Salad in a Jar & Boot Camp

Remember that whole boot camp starting this week thing that I mentioned in my last post? Yeah. It started. It's not called boot camp to just sound cool, it's intense! Today is the first day that I didn't make audible noises every time I moved to or from a standing position. Getting up, sitting down, it all hurt. I also left a trail of things everywhere I went that I dropped on the ground of floor. Just today I was able to pick up the bar of soap that I dropped in the shower two days ago. Sorry Starbucks about that pink plastic spoon I dropped on the floor and couldn't pick up, it just hurt too bad!

I would say it wasn't as awful as I thought it would be, but I won't lie... It was pretty awful!  Life is good, I don't feel like I've been hit by a truck anymore, and I'm proud of myself! However, my apartment is a wreck because my week consisted of nothing but wake up, Jesus & Starbucks time, work, boot camp, eat something I didn't have to stand to make, sit until I could convince myself it was better to take a shower at night than in the morning when I'd hurt worse, shower, sleep, rinse and repeat. I don't remember the last time I went to be before midnight every night in a week. Several nights I went to be before 11!

A few things I learned the first week: Burpees were created by Satan himself. I suck at sprinting. I can sweat way more than I thought I could. My entire body turns red when I work out intensely. I can do a lot more than I thought I could. Weight Watchers gives more Activity Points for doing intense physical activity for a reason! It's apparently normal to gain weight the first week of starting new, intense work out programs (we all did!). Even when it feels like my heart and lungs are about to leap out of my chest, my body can apparently keep going. Working out with people makes a huge difference! I need to marry a personal trainer so I have a motivator for life.

Now to the food! For me, lunch can be the hardest meal of the day to make healthy choices for. It's the one meal we usually aren't home to eat. So today I bring you my all time favorite lunch idea!

A few things you probably already know about me.

1. I love any make ahead recipe.
2. I like food prep work A LOT.
3. I love anything with layers.
4. I love anything in a mason jar, anything. 
5. I don't believe in paying money to eat out for lunch breaks!
6. I'm not a fan of the whole get up early to pack a lunch thing.

If you share any of these things in common with me. This recipe, which is more of an idea, is for you! I don't do these every week, I like variety! But it's one of my go-to make ahead favorite lunch ideas. I love salad! Love it. But before this idea, it was impossible to bring salad to work for lunch without bringing everything and the kitchen sink with me to work. And who wants to be that much of a diva and have a lunch bag bigger than the purse and work bag we already have, or am I the only one who carries three bags to work? If you layer these salads correctly, they can keep in the refrigerator for up to four days! Last week I made two, but I've made four before and had them every day for lunch.

First let's talk a little prep. Prep! It can be so easy with the right tools. So many prep tasks can be done before.

I used to hate carrots in my salads. I liked them dipped in hummus or ranch, but hated them in salads for two reasons. 1. Carrots are hard to cut up into bite sized pieces! Every time I tried little carrot pieces would fling across the room. 2. Stabbing little carrot slices with a fork is equally as hard. Carrots meet mini food processor. It chops carrots in seconds to little crumbly type pieces, about the size of bacon bits. Perfect!

Other prep involves chopping whatever you want in your salad. I usually use whatever I have. For this one my prep involved boiling and chopping eggs, sauteing some pre-cooked frozen chicken pieces, and chopping green onions. That's it!

Then it's all about the layering and ingredients. The most important thing is to keep the dressing and lettuce as far away as possible. Keep the wet stuff on bottom and dryer stuff on top. I layered this batch of salad with the following ingredients in the order listed.

• strawberry balsamic vinaigrette
• green onions 
• finely chopped carrots
• julienne chopped cucumbers
• quartered grape tomatoes
• dried cranberries
• a little sprinkle of mexi-blend cheese (close to expiration date)
• a little sprinkle of feta cheese (close to expiration date)
• cooked chicken breast, seasoned with Tony's, pre-diced
• a little sprinkle of turkey bacon bits
• one boiled egg, chopped
• romaine lettuce (Keep stuffing it, lettuce compacts!)
• dried french onions (left over from holiday cooking)

Did I mention this recipe can also be used to clean out your fridge/cabinets? If it can be put in a salad, put it in! Be sure to bring a paper plate or large bowl with you to work to pour out the salad. The blog where I found the idea, said to shake it up and eat out of the jar, but that's never worked for me. Just slowly pour it on a plate or bowl and eat!

I saw a blog that posted weekly pictures of what she brought for lunch, no recipes, just ideas. It was useful to me, and I'd be willing to do that if it would be useful for you! Yes? No? Let me know and I'll start doing it! 

Wedge Salads & Spicy Avocado Lime Dressing

More green! I do love green stuff a whole lot. It worked out well for me when I started Weight Watchers, the loving veggies and fruits thing. I quickly discovered how to make a big salad filled with 0 point things and selectively pick my point worthy toppings of choice. 

I'm always looking for ways to spice up a salad, make it main dish worthy, or tweak the flavors to make it a perfect side for any meal. One of my favorite ways to do that is to make my own salad dressing. I can eat a salad without dressing if it has the right toppings, but mostly, I have to have some dressing on my salad. Store bought creamy dressings are always high in points and so they are my favorites to make at home. Skinny Taste is the best source for healthy made at home creamy salad dressings.

Spicy Avocado Lime Dressing

(adapted from Skinny Taste's recipe)

Ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoons powdered butter milk + 3/4 cup water (or 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk)
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 avocado
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 green onion, sliced
• juice of two limes
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Green. Green. Green. 

Directions: 

Add cultured buttermilk powder and water in a food processor first to combine. If you're using normal buttermilk, just toss it all together. Add in all the other ingredients. Most of them don't need to be pre-chopped. Deseed the avocado and remove the meat from the shell and just toss it in whole. Slice the jalapeno in half lengthwise and then again and toss in. Roughly chop the green onions. Add cilantro, sugar, garlic, lime juice, salt, cumin and pepper. Pulse until blended well. 

Note - If you don't add the jalapeno seeds, decrease the amount of sugar, it would probably be a little too sweet. 

Warning - this is SPICY! Like serious kick here folks. I liked it, but it's even spicier than the salsa I made earlier in the week. 

Last step. Don't misspell spicy when you go to take a picture of your yummy dressing for you blog. Oops. 

Yields 1 1/2 cups and 12 servings. Each 2 tablespoons serving is only 1 point! Add to your favorite salad or make one of these lovely wedge salads I made!

Wedge Salad

Ingredients: 

• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
• handful of chopped red grape tomatoes
• handful of chopped yellow cherry tomatoes
• julienned cucumbers
• chopped green onions
• turkey bacon bits
• reduced fat blue cheese crumbles
• balsamic vinegar
• Spicy Avocado Lime Salad Dressing (or your choice)
• any other toppings you like

Directions: 

Assemble. Really! It's that easy. Use a big mega knife (I used a watermelon knife) to slice a head of iceberg lettuce in half and then in half again. Cut off the hard end of edge wedge. These made BIG salads. If you want smaller ones you could cut each iceberg half into thirds instead of in half again. Carefully sprinkle on your toppings. Drizzle with your favorite dressing and splash with a little balsamic. 

The Weight Watchers points value of your wedge salad will depend on what you add to it. 2 tablespoons of reduced blue cheese crumbles are only 1 point. 1 tablespoon of turkey bacon bits is 1 point. 2 tablespoons of the dressing is 1 point. The rest is 0! My whole big salad was 3 points, and less probably! I didn't use a whole 2 tablespoons of dressing or blue cheese, but always better to round up a little.