Yesterday I was delighted to discover that I am a mere 2 lbs away from my initial goal. Here's how weight goals work in my head: the initial goal is the first touchstone and ultimately where I think my body should live. I'll be straight up with you - initial goal is 135. This is 20-25 lbs less than I weighed in college and I've been working toward it for actual years. My "ultimate goal" is 130. I would like to touch that number, maybe for a week or so. But my brain is organized so that I can touch that number and then slide back to initial goal without feeling like a failure.
--SIDEBAR--
Look, I know numbers are silly. We should just go with how our body feels, right? And never get on a scale! And judge when it's time to stop already with the ice cream by how our pants fit! And cut the tags out of our clothes so that it's not about numbers! That's really a great and beautiful plan, but the truth is I am a woman living in America. I want to lose weight, I like quantifiable results, and I am going to continue stepping on a scale once a week. That doesn't mean I get depressed if I go up a pound or two. Usually I know exactly why that happened (beer/pizza) and can make reasonable adjustments to get back on track.
--END SIDEBAR--
Last night I was starving. When contemplating the food I would eat, what I wanted was all the cheesefries. And maybe some mozzarella sticks. And broccoli bites. You know how in Mermaids Cher's character only ever cooks appetizers? That's how I want my life to be, except they all have to be deep fried. But then. Oh, but then my dear 6 readers, I thought about that goal. And I realized that I also wanted a beer. Maybe two beers. So I went for moderation and got a salad. It was fantastic and satisfying and that completely surprised me. In the end, I had this salad and two REGULAR beers and it added up to fewer points than cheese fries and no beers. Win-Win.
Let's try to make it at home, shall we? I don't know how to make the dressing that was on it, but here are the ingredients.
Romaine lettuce
avocado
jicama (sliced into matchsticks)
orange sections
radishes
almonds
chile vinaigrette (no idea)
I think you could probably use any old vinaigrette on this and those are super easy to make at home. All you need is dijon mustard, vinegar of your choosing (but use a really good balsamic, you'll thank me), maybe a little garlic or shallot, salt, pepper, oil. Whisk whisk whisk DONE. Here is the Mark Bittman recipe, if you need it.
Back to our salad, the jicama is KEY. That totally made it for me. I found that with that nice texture in there I didn't need the radishes, but they added a little bit of color. I always feel that nuts on a salad are kind of optional, and I could go either way on these almonds. This is a light, delicious salad that is easy enough for a weekend lunch and fancy enough to serve for company. Oh, and here's what jicama looks like so you can go find it.
I love you, jicama.
The jicama and avocado in that salad are crying out for some spice to cool off. Make a vinaigrette w/ some OJ, chile powder and a few drops of Franks.
ReplyDeleteAlmonds, while tasty and nutritious, add a lot of fat. Use with extreme moderation.
Thank you, Rosey! This is a really helpful addition. I only ate two of the almond pieces in the salad, so I think I'm probably good.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I'm kind of anti nuts in my salad. I am, however, very pro raisins and raw onion. I never liked raisins, and then I added them to a simple salad of spinach, mushrooms, carrots, and onion. I was hooked.
ReplyDelete"I have to say I'm kind of anti nuts in my salad."
ReplyDeleteThat's what she said.