The Ultimate Build-A-Salad Formula
The Ultimate Build-A-Salad Formula makes eating healthy EASY
That’s my mission here, at Mindful Nutrition:
MAKING NUTRITION EASY IN MENOPAUSE.
I used to think that a salad was 90% greens and a tiny bit of dressing. While I love salads (like an arugula and lemon dressing salad, with parmesan) as a meal accompaniment, they are not THE meal.
At least, not for me.
If you are practicing listening to you body, a formula like this is just a guideline! Add more protein if you want, use sweet potato instead of a grain, or alongside it, and add fruit if you like!
Add in a legume, like chick peas, or lentils, (which pair nice with feta) some nuts and seeds, and you have a meal in a bowl.
You have so many choices.
Examples are listed in the chart below, along with quick tips for planning ahead.
Quick tips come in handy, especially if cooking every day seems daunting.
You may be:
Too tired. A TOP complaint in Menopause and perimenopause
Just not a FAN of cooking.
Making what others want, instead of what YOU want.
Without an appetite.
Overwhelmed, and feel like cooking and recipes are too time consuming.
Or, you have another reason. There’s a hundred reasons why nutrition in menopause seems confusing, including all the “bad for you, good for you” talk.
Let’s face it. Sometimes we really WANT take out.
And that is OK.
Check out the formula, and scroll past to read my thoughts on take out and convenience foods.
For now, let’s Build Your Salad …
Suggestions:
Protein:
Animal or plant based, this can include eggs, chicken, beef, chick peas, tofu, legumes, tempeh, cheese (which is more of a fat, but there is some protein in there)
Grains:
Millet, quinoa, barley, rice,
Legumes:
Lentils, chick peas, fava beans, edamame.
Other veg:
Peppers, cucumbers, roasted sweet potato, roasted squash, sprouts, this area is endless!
Fruit:
Strawberries, nectarines, apple, oranges, pomegranates, avocado.
Greens:
Arugula, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, mixed greens, spinach, kale.
Toppings:
Sourdough croutons, pumpkin seeds, nuts, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries.
If you decide to do take out instead of build a salad, thats ok! Take out foods give you a break.
They give you a meal that satisfies you, and feels good.
Take out can be both self care & nourishing and just plain GOOD.
It can be a much needed rest from planning meals.
Looking for inspiration in the kitchen?
Join my Meal Garden platform for free, just click the pic!
I rotate recipe collections, with the season, along with stand-by’s like my 30 Minute Meal Collection, and Quick Breakfast Ideas
Quick prep tips!
There may be days, you want to eat from home, but have nothing prepped to throw together a good hearty meal, like a salad in a bowl.
The beauty of this formula? A little bit of prep and convenience can go a long way.
Give yourself permission to:
Use canned beans.
Use canned artichoke hearts, or hearts of palm.
Use canned fish, like tuna.
Make one batch of quinoa, or millet, or rice, and freeze in 1/2 cup amounts for future salads
Batch cook protein, like chicken and freeze these in 1/2 cup amounts as well.
Pair your salads with a dressing like my Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette or my Avocado “Monster” Mayonnaise. Or create one of your own!
A salad with some grains, some complex-carby goodness, can feed the Physical Body.
The physical body is one of many “bodies” we feed, with food.
When we eat without hunger, we are feeding other things, like loneliness (heart hunger)
If you’re confused about hunger, if you wonder if YOUR hunger is physical, or emotional, Cravings, Busted, my emotional hunger class, can help!