Desi Salad : Healthy meal option # 2

So for almost two decades and a few more years I hated the word salad.

Its great to include different colors of the food spectrum , its not just a delight for the eyes but also a treat for health  Photo courtesy : Sheetal Petkar

To me as an Indian a salad was nothing more than onion , tomato , cucumber sliced with half a lemon squeezed on top with a sprinkle of salt and fresh coriander , now i promise that i love this Indian version of salad and i can have loads of it with my food , of course by food i mean the curry and rotis and dal and rice , but when someone would suggest me to have just salads for lunch (for the obvious reasons :P ) the thought of it would make me sick , so even if i would gather the courage to go on a salad diet , a day before i would stuff myself up with all the cheese and fries and yummy stuff i could find to makeup for the punishment i would be on for the next few days .
By the evening of day 1 of my salad diet i would feel sick to the core and get back to my fries.

Cherry tomatoes taste so much better than regular tomatoes in a salad   Photo courtesy : Sheetal Petkar

But now as i feel more comfortable and confident accepting the way my body is right now , i am in no rush of loosing weight  i know it has to be a gradual process and the results will stay forever , more than a diet change it is a lifestyle change that i need to adopt and with these wise thoughts came some wise recipes that were not so difficult to adopt in my cheese licking fries hogging mid night sweet gobbling life style.
So here is my version of the salad that i love to eat and eagerly wait for my lunchtime , its thoughtful healthy and tasty :)

How you plate your food says a lot about how much you love yourself , well plated food makes me feel like a princess !  Photo courtesy : Sheetal Petkar

So the whole point of this salad is to make it so tasty and filing that you can adopt it as a part of your lifestyle and not the tasteless grassy mess that instantly fills u up with blandness and later wants  you to throw up or gives hunger pangs :)

I love chicken pepper salami it sizzles up the oomph factor of my salad !  Photo courtesy : Sheetal Petkar

So i call it my version of Desi Italian salad ;) , i don't now how italian it is but i like to believe that its on the same notes

ooh....lalala !  Photo courtesy : Sheetal Petkar

This is for making 1 box of salad ideal for lunch

• Lettuce iceberg as much as u can eat
• Cherry tomato 10 -12 ( no full tomatoes please they don't taste half of what baby tomatoes are , sweet like cherries )
• Boiled babycorn 4-5 sliced in half , u can also use sweet corn but that's very high in carbs
• Kiwi 1 make thick round slices ( keep them thick and juicy , too thin a slice and it melts in the salad )
• Flax seeds 1tsp yum rich in omega 3 ( gives that nutty taste to your salad ) Chicken ( boiled , salami , ham , seasoned ) whatever u like oops u r a vegetarian no problemos  use paneer(cottage cheese) instead like 100gms or just some fetta cheese

Optional ingredients :
Ripe plums
oranges
cucumber diced
figs ( goes really well specially with paneer or fetta )

Dressing :

This is the soul of the salad

• Olive oil 1tsp
• Apple cider vinegar 1.5 tsp
• Organic honey 1 tsp
• English mustard sauce 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Italian herbs ( try Keya its good)
• Pepper if u like it hot

Make the dressing  , add chicken/paneer and pack it separately
, so if u make it at night it could marinade whole night in the juices

pack the salad separately and at lunch time mix mix mix and hog yumm !
Enjoy your salad bunnies ;-) 

Changing your food will definitely change your lifestyle   Photo courtesy : Sheetal Petkar

Nutritional Facts :
The paneer/chicken is a good source of protein 
the flaxseed is rich in omega 3 ( i forgot mine though )
olive oil rich in mufa (healthy fat)
kiwi very high in vitamin C
baby tomato good source of vitamin K,A & C
veggies good in minerals and roughage 


Princess love
Mwah!
Isha