Any Friends fans out there? Did you ever hear that Jennifer Aniston ate the same salad for lunch every day for 10 years? I’m totally turning into her.
(I wish.)
Okay, so I’m not turning into Jennifer Aniston, but I am on a salad kick and I’ve been eating the same one for lunch an awful lot lately. It’s totally simple:
- Iceberg lettuce (stick with me here – there’s a reason)
- Half an avocado
- 1 Roma tomato
- Snap peas
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Ham cubes
- Baby corn
- Goat cheese
- Sesame seeds
- Ranch dressing
It’s not complicated and it’s not meant to be (otherwise there’s no way it would be a habit). I think it’s the avocado that has me addicted. I only started eating avocado in the last few years—I never thought to before because I had never really tried it—but my mom started putting it on salads and now I’m totally hooked.
So the iceberg lettuce thing – the reason I use it is that I’ve found it gets me to eat salad more often. It’s easy, I really like the crunch, and it gives me a nice base for a salad without overwhelming the other stuff. I’ve tried to switch to lettuce that actually has some nutritional value, but then I tend not to eat salad at all, so this is better, right? (That’s a rhetorical question. Please don’t tell me how lame iceberg lettuce is because I really like my lunchtime salad habit.) My veggie intake is way higher this way, and if I make salad to go with dinner I do use other greens, so I figure it’s all good.
My salad isn’t the exact same every day (which is probably why I don’t look like Jennifer Aniston yet) in part because I run out of avocado way too often (Pinterest tells me you can freeze avocados – has anyone tried?) but also because a certain small person who also lives here tends to hog some of the good stuff. (Seriously, that kid can eat a whole can of baby corn in one sitting.) His favourite lunch is ham cubes with carrot sticks, cucumber slices and broccoli florets with a side of ranch dressing (in a separate container please, not on the plate in case it – gasp! – touches the veggies before he’s ready to dip). That makes it really easy to make him lunch while I’m making my own, but the problem is that he eats it so much he totally hogs all the ranch dressing. But hey, he’s four and he’s eating his veggies so this mama’s not going to complain. As long as he doesn’t eat my avocado.
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I recently got a chance to try Kraft fruit and vegetable dressings so, while Connor would totally eat these too, I at least have some other options to keep my salad interesting.
Some info about them courtesy of Kraft:
- Made with real fruits and vegetables
- Bold, fresh taste
- No artificial flavors or colors
- Low fat and salt
- Between 25 – 30 calories per serving
(Just don’t tell the kid I have a berry salad dressing or he’ll bogart these as well.)
Disclosure: I was provided four bottles of Kraft fruit and vegetable dressing in order to facilitate this post, but all opinions and my desire to look like Jennifer Aniston are my own.
