Chopped salads = easiest weeknight dinners!

My body has been craving salads, which is unusual for late December. I think that it is telling me to get some nutrients after my holiday indulgences, and I agree. I haven't been doing very well with the ketogenic lifestyle lately, and it is time to get back on track.

Whenever I crave salad, I want something interesting and somewhat gourmet, but I don't always have a lot of time to wash and prep my veggies. I am also somewhat picky about salad greens, because I can not tolerate the chunky white parts of lettuce, so I take a lot of time to go through and remove all of them whenever I make a salad. I discovered these new(ish) Dole chopped salad kits, and they are good! They are easy to eat, since everything is chopped into little pieces, and there isn't much of the chunky white parts to pick out.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work tonight, and I got a Sunflower Crunch chopped salad kit, which has cabbage, kale, carrots, sunflower seeds, bacon bits and a sweet onion citrus dressing. It was $3.49. I also got a rotisserie chicken for $6. Rotisserie chicken is the best thing ever for low carbers. I don't have time to roast chickens! Nor do I really care to touch raw chickens. $6 is such a low price to pay for the convenience of getting one ready to eat. And they are always so juicy and delicious. We took our ingredients home, chopped up the chicken, dumped the salad and chicken into a bowl, tossed with dressing, and devoured. You can't get much easier and healthier than that! And, compared to our usual habit of going out to eat all the time, it was very economical at just under $10 for two people. I've made it my New Year's resolution to eat way more of this meal in different variations- I am thinking around three times a week. Besides Sunflower Crunch, these chopped salads also come in the following flavors: Sesame Asian, Bacon & Bleu, BBQ Ranch, Chipotle Cheddar, and Summer Garden Blend. (Dole should be paying me for this free advertising, but they're not!) That will ensure I am getting all kinds of good vitamins and protein, and it will be so fast and easy. That is a resolution that I think I can stick to!

Recipe: Asian Crunch Salad with Grilled Chicken

It's my goal to come up with as many different salads this summer as I can. The timing of starting a low carb diet in the summer is great, because this is when my body naturally craves fresh, cool, crisp salads the most. There are so many possible delicious combinations of flavors! I am also determined to show the world that low carb doesn't necessarily mean only eating greasy plates of meat. That stuff definitely has its place when you are trying to get a high ratio of your calories from fat. But I try to balance it so that if we have one meal that is full of meat or melty cheese, we also eat a meal in the same day that is very laden with vegetables. Gotta get some fiber, and some vitamins, too!

So crunchy and satisfying!

Asian Crunch Salad with Grilled Chicken

1/2 a bag of coleslaw mix
2/3 of a bag of shredded iceberg lettuce
1 can no sugar added mandarin oranges, drained
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced into half moons
1 bag of radishes, pre cut into matchsticks
1/2 a bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cashews

For dressing:
 (Makes enough for two batches)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4  cup splenda
2 shakes of soy sauce
1 Tablespoon minced garlic from a jar
fresh cracked black pepper
a little water to thin it out, if you want
1 Tablespoon smooth peanut butter

(Everything above the peanut butter is Kent's normal recipe for balsamic vinaigrette that we use all the time, because it is so magical and delicious. I call it Kent's Magical Balsamic Vinaigrette. This version just added a little peanut butter to make it a little more Asian flavored. I think it would also be good with a little bit of sesame oil in it.)

Combine all dressing ingredients into a lidded jar and shake to combine. It might be helpful to melt the peanut butter in the microwave first. We had to use a fork to break it up a little. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl and toss with half of the dressing to combine.

Recipe: Stawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is one variation of our famous strawberry salad. I am so glad that strawberries are one of the lower carb fruits, because they are my favorite. We've experimented with some variable ingredients in this salad, like spinach instead of butter lettuce, and pecans instead of sunflower seeds. As long as you have the strawberries, blue cheese, onion and balsamic dressing, the basic flavor profile is there.

As delicious as it is beautiful.

Strawberry Salad

1 bag of ready to eat butter lettuce or other salad greens like spinach or spring mix
10-12 strawberries, thinly sliced
1/3 of a cup of blue cheese crumbles
1/2 a small red onion, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons shelled sunflower seeds, almonds, or pecans
Kent's Magical Balsamic Vinaigrette

 
This dressing made me love salads. That's powerful stuff. This is more of a formula than a recipe. You can use any kind of vinegar or oil, or add whatever extra herbs or spices to customize it to the salad you're using it with. We really like it with pear flavored vinegar. It is also nice with a little sesame oil and peanut butter to make it Asian style. The possibilities are endless.


Kent's Magical Balsamic Vinaigrette

Kent usually make this so that each part is equal to a half cup. That way, it makes enough for two or more family sized salads. 
 
1 part balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 part splenda (we tried stevia, and for some reason the brand we tried, Stevia in the Raw, made the vinegar taste bitter, so we are sticking to Splenda for salad dressing only, and we try to use stevia for other things.)
1 part olive oil
1/2 part water, to thin it out a little
1 heaping spoonful minced garlic from a jar
a few dashes of soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper
Whisk it up in a bowl, or shake it up in a jar. Viola!