Big Fat Salad

When people told me they ate salads for lunch this is often what I pictured.

My immediate next thought was, “How in the world do you survive on that?” Then during my healing journey away from dieting and into being a strong-fueled female I discovered big fat salads that made me feel full, energized, and sustained.

Show of hands, how many of you feel exhausted around 1 or 2 pm every day? How many of you that didn’t raise your hand on being tired experience such ravenous hunger around that time that you’ll eat anything that comes into your eye line as soon as possible?

For those of you who feel tired at 1/2 pm, it’s probably because your lunch was too heavy or didn’t have the right ingredients to make you feel fueled, full, and alert. For those of you who could eat a rhino, it’s probably because your lunch looked similar to this naked salad above.

*Quick side-note here – sometimes we eat well and still feel ravenously hungry – that is called female hormones and well – EAT. For those of us that ate well but feel super tired mid-day – maybe your caffeine intake is too high or you are dehydrated. (there are other factors that go into our fatigue and hunger so don’t take this lunch tip as the be-all answer)*

Today’s real point is to share the big fat salad recipe that I have for lunch most days. I do this because it is a quick and delicious way to make sure I get all my vegetables in, it takes the guesswork out of lunch, and, for me, it removes that afternoon crash and brain fog.

First – if you don’t have one of these, you need one asap! It is a kitchen game-changer!

Second – Pick your veggies, chop them up, and store them for the week ahead. With this little gadget it takes 3-4 minutes!

Here is my salad

• 1 Head of broccoli
• 1 Head of cauliflower
• 1 bag of mini cucumbers
• 1-2 Zucchini
• 1-2 Peppers
• 3-5 Carrots
• 2 Cups purple cabbage
• Sometimes roasted sweet potatoes (cooked before and reheated to add a warm element to the salad)
• Sometimes shredded Brussel sprouts

I chop this all up and it goes in a big bowl in the fridge. Sometimes these vegetables change, it depends on what I’m in the mood for. I do often add spinach as well. But I am no where near done yet – This is only the base!

• Once my veggies are chopped I grill my chicken (usually already marinating in something) This week I just used olive oil and southwest seasoning. I figure 1/2 a large chicken breast each day. (If I’m not in the mood for chicken sometimes I add chickpeas or steak.
• While the chicken is grilling I make a jar of dressing. This is my favorite because it’s so easy.

When it is time to eat I grab a big bowl, not one of those dinky cereal bowls, but a small mixing bowl and scoop about 2-4 cups of my chopped veggies, top with chicken breast, cheese, nuts, and the homemade dressing.

My average salad macros look close to this: Calories: 473 Fat: 22g Carbs: 36.2g Protein: 34.7g