How to not get sick of a salad
Too many times, people equate eating healthy – better choices, more veggies and fruits, less refined junk – with tasteless boredom. That’s because many of us grew up without a lot of variety in these items.
For example, what was a salad? Iceberg lettuce (truly has no real taste), tomatoes, maybe carrots or cucumbers, some sort of dressing. Salad a few days later? Same thing. Yeah, who wouldn’t get bored with that and run screaming for something else?
This is where your slight learning curve comes in. You have to experiment. Look around. Go searching for cool recipes on the ‘net. Try. Fail. Try again. Succeed. It’s not drudgery unless you make it so. It can be really enjoyable because you’ll find recipes that meet the criteria you want – healthy, simple, easy, fast, complex.
As for salads: A salad can be 1,001 things. That’s why I never get tired of them. I don’t make the same one over and over! And I use items that come with lots of taste on their own so I don’t have to drown them in dressing to make the salad taste good.
To get you started, below is a recipe courtesy of Prevention magazine’s Web site. It’s one of those interesting blends that will perk up your taste buds. Though, give yourself a chance. If this recipe is miles away from anything you ever have eaten, it might not appeal. Then simply start smaller. Take whatever your current favorite salad is and tweak it slightly to both make it healthier and make it different so you want something like a salad more often.
Spinach Salad with Pears, Pecans and Goat Cheese
This is a lovely salad for fall, when ripe, luscious pears are widely available. During other times of the year, strawberries, melon or apple make suitable stand-ins.
Ingredients
1/2 cup pecans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped red onion
2 large red or green pears, quartered, cored, and cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 bag (6 ounces) prewashed baby spinach
3 ounces reduced-fat goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
Toast the pecans in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Tip onto a plate and let cool.
Whisk the oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a salad bowl. Stir in the onion, then the pears and raisins. Add the spinach and toss to coat.
Divide the salad among 4 plates and top each with the reserved pecans and goat cheese before serving.
The art of belief
“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.”
~ Jonathan Swift
