Weekly Food Prep #2...Salad!

Hello and welcome to the delicious salad post.

Here I intend to introduce you to my easy, weekly, salad eating frenzy.

Once a week I buy a 1 pound container of organic lettuce. I makes little baggies for each day and take these to work. Spill them out onto a reusable container from home (that I keep at work) and top the lettuce with any vegetables I have packed along.
Here are some examples:


Photo by: realfoodtulsa.blogspot.com

2 large handfuls of organic lettuce (spring mix for example)
1 handful of cherry tomatoes (b/c they need no chopping and don't get soggy)
1 chopped cucumber

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Goddess dressing (my other fav)








Here's another:

Photo by: barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com

2 large handfuls of organic lettuce (a nice chopped romaine blend)

1/2 cup cooked black beans

1/2 cup raw corn

tiny baggie of chopped cilantro

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Ranch dressing

And another:

Photo by: delicious-knowledge.com

2 large handfuls organic lettuce (kale possibly)

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup salsa

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Italian dressing

Just one more fav for the road:

Photo by: www.lifesambrosia.com

2 handfuls organic lettuce (spinach for example)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

2-3 tbsp homemade dressing OR Lemon/EVOO/Salt/Pepper dressing

Sometimes I put lots of stuff, sometimes I put nothing but lettuce and dressing. Either way, this method helps me to eat all my raw veggies for the day, AND still get a good filling meal in.

*Confession* I have eated 1/2 pound of salad in one sitting before. DOnt' judge.

Eating salad it SOOOOO easy.

Did I mention how easy it is...?

Price breakdown:
1 lb. tub of organic lettuce: $5.99 divided by 5 days (workweek) = $1.20 per serving
1 bottle of dressing: $3.99/ 8 (usually lasts 8-9 days) = 50 cents per serving

WHO can say they spend under $2.00/day for a delicious nutricious lunch!?

Who can? ...You can, if you adopt these methods.

First things first...!

Drink water! Half your body weight in ounces. For me at 150 lbs. that equals 75 oz. of water per day or approx 8 glasses. Photo by: worldtruth.tv

Let's talk about a few ways we can get our bodies regulated:

• 1) Drink WATER

We are challenged to drink half our body weight in ounces in order to maintain hydration. (ex. a person who weighs 160 lbs. (160/2=80) should drink 80 oz. of water daily OR eight 10 oz. glasses/day) Our body is made up of over 70% water and needs this to feed our cells, help our organs and move out the waste. Water is the cheapest, easiest, simplest way to regulate your body, stools included.

The way I do it: keep a water bottle/large cup at my desk at work, refill it every time it gets close to empty. At home, I have a large glass I keep by my bed. I plan to drink 1-2 large glasses before retiring to bed, refill, go to sleep, then drink the same immediately upon rising. Otherwise it's easy to forget about it.

I can't stress this enough: Drink to your health, DRINK WATER.

• 2) Drink Tea

If you can't get enough water in, next best thing is unsweetened tea. Tea and coffee can sometimes be dehydrating; I will not go into this debate here and now, however I will simply say there can be magnificent benefits to drinking tea for it's herbal components.

Tea can often get herbs into your digestive system faster than tablets and capsules can.

Here are some tea brands I recommend below:
1) Yogi Tea - Detox, Berry DeTox, Skin DeTox, Peach DeTox, Lemon DeTox, Mint Get Regular, Green Tea Kombucha, Purifica, Seven Berry Anti-oxidant...and so on.
2) Traditional Medicinals - Lemon Everyday DeTox, Women's Liberty...

I have personally had great success with these brands and have drunk many of their teas, always unsweetened and with great taste and results. Be encouraged to find the purest forms of tea you can and stay away from the "generic black teas." We can never be sure the leaf:stem ratio in the mix.

• 3) Take supplements

Of course, there are many out there in both liquid, capsule and powder form. Below are just a few I am familiar with:

1) Dr. John R. Christopher's Lower Bowel Formula ( I am currently testing this one out: here)
2) Essense of Vitality, Chef Ahki Cleanse (information found: here)
3) Nature's Way Naturalax 2 (info: here)

• 4) Detox with foods

This is mentioned last, because if we are already stopped up internally, adding more fuel (food) to the fire (our digestive system) will NOT make it better. There are, however, a few foods that can aid in detoxification, and help with waste management in the body.


Photo by www.foodnetwork.com

1) Leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale, chard, romaine...)
2) Root vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes...)
3) Citrus Fruits (lemon, orange, apples, pineapple...)
4) AVC (Apple Cidar Vinegar) the best "in my humble opinion" can be purchased here

Photo by Bragg.com

- Instructions: Mix with water and honey or lemon or basic fruit juice. Add 2-3 tbsp to an 8 oz. cup of liquid. Drink ACV up to 3x/daily.

5) Aloe Vera Juice or Gel (This can be consumed straight in "shot" form, or added to a well-like plain juice or smoothie) BEWARE: it will clean you out.

Either way it goes, remember there are MANY ways to deToxify your body and help it do it's job of keeping you healthy and alive with vitality.

Attempt one or more of these each day and you will be well on your way to understanding your body better and helping it function and survive.









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Which one of these methods will you try today? Have you done a deTox regimen lately that WORKED!? Tell us about your experience "deTox-ing" below! Join the conversation!

Eat well. Live well. Be well.