The Road to Saiety (and Sanity): What Choices Will YOU Make?

Every time I eat a truly healthy meal I feel great. Each time I make the wrong choices I know I won't feel good as good as I could about myself. I think this is a universal statement. It would probably apply to most reading this blog. If it is so obvious, then why do we consistently make the wrong choices? Don't we want to feel good? Of course we do, but there are many other components to the story. Here is a great example. Yesterday morning, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Taught a really fun ZUMBA class (something I love that keeps me moving, motivated, positive), did not overeat the day before, made healthy choices overall. So in the morning I was not feeling panicked or guilty or any of the things that may entice you to make unhealthy choices. I woke up, baked some triple chocolate chip cookies I was donating (did not Bite,Lick,Taste the dough!), and went about the routine. Had my usual two cups of coffee, then started getting hungry. Really hungry because as I mentioned when you kind of eat a light meal for dinner the night before, you tend to be a bit hungrier when you get up which is a good thing. The interesting thing about this morning is that i had several choices for breakfast, some healthy some not. There was just a smorgasbord around me. You name it, those wonderful cookies baking, gorgeous blueberry muffins, homemade pancakes, granola, sausage, egg and cheese casserole, and some hard boiled eggs. All were ready and waiting, no additional prep needed. What was I to do?

THIS IS THE GOOD PART: Because I was in such a good state of mind, I knew that whatever I chose would lead me to the same place, sort of. All of these choices would lead me to feeling not hungry anymore or satiated. I did not want to use the word full because in a perfect world, you are not supposed to eat until you are full, just not hungry anymore. HOWEVER, WHICHEVER PATH I DID CHOOSE WOULD LEAD ME TO A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE POST MEAL: Did i want to feel great, feel like I can do anything, feel light and clear headed, ready to focus on other things besides what I eat. OR If I chose the Sausage Casserole and Cookies, I would have wound up in my non happy place: "OH I shouldn't have eaten that, it is so bad because of x, y and z" Ok, I won't eat until x time, and I will eat no carbs and have no wine and basically I will make up for what i just did".

Bottom line: If your goal is to satiate your body, choose the healthier path because the place you will end up in is much nicer :) JUST KNOW THAT WHAT YOU CHOOSE HAS TO TASTE GOOD, OR YOU WILL KEEP LOADING UP ON CARDBOARD UNTIL YOU GET SOMETHING THAT IS TASTY! (btw, I chose the hard boiled eggs and had a yogurt. It tasted great and I was happy).

The Bottom line paragraph is a good segue into my TASTING GOOD PHILOSOPHY and THE ANATOMY OF A PERFECT SALAD. I have heard alot about this book called "Skinny Women Don't Eat Salad". I am here to tell you this one does, but it has to taste good. It has to have the right textures and flavors to make you insanely happy you chose the salad.

Here are the requirements for THE PERFECT SALAD: YOU CAN CHOOSE A THEME FOR YOUR SALAD, WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO PAIR UP THE INGREDIENTS: ASIAN, MEXICAN, ITALIAN, BUFFALO WING, MEDITERRANEAN, SWEET AND TANGY...I WILL BE GIVING RECIPES FOR EACH ONE IN THE BLOGS TO COME. IF YOU CAN'T COME UP WITH A THEME, FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES:

Mixed Greens (both crunchy and darks). I like a little of each: iceberg, romaine, mesclun, and maybe some baby spinach. My absolute favorite green is Arugula. So spicy and delicious! SECRET INGREDIENT: CHOP UP YOUR FAVORITE FRESH HERB LIKE BASIL OR CILANTRO. YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW TASTY THIS WILL MAKE YOUR SALAD. EVEN DRIED HERBS WORK, ESPECIALLY BASIL IN AN ITALIAN THEMED SALAD. CILANTRO WILL WORK IN THE ASIAN OR MEXICAN SALAD.

PROTEIN: I always add a source of protein to my salads. Think hard boiled eggs, avocado, beans, nuts and seeds (i especially like sunflower seeds or almond slices. Cheese is also great, (goat, feta, shredded cheddar, whatever) but only add it if you feel the salad is missing something. Sometimes these other things will be more than enough to satisfy. Meat is great too. Marinated Chicken, Steak slices, turkey roll ups, what ever you like. This is a great opportunity to use up leftover meats like last night's baked chicken or pork line or rib eye steak!

Some kind of Onion: Either Green (scallions which work well with mexican, asian) or red bermuda, or plain white. I think it really adds to the dimension of a salad

A GREAT DRESSING: I ALMOST ALWAYS USE CITRUS IN MY DRESSINGS. If you can make your own, great. Making one is easier than you think, and is also less expensive and healthier than what you can buy (not all those fillers and preservatives. So, for example, if it were an italian salad, i would use extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and my favorite vinegar or a mix of vinegars. If you need a little creaminess to it, add a dab of mayo or lite sour cream and blend. or even plain yogurt. Maybe then add some herbs or dijon mustard. You will get it down to a science eventually and find exactly what you like. For the mexican or asian dressings I would use lime juice olive oil, rice wine vinegar. Or go crazy and use sesame oil, soy sauce and some cider vinegar for your asian dressing. One pre-packed dressing that I have come to like is Ken's Lite Caesar. It is tasty on lots of different salads, not just Caesar. You can even marinate your chicken or steak strips in it before cooking. YUM.

Texture: I always like to have something crunchy in the salad. For mexican salads I like a handful of crumbled up tortillas added just before eating. For Asian, they sell crunchy noodles or asian snack mix (just not too much of these things!)

Sweet and Salty: I love adding craisins as a little sweet surprise. For salt I add salted nuts (like sunflower) or OLIVES. Love those, kalmata or California. Depends on the type of salad.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT IS NOT IF YOU DO IT AHEAD. MAKE A FAIRLY LARGE BOWL OF IT, OMITTING WHAT MIGHT GET MUSHY AND ADD THOSE THINGS AT THE END. PORTION OUT A LITTLE LESS THAN YOU THINK YOU MIGHT EAT. I AM PRETTY SURE THAT IF YOU FOLLOW THIS FORMULA, YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH THE LESSER PORTION, AND FORGET ABOUT FILLING YOUR BOWL AGAIN.