Because I work the swing shift six nights a week, and because I’m a single guy, I find keeping fresh food in the fridge is kind of a lost cause. The upshot of this is that I mostly eat a combination of frozen food and take-out, during breaks at work.
I’m also a carniverous troglodyte who doesn’t really enjoy munching on leaves.
But I have to admit, I really feel healthier on days, averaging one per week, when I force myself to eat a salad. I’d like to get my salad fix more often, but I’m wondering if there are any decent alternatives to a pile of leafy greens I’m liable to soak in unhealthy dressing anyway. I’m open to any ideas, including herbal supplements, smoothies, juices, obscure snack foods, etc.
The real answer to my OP should be “just eat more freakin’ salads,” but the voices in my head have been telling me that for years with no avail. So, supposing I meet myself halfway and up my actual dosage of greens per week, what are some possible solutions that would bring me into the neighborhood of being a true omnivore?
Gee, you sound just like my brother-in-law, who had quintuple bypass surgery at age 50! (Not that I am in a position to criticize** anyone’s **comsumption habits! I’m just sayin’… We don’t want to lose you!)
The Campbell’s “Soup at Hand” blended vegetable soup is pretty OK on all fronts except sodium.
Bolthouse Farms makes some good juices and smoothies. Green Goodness is one of my favorites but I have not had one that I didn’t like. I do recommend drinking it out of the bottle as opposed to pouring it in a glass because it is definitely not the most appealing shade of green. Some of that and some of the Vedge with a little Berry Boost thrown in for good measure and you will be all set.
freckafree, I hope I can augment my habits in the next decade or so. Right now I’m in my late 20s and am cursed (yes, cursed) with a killer metabolism that lets me eat whatever I want, never exercise, and stay thin. But I’m sure, because of my habits, that I’m less healthy than my BMI would indicate.
melondeca, your suggestion seems right up my alley (it’s right off Lazy Street), and seems to be widely avaliable. I’m running out to try some right now.
One of the secrets is to not douse your nice healthy greens in unhealthy dressing. Go for a vinaigrette (Paul Newman has some GREAT tasting light vinaigrettes that are only 35-55 calories for two full tablespoons) and remember that you use dressing as a DRESSING, not as the main part of the dish.
Well, I hope this doesn’t screw up your plan, but I had a metabolism like yours when I was in my 20s. Now I’m in my 50s, and still do. I’m still thin, despite not exercising enough, my blood pressure is great, and my chloresterol is way below average - good enough that my doctor can’t complain. So you’re not necessarily going to get fat.
Just plain old salad doesn’t do all that much, except not provide calories. Try spinach salads. Now, I love all kinds of veggies (and meat also.) Nothing wrong with frozen ones, but I used to prefer things like green beans, corn and spinach over mixes.
If you ever do get to the grocery, and eat at home, buy just enough of a fresh veggie to eat at the next meal. Spaghetti squash is good, and keeps forever. But microwaved frozen veggies keep their nutrients quite well.
If you insist on salads, add carrots, green peppers and fresh peas to them - maybe some mushrooms also. (That’s what I like, experiment at a salad bar before committing.)
My wife is on Weight Watchers (which means I lose weight also ) and she uses this thing called Salad Spritzers from WishBone. It is low calorie salad dressing in a spray bottle, so you can control how much you put on much more easily than when you pour. It comes in a couple of varieties, and both she and my daughter like it.
You said you do eat frozen veggie, but that you feel better after eating a salad. Maybe what you need isn’t so much greens (vitamins etc that are also in frozen vegs) but raw fiber? Or maybe you’re experiencing the difference between a light dish and a more heavy one?
It can’t be the vitamins. IIRC, frozen vegetables are frozen when very fresh, so they keep their vitamins, while “fresh” greens often lay for days in the store and fridge, losing most of their veggie goodness.
Are canned veggies available to you? The huge raise in “single living” in Spain has pretty much created a new supermarket section: “precooked veggies in a glass jar or a can”. You used to be able to get little beyond canned asparagus, now there’s a lot more variety.
Here the usual salad dressing is the shadow of a vinaigrette: a bit of oil and even less vinegar, pour directly onto the salad and mix well. For bitter greens (not sure what endivias are called… endives?), a bit of lemon juice or a ‘plain’ yoghurt works well. That’s lemon juice obtained by cutting a lemon in half and squeezing it on the salad, not the petroleum derivative sold in stores.
Your salad dressing doesn’t have to be unhealthy (or artificial low-cal stuff either). Make a simple vinaigrette (you can use a jar that you’ve cleaned out). 1 tsp dijon mustard - e.g. Grey Poupon - pinch of salt and pepper, 3 tbsps olive oil, 3 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Put the oil and mustard in the jar, give it a good shake until they’re mixed up, add the vinegar and salt and pepper and give it another good shake. Bada bing. Healthy as shit and keeps for weeks - no need to refrigerate.
Can you buy ready-made salads in a plastic bowl (with dressing seperate) at you local supermarket, or cafe, for lunch/dinner?
I second drinking juice to get the vitamins and other stuff. (The German cancer society recommends 5 daily - 5 portions of roughly handsize of either fruits or veggies a day, and they list things like: 1 banana over your müsli in the morning; a glass of juice at 10 am, a handful of veggies or salad with lunch, an apple or carrot in the afternoon, two tomatoes on your dinner (or another drink).)
I, too, don’t like most veggies, so I use fruits (apples, bananas etc.) and use more of the veggies I like, e.g. instead of “leaves” salad, I eat cucumbers with joghurt sauce. Or peppers in slices (you can dip in low-calorie dip), carrots raw, tomatoes (raw with salt - refreshing in summer).
So try which veggies are your favourites, and use these. A lot of veggies - not leaves salad, but peppers or spinach - you can cook a big portion, and then freeze small single portion for use during the week. (Spinach doesn’t taste so bad if you blanch it and then bake it in the oven with cheese. Or make a soup/puree with some sour cream.) Peppers can be stuffed with rice (or meat), a whole bunch of them, cooked/baked, and then frozen single.
V-8 is currently making a type of juice called VFusion. It comes in different flavors. Each 8oz. serving counts as one serving of fruit and one serving of veggies. It’s made with the “sweet” veggies, like carrots, beets and sweet potatoes. It sounds nasty, I admit, but it tastes really good.
I like the Bolthouse drinks, too, but they are very pricey.
I agree that maybe you need some fiber if eating a salad makes you feel good - unless you mean you just feel proud of yourself, which is cool too.
If you do eat salad, make sure it’s GREEN and not iceburg lettuce. Start with romaine and work your way up. Fresh spinach leaves have a definite taste difference but they’re super healthy.
I buy those bags of pre-cut salad mix myself (romaine) and they are actually pretty small. I live alone and manage to get 2 or 3 salads out of a bag, in a week, before they go bad. You just need a big salad bowl. I think I use some sort of serving bowl.
Also for spinach…if you get a hunk of frozen spinach and some eggs and cheese, you can make a nice healthy quiche which tastes great and makes you strong like Popeye.
Use a mixture of the following, according to taste and availability: carrot, onion, zucchini, pumpkin, sweet potato, beetroot, turnip, swede (rutabaga), and if you must potato. Wash and cut into cubes or thick slices as appropriate, lightly sprinkle with olive oil and roast on an oven tray for 30-60 minutes, depending on your oven and how well-done you like them. Some salt and pepper (no butter or margarine) and you’re done! You can make enough in an hour or so to do you for a week, and they’re delicious hot or cold. You can also do them sliced thick on a barbeque.
A swede is a rutabaga? Hey, I learned something today! I’m currently listening to Watership Down, so I recently ran across the word again. I also looked up mangel-wurzel.
) and she uses this thing called Salad Spritzers from WishBone. It is low calorie salad dressing in a spray bottle, so you can control how much you put on much more easily than when you pour. It comes in a couple of varieties, and both she and my daughter like it.