I’ve been in a bit of a diet rut lately, and I’ve decided to post about this journey here in oder to keep myself accountable and hopefully inspire others.
You see, over the last few years, my husband and I have been trying to follow a lower-carbohydrate diet. I’ve definitely had my share of ups and downs, and my weight has followed suit. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to change my food habits for the better, and have realized that while trying to stay low-carb, I’ve formed some not so good habits.
Since I’m home most days, I’ve fallen into the trap of making myself cheese quesadillas with low-carb tortillas. I think this is a great “once in a while” lunch, but eating them practically daily cannot be good. There’s little nutritional value and how “low-carb” can a bread product really be anyway? While they’re pretty tasty, the main reason I find myself eating quesadillas so much is because they’re easy. I can buy a pack of shredded cheese and tortillas each week and there’s my lunch.
Anyway, I’ve decided to swap out most of my quesadillas for salads, which to me is a bit of a challenge. First of all, I find it hard to keep fresh ingredients in the house. Since I’m the only one eating lunch at home, they often go bad quickly, and I hate to waste food. Second, I’m pretty lazy. Salads often require a lot of slicing and dicing, and when I’m hungry, that’s the last thing I want to be worrying about. On top of all that, salads can get pretty boring and aren’t always the most satisfying meals either.
With all of that being said, I’m determined to find a way to make this salad thing work. I’m going to think more about the ingredients I’m buying and I’m going to do my darnedest to keep my salads fun, interesting and fulfilling. I’m also going to share them here!
Without further ado, here’s today’s salad:
Warm Arugula & Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Goat Cheese, Pomegranate and Walnuts
Ingredients:
– shaved Brussels sprouts
– arugula
– pomegranate seeds
– chopped walnuts
– goat cheese
– Lucini’s Fig & Walnut Balsamic Dressing (just a drizzle)
If there’s one thing to notice about this salad, it’s that I I didn’t have to chop a darn thing. I bought a bag of shaved Brussels sprouts from Trader Joe’s to have for dinner last night, and set aside a few to use today. I sauteed them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic, and then put them on the bed of arugula. At first I wasn’t sure how this would work, but the fact that they were warm and hearty made the salad a lot more satisfying. I love arugula, so I’ve been keeping big boxes of it the fridge, and am also trying to keep a variety of fruits, nuts and cheeses on hand to toss into salads. Pomegranate seeds are definitely a new favorite of mine. They add just a bit of sweetness and some crunch.
So there you have it, the first of hopefully many salads to come.
One Way to the Bay 