Saturday Greenery

March 2nd, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Lunch

It’s Day 2 of The Greener March Challenge! Here’s today’s lunchtime salad – KAPOW!

Saturday Salad

Oh, wait. I mean, Hi! Did you eat something leafy and green yesterday? And today already too? High five!

If you’re about to become a lean green eating machine for the next 30 days or so, we should talk about salad sooner rather than later.

If you’re already a salad shooting pro, please share your salad secrets with us!  But if salad is something you’re only feeling so-so about, let’s talk about how to make salad time quick and easy. Because when it’s quick and easy, it’s more likely to happen.

When I hit the produce section and start ransacking through the leafy stuff, I typically grab a head of red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, kale and a big container of spinach or the “spring mix”. The baby arugula is a more recent addition into the greens rotation and I’m loving it.

Store Prepped Greens

I prep my own green mix each week (ish) and with the help of my OXO salad spinner I can tear up, rinse and spin dry the heads of green leaf and red leaf lettuce in about 10 minutes. Given that Zak and I are the main salad eaters here, this lasts two adults (who eat salad just about every day when this is in the fridge) for about 5 days.

Homemade Green Mix

When there’s a container of other greens in the fridge (like spinach, spring mix and/or arugula) we can stretch this even further.  If the leaves are (mostly) dry before I put them away, they last much longer.  If they’re too wet they’ll turn nasty and brown much sooner – this makes a good salad spinner worth every single penny.  This big container of pre-prepped greens is also handy when it comes to wanting some lettuce for sandwiches, burgers or wraps or small side salads.

Having greens prepped and ready is not only helpful, but FUN!  You get to sink your hand into the pile of leaves and pretend you’re one of those toy claw machines – but this is even better because you’ll come up with an awesome prize every single time.  (Stupid toy machines.)

Although this is not an example of The Claw Machine and instead more of a salad photo bomb by Zak who was hungrily standing by during green prep and then the photo shoot.

Salad Photo Bomb

My time ran out.

Today’s salad lunch was comprised of the green mix listed above.  Red leaf, green leaf, spinach and arugula – coated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar (that I recently got from Trader Joes – it’s sweeter than the Spectrum brand I usually buy!) plus a couple tablespoons of water and a little salt and pepper. I am also currently obsessed with crumbly blue veined cheeses ever since that blue cheese and salmon salad from a couple weeks ago.

Greens Tossed in Oil and Vinegar Gorgonzola

This is Gorgonzola, for the record. Only because I didn’t read the label very carefully, I just picked it up and shot it into the cart like the grocery shopping marksman that I am.

A little chopped bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, two hard boiled eggs and about a 1/3 of a red pepper for today’s lunch time prize.

A Greener March

I win!

This salad was constructed and consumed with tomorrow’s scheduled 8 mile half marathon training run in mind, a big salad before a big run is always a part of my plan.

So what greens did you eat today?  Are you all stocked up and ready to rock?  Do tell!


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6 Responses

  • Devann says:

    So I know you always say that what you eat the day before a run is what fuels you. Does this mean that it would be pointless to try to have a green smoothie an hour before a run? Will I not see a difference? That very salad is good with peas in it too!

    • I don’t think it’s pointless, but I also don’t think that green smoothies necessarily have the same immediate effect on your performance that something like caffeine (for example) might – at least not for me. I think about greens and what more vegetables can do for someone in a broader sense and the cumulative effect eating more of these foods can have. In theory, when someone is eating more greens, hopefully they’re reducing the amount of less nutritious foods as well – this was my experience and I believe it was both of those changes that lead to improved running for me over time. This is why I loved the idea of a “30 Day Challenge” – greens aren’t a quick fix, but eating them regularly is one step someone can take toward eating well and feeling good over time.

      That said, if you notice a difference when you drink a green smoothie an hour before a run, by all means – go for it! It certainly isn’t going to hurt anything and you could very easily experiment to see how you feel on the days you drink a green smoothie before a run and the days that you don’t. I think more greens in general can make a difference in how you feel in the long term, and when you’re eating them regularly it won’t matter if you down a green smoothie before a run or not. This is of course my non-professional opinion – see what works for you and go from there!

  • San says:

    Morning Alison! I’m with you on the green march thing! Yesterday I had my green juice topped with wheatgrass powders as I am going to try to do the wheatgrass thing in march too. However it’s going to be pancakes for breakfast this morning,,, xx

  • Hilary says:

    That looks good! I love blue cheese but I can’t have it right now since I’m pregnant. :(

  • I had truffle, ricotta, and arugula pizza for dinner last night, and tonight’s greens will be Ina Garten’s best roasted broccoli ever and the spinach in Rachael Ray’s Drunken Risotto (which humane certified sausage, of course). Green is good.