Why I love salads

As much as I'd like to stuff my face with fried food and cake, when I take a moment to think about how much processed rubbish goes into junk food (and the consequences on your body after indulging), I actually feel a little grossed out.
That's why I love to eat salads!

I love the taste, and feeling, of crunching on fresh, raw, natural ingredients*. The good thing about salads are that I can make a large bowl (see my photos) and take my time grazing/munching away without the worry of a). over eating / indulging in a big portion and consuming mega numbers of calories, and b). my meal going cold, thus shoveling in mouthfuls whilst food is hot.

Don't get me wrong, on some days, I do feel like hot food, and so I'll cook up something. In the winter, I'll usually switch from eating salads everyday to eating homemade soups (basically just loads of blended-up veg). Future blog posts will no doubt feature soup recipes and pictures.

Back to salads...with the ones I make, it's a case of 'anything goes'. I get plenty of nutrients and usually vary the sources of proteins (tuna, boiled egg, chicken, low-fat cottage cheese) and fats (avocado, almonds, cheese. I also like to sprinkle a tablespoon of hemp seeds, chia seeds or flax seeds on top of my salads. If I want a little sweetness, I'll occasionally add some fruit (strawberries, dried cranberries, grapes, apple).

Below is my basic salad recipe with nutritional information.
Ingredients:
- 40g / 1.5oz spinach OR kale
- 50g / 1.8oz black beans (no added salt)
- 50g / 1.8oz sweet corn
- 80g /2.9oz green pepper
- 75g /2.7oz tomato
- 2 celery sticks
- 50g / 1.8oz cucumber
- 1/2tbsp hemp seeds
- 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1tbsp apple cider vinegar**

Method:
Place spinach or kale in a large bowl or on a plate
Add black beans and sweet corn
Chop pepper, tomato, celery and cucumber
Sprinkle hemp seeds on top of salad
Pour on vinegar

Add your source of protein, fat or fruits and ENJOY!!

Nutritional Information:

Protein and Fats

Fruits

*There's a lot of information on the internet about raw food diets. I'm no expert - I just like eating salads! If you want to learn more, I suggest you search 'raw food benefits' and read one of the 39,700,000 result pages. The top result from Google was this website: 10 Reasons Eating Raw is Healthier For You and the Planet

**I haven't included any nutritional information for apple cider vinegar (ACV) as it basically has zero calories, fat, carbs, sugars, fiber, protein.
However, there are many health benefits associated with ACV. Some include detoxification, to promote weight loss, to help digestion, to alleviate skin problems...
Don't take my word for it, just Google 'apple cider vinegar benefits' and you'll see about 5,530,000 results. An example is here: 7 Reasons to Love Apple Cider Vinegar