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Ok, so we leave for our vacation a week from today and as much as I like to work out it totally isn’t enough because oh mylanta (literally) we have been eating and drinking like crap lately. ย And I can feel it. ย We love eating out. ย I love my beer. ย We never met a pizza we didn’t like. ย It’s a recipe (no pun intended) for disaster. ย So, in an effort to detox a bit and ditch this bloat I am going to do…
7 Days of Salad.
Now, let me preface this by saying that it is NOT a cleanse. ย I am not only eating lettuce. ย No counting calories. ย I may or may not have ate the left ear off a chocolate bunny this morning. ย And I might have had a vodka, tomato, olive, celery and Tabasco liquid salad this evening. ย This is purely an attempt to give my body some of the fresh fruits, vegetables and lean proteins that it is begging me for. ย I am not a fan of fad diets or super niche elimination of food groups or nutrients. ย But I am a fan of moderation and listening to my body and right now it is telling me to lay off the canned beer and pizza this week. ย So here we go!
Each day for the next week I will eat a salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner. ย I’m not really into recipes and like to throw stuff together as I go but will share some brief instructions in case you want to throw it together too! ย I think that I’m going to rate ย them too. ย Out of 10 stars. ย Just for fun.
So, lettuce get started. ย #crackingup
Breakfast
Fresh Fruit Salad I didn’t go to the store until after lunch today so these first two meals are a little random. ย For breakfast I just diced up a grapefruit, halved green grapes, chopped some cilantro and then defrosted some blackberries and blueberries. ย I tossed it all together and there you have it. ย I love making random fruit salads. ย So, much morefun than just chomping on an apple.
Rating: 8/10 stars. ย The grapefruit was a little out of place but it was going to go bad anyway so it did the trick for today!
Lunch
Chopped Saladย So, again, I was making due with what I had at this point. ย So, why not chop up half a cabbage and some celery. ย Right? ย I used that as the base and then tossed it in olive oil and salt and pepper. ย Then sliced a tomato and some Boar’s Head Chipotle Chicken Breast and then drizzled it with some light balsamic vinegar.
Rating: 7/10 stars. ย I loved how crunchy the base of this was and it was a good way to use up that extra stuff from the fridge but it didn’t rock my world. ย It was really filling though!
Dinner
Ok, so, I went to the store and from here on out I am going to make each salad great. ย I don’t want to get bored with them only being mediocre. ย So, for dinner I blew myself away. ย Inspired by a salad we had at a restaurant I worked at a decade ago this is a work of art. ย I am drooling typing this and thinking about it again.
Thai Shrimp Salad ย The base is just fresh spinach. ย Next, I have some marinated noodles. ย I basically made spagetti noodles earlier and portioned most off for kids and then set aside some plain noodles in a dish. ย I added olive oil and crushed red pepper and put them in the fridge to cool for the rest of the afternoon. ย Then just before serving I sauteed up some 24/30 shrimp in whipped butter, olive oil, a dash of dijon, a teaspoon of Annie’s Organic Chile Lime dressing, half a lime squeezedย and a handful of white and green onion slivers. ย I placed the cold noodles over the spinach, the hot shrimp over the noodles and then drizzled it with Annie Chung’s Thai Peanut Sauce and some crushed peanuts. ย I put a lime wedge and a few slivers of green onion on top as garnish.
Rating: 10/10 stars. ย This salad will change your life and you will never think of salads the same again. ย Make it and come back and let me know what you think! ย You can substitute any peanut sauce and try to find any chile based light dressing or marinade for the shrimp if you can’t find Annie’s products local.