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!

Quick meal ideas for breakfast or snacks

Here are some really fast ideas for grazing breakfast foods or snacks that are ready made or super fast to prepare. I think that one of the challenges to this low carb way of eating is to be prepared at all times to avoid succumbing to carb temptation. If you are ready with things that are delicious alternatives to the stuff you're trying to avoid, you won't feel deprived, and your will power doesn't even feel tested!

I am very happy to report that I only had two temptations this week, on the same day. Girl Scout cookies and the offer of free donuts. I managed to resist them both. Probably because my own snacks were awesome too! I've also lost five pounds in my first week. This is very encouraging. As Kent told me, the addiction to seeing results will be much more fun than the addiction to eating the carbs. I can't wait to see more of it! Here's what helped me this week:

English cucumber sticks with Hummus Quartet (original, roasted garlic, rosted red pepper, and jalepeno cilantro flavors) from Aldi.

I have been eating a one ounce cup of mixed nuts every morning with my cup of iced coffee. It is interesting that since I haven't been eating sugar, I can detect the natural sweetness in foods more easily. I could really tell how sweet a pecan is compared to a cashew.

Dill pickle, turkey meat stick, and string cheese. Grazing breakfast of champions! I've been putting a week's worth of these in a bag that I keep in the fridge at work, so I don't have to think about taking something with me every day. I'm notorious for running late in the morning. I also bought a huge pack of string cheese and separated them all before putting the fridge. Now we have a string cheese and jello cup drawer. How luxurious!

Sugar free gelatin cups are awesome! Before we started this diet, we were addicted to Cozy Shack tapioca pudding cups topped with spray whipped cream. Turns out, the whipped cream is perfect for low carbers. Only one carb for 2 tablespoons. Pictured is orange gelatin with vanilla whipped cream. I also REALLY like chocolate flavored whipped cream on a black cherry gelatin.

In an effort to add fat to our diet, and replace desserts, I put heavy whipping cream into a glass of diet root beer. It is just like my favorite part of a root beer float- when the ice cream melts into the soda. So good! Also delicious in orange soda for a creamsicle experience.

That's it for now, but I will post more ideas as inspiration strikes!