I love salads! I really do. . . . most of the time. I look forward to a fresh, extra crispy, crunchy salad loaded with goodness and variety! But, there are those days, especially cold and drizzly days, when that crisp, cool salad just doesn’t seem like it’s going to hit the spot. Those are the days we sometimes crave what we call “comfort foods.” There’s nothing wrong with comfort foods, in moderation. However, they are generally high in starch which can quickly convert to fat. And generally, on those cold and drizzly days when we are craving comfort foods, we aren’t out running around staying active. We’re usually curled up with a good book or Netflix.
So, what do we do on those days when it does sound so much better to have something high in carbs or starch? It’s pretty SIMPLE, really. I’ve started adding warm food to my salad. Sounds crazy, right? But it works! Just recently, I made this salad on a cold, rainy day, and to make it feel more fitting to the weather, I baked a turkey breast and some carrots. I added both while they were still hot and that satisfied my comfort food craving! Not to mention I love my carrots cooked better than raw, anyway. Shhh! Don’t tell.
Be careful what you add, though. Although variety is always good in a salad, (remember, the more colors the better!), sometimes we can go too far, especially with the dressing.
Check out these 2 labels. One is your typical ranch dressing. A favorite of many! The other is a Greek yogurt based feta dill dressing that is amazing! And check out those calories! Whereas the ranch dressing has 140 calories in 2T, the feta dill only has 50 calories in 2T. And, bonus, a lot less fat! The ranch comes in with 14g of fat while the feta dill has a mere 4.5! Wow! Such a huge difference in just 2T of something. Those are the calories that can sneak up on us when we aren’t careful.
Remember, too, enjoy all the flavors in your food rather than drowning them in anything, especially a high fat or high sugar sauce. If you savor the flavors, you will find you don’t need as much dressing or sauce. I also like to add blue cheese, cilantro, basil and red onion to my salads for a more unique flavor.
What is your favorite salad accessory? I would love to hear! Leave a comment and let me know!
If you enjoyed this article and want to read others like it, please subscribe to my blog. You can also like it or share it on your favorite social media!