My daily salad! ….

Give me my daily salad anytime! Wow! Never ever thought I would love salad! Growing up, I didn’t like my greens but then when I was a little girl, salad consisted of lettuce, tomato and cucumber with sugar sprinted over the lot! Yuk! I used to think that salad was a punishment food! Cabbage tended to boiled to death in salty water and then served smothered in butter. I feel a bit sick when I remember this now. Small wonder then that I didn’t make salad/ green veggies my first choice of foods later in life.

However, fast forward to 2009 when I was told that a plant based diet and, especially, more greens in my diet would play an important part in turning my health around.  I did my research and I started to eat steamed green vegetables and, albeit very reluctantly, also to eat a salad every day. I started to drink green juice. Now I can say from my personal experience that eating a leafy salad every day keeps my  doctor away – or at least it may well help to do so! Fortunately for me, although not for my poor neighbour, I now see my doctor to discuss my neighbour’s advancing dementia rather than my own health issues which have all receded nicely.

Just one of my daily salads!

I really did my research.  I read a lot of books and consulted far and wide. I watched Joe Cross’s film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead which explained a lot about the value of green juice for healing. This film is now available for free on YouTube a Joe has brought out Fat Sick and Nearly Dead 2. I also watched the film Forks over Knives. Do also have a look at Dr Gregers’s website NutritionFacts.org. He has researched so much about the benefits of greens and a plant based diet. He “chops” his research (as well as his greens(?)) into bite size chunks – daily videos including this video about greens and sexual health called “50 Shades of Greens”.

More daily salad ideas! – This one with greens, red cabbage and pomegranate seeds :)

Greens are king for me. Since I have adopted my green and vegetable rich diet my health has been rapidly changing for the better. Greens, being so full of phytonutrients,  are my medicine of choice for my arthritis and for my mast cell issues. Green veggies take my hunger away. A lot of greens are now known to be anti cancer especially the cruciferous* veggies such as  arugula (rocket), broccoli, cauliflower, watercress, kale…..

See any of Dr Joel Fuhrman’s books about the importance of greens in your diet . Link to my books page here. Dr Fuhrman says that salad should be the main dish!

When I am in a restaurant I still eat my daily salad. Here I also ordered some steamed greens. :)

Salad Ingredients :-

I eat so many veggies in my daily salads. I love the textures, colours and amazing flavours that they all bring. No two salads ever taste exactly the same. If I particularly like one of my creations I have to remember to write the ingredients down before I forget! LOL!

Typical salad ingredients can be:-

watercress,

spinach,

arugula,

zucchini (courgette),

tomato,

carrot,

onion,

peas,

fennel,

parsley,

basil,

lettuce – various colours,

beans – both raw/sprouted or cooked,

pear,

apple,

orange,

cabbage – red,white and green,

pomegranate seeds,

sunflower seeds,

chopped sweet potato  – cooked

the list goes on and on ……

Daily Salad Cooked?

You will see in the photograph above, which is of a recent meal in a restaurant, that I am not averse to a bowl of steamed greens if they are on offer.  Peas, beans and cabbage went to make up the bowl with the dressing served on the side so I don’t have to eat it or I use a tiny amount of it as a dipping sauce. I always ask for fresh lemon which I usually liberally squeeze over both the raw and cooked dishes.

A word about taste buds…

They rapidly change in response to a daily salad. My daily salad is now the best meal of my day. I do not use any heavy oily sugary dressings. My salad meal  is so full of flavour. As I said before, I never ever would have believed it!

*Cruciferous vegetables   more info about these via the link.

See also my post Supper Salad Recipe  

Even more daily salad greens