A few months back, I started eating healthily and preparing salads and all. I gotta say that I enjoyed it! My mum kept buying so much vegetables that I had to rush myself to finish them so that they won't go to waste if spoilt. However, I've stopped salads for quite some time as it becomes really time consuming - washing, cutting the vegetables, packing them in boxes (if I'm bringing them out). I'm gonna get the engine started again. When I eat salads, many people will say "wah trying to lose weight ah?" or "on diet ah?" It gets on my nerves. Yes, I'm not skinny. I do exercise and eat healthily, but I do not have a weight lost goal/plan in hand. If I do lose weight in the process, I'll be happy. If not, so be it. I'm not doing it for the sake of losing weight (although I've lost some weight and maintained it)
The reason why I started to eat healthily because I realised many times when I'm eating out, they are unhealthy stuff - Bak Chor Mee, Oyster Omelette, Char Kway Teow - which has no vegetables at all or maybe just a few pathetic puny pieces of spring onion as garnish. Even when I buy mixed vegetable rice, I'd be tempted and choose meat dishes. So, whenever I have the chance to eat at home, I'd try to incorporate lots of vegetables to compensate for whatever nutrients that I do not get when eating out. Basically, I wanted a balanced, wholesome meal. Not a diet that I scrimp on carbs and spam protein and stuff, torturing myself along the way. So here are some snippets of what I've done! They look good, tastes good and they ARE good.
Lettuce, Celery, Corn, Tuna (chunks in water). I like chunks in water cos it tastes lighter and chunks is easier to eat. If I'm using it as bread filling, I prefer the tuna mayo.
And whole kernel corn is my ultimate favourite. Open a packet/can of it, store it in air-tight container and you can basically use it for anything. I add them to my instant noodles too (:
Lolla Rossa - I love these but I can rarely get it from the wet market near my house. Only managed to get it from supermarkets.
Hard Boiled Egg, Cucumber, Lettuce
Potato salad. My best recipe.
A lunchbox salad that I would bring to school
Topped with mock abalone slices
A frozen meat patty is not healthy at all. It is best to use fresh chicken breast. But then again, I hate the hassle. So I use patties.
Purple cabbage is good because it lasts for very long when properly kept. One purple cabbage
My salads usually have a main "character".. Any leafy vegetables or one particular vegetable in bigger portion than the rest. Then, depending on what I have in my fridge, I'll add in stuff like carrots, corn, cherry tomatoes, Japanese cucumber, almonds, raisins, cranberries, other fruits, chia seeds etc. These things are important cos it makes the salad interesting, such that you won't eat the same thing all the time!
I even add some beancurd, mushrooms, fish tofu, fish cake etc... Basically ANYTHING (as long as you don't deep fry them I suppose)
The salad dressing is important as well. As you can see, I love japanese salad dressing. The sesame sauce is my weakness. But, it is way too fattening. It is really not worth it to spend the effort to prepare salad, yet you destroy it with the fattening sauce. That said, I can't do without the sauce/dressing. Thus, I tried looking for those that has less fat content and also take note of the ingredients. Some better ones would be Caesar salad dressing, Italian dressing, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Balsamic Vinaigrette (can be oily too). Thousand island and those heavy,creamy stuff is a no no.
I'm sorry this is not the place that you get weight loss motivation or look at pictures of extreme transformation. I did lose weight but that was long ago, way before I started eating salad and it's not enough to motivate someone. HAHA. I'm not losing weight at all after I started my salad diet because I'm also eating crappy stuff for my other meals as usual. I snack on chips and chocolates all the time. I did not replace any meal with salads, but of course the salad makes me full so probably will have my meals drag for longer hours of smaller portion. It is mainly just a supplement. But, having salad often does make me feel good! Remember, the weighing scale is just numbers. You have much more substance than that. Look good, feel good!
