etc., and the time to artfully prepare them. Ideally, I would have time on Sundays  to prepare meals for the week, and then all I would have to do when I came home each day would be to take stuff out of the fridge and pop it into the oven.

I work until five most days.  When I get home, I have a two year old who wants Mama's attention.  He doesn't care that I need to prepare food for dinner, it is more important that I stop and draw him a beetle, a kitty cat, an elephant and a spider.  Over and over again.  Even when my husband runs interference and tries to keep Zane occupied, he continues to seek my attention.  Which is fine, except when it's not.  Which is when I am trying to cook, because that usually involves ovens and pots and pans and knives and other things that toddlers aren't supposed to have contact with. We have an oven lock, but when it is time to open the oven door, here comes the boy. 

It also doesn't help my eating healthy that my husband never met a vegetable that he liked(his mother is the same way).  And he doesn't like casseroles. He likes meat and potatoes and bread--all the things you are supposed to eat in moderation, he eats to excess.  Occasionally I can get him to eat something healthier--I found some "light" sourdough bread that is only 40 calories a slice(Nature's Own) and doesn't taste like paper, for instance, and he likes the Smart Ones breakfast muffin sandwiches.  But I usually have to sneak healthy stuff past him, like adding extra veggies to the spaghetti sauce. I've tried to appeal to the Daddy factor--he needs to be seen eating healthy so his son will pick up good eating habits.  I have had no luck, just like I had no luck appealing to his lowered risk of Alzheimers, heart attacks, etc.   I am open to any and all ideas.