Give me a plate full of seedless cucumber slices, grape tomatoes and croutons drizzled in lowfat or fat free French, Thousand Island or Ranch dressing and I love it. Mind you, I'll probably eat a taco or burger a few hours later, but I do love my salads....when they're done right.
Truly delicious... and thoroughly Italian, which I very much approve! Usually one of my meal (lunch or dinner) is a salad. I've found it do wonders to my energy level through the day. I know I tease you endlessly with this, but tell us again: how much time does it take you to take a dump?
Anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes. I've gotten better, though. Now I just take fiber supplements. And corn. I eat a lot of corn. I actually like vegetables. I just prefer cooked vegetables that you would eat as a side dish. And I really don't like leaves.
Really? I love salads, and you can do so much with them. I like a salad with tomato, kale, spinach leaves, Romaine, carrot slices, and red onions, with either a dash of olive oil and pepper, or vinaigrette. Of course, I've always been predisposed to veggies over meat anyway, so going full on veg won't be as rough a transition for me. My only concern is keeping it going, as buying food for a non-veggie family and still maintaining that veggie lifestyle is difficult on a limited budget, and there's no way my family would go vegetarian themselves, they're a meat loving family. Hell, Rojo would fit right in. My dad likes a big steak or piece of chicken, mashed potatoes, and a tiny "salad" of half a tomato and a few pieces of lettuce, and it better be covered in ranch. Mom likes salads, but they have to be full of chicken, bacon bits, cheese, and such, or she won't eat much of it.
Now....brussel sprouts? I'd rather eat a styrofoam drink cooler. I like vegetables. Spinach and black olive pizza is my new pizza craze at the moment. But there are a few of our little green friends I learned to steer clear of when I was still a kid and brussel sprouts have no redeeming qualities other than helping you stay regular. And we won't go there.
I've actually never had brussel sprouts. It was never a thing my mom cooked. Gimme some broccoli, peas, corn, carrots, squash, and I'm good. I just can't stand leaves!
I want to stay "regular" too, but to that end (hehe), I'll just eat a large load of Kirkland brand (i.e. Costco) raisin bran whenever the mood strikes me.
But leaves have so many uses! You can eat them, smoke them, pad your cage with them... Ooh, yeah, brussels sprouts don't sit well with me either. They make my stomach hurt, so I avoid them. I don't like cooked spinach, though. I prefer it raw and in a salad. Romain lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peas, garbanzo beans, and bleu cheese. You'll love it. Maybe. I love raisin bran. I eat Kashi raisin bran because they don't add sugar. It costs more, yes, but the low sugar and fewer carbs, combined with the higher fiber ensures that I'm not setting myself up for trouble later.
Unless romaine lettuce comes in some form other than leaves, I already hate this. Plus, I hate tomatoes. Plus, bleu cheese is gross. I also hate dressing. The only thing more disgusting than leaves are leaves soaked in goo. So...no.
One thing I agree with RoJoHen, salad dressings are doubleplusungood. Olive oil, salt, maybe some lemon juice or vinegar. If you need anything else, your salad is not worth much to start with.
Also a big salad fan here. Salads are not only versatile and full of palatable potential, but can be very healthy for you as well depending upon your ingredients. Many nutritionists believe our bodies work best when eating leafy greens and vegetables than meat and potatoes. Sometimes I go vegetarian, but then sometimes I mix it up with meat or fish. The great thing is that it's so easy to "change it up", so you don't feel like you're eating the same old thing every time. I have to admit I've gotten rather dull with respect to dressings. I have to peruse the Internet for more recipes. Often I will fall back on pre-made dressings, a few of which I get from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. But my favorite "fall back" is always a whip up of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and mustard. When I was a kid, I couldn't stand Brussel sprouts. Now I love them. But spinach is still my all time favorite vegetable, especially when steamed from fresh leaf state. Next is broccoli. I'm trying to work up a taste for cauliflower, because I hear it's so good for you, but I can't stand it cooked. Hey J. Allen, have you ever tried a kumato tomato? They've been my favorite for over a year now. Really flavorful and they last a good long while on the shelf before getting overripe.
I'm not much for putting olive oil on salads but dipping bread in olive oil? That's different. French or Italian bread dipped into a cup of virgin olive oil? Mmmmmmm.
I think the gooey dressings are an american obsession. If you buy a salad out here it usually has balsamic vinegar on it and some olive oil. For variety J. Allen you can make a dressing with orange juice and some olive oil, especially if you have some carbs in your salad like beans, lentils, brown rice. They taste great with that bit of orange juice in them. I would cut out the salt, even the celery salt if I was worried about blood pressure, parmesan cheese is plenty salty as it is. Tomatoes taste quite salty on their own.. if you wean yourself off the salt habit you will be amazed at how much natural salt taste is in a lot of vegetables, eggs etc.. I don't eat many leaves because their isn't much nutrition in them and they kind of bore me. Mostly I eat baby spinach and rocket. My salads are usually chunky, peppers, zuchinnis, blanched broccoli.. whatever is on sale being the bulk of it. You know what lemon juice is delicious on? Peas. Nuke some peas and just have them with lemon juice, they are great. btw J. Allen maybe you should start a going veg thread. I'm not veg but regularly go weeks without eating meat. I mostly eat it when I eat out. 99% of my eating out is asian and probably where most of my meat comes from. However I grew up in a health food family (we lived on millet ) and I've always loved salads and vegies as well as finding ways to eat really really well on a budget. Vegetables are at times a fortune here because of drought and high petrol prices and great distances involved in trucking stuff but that's just gotten me inspired to find ways to feature whatever is the current bargain vegetable. Anyway.. you should start a food thread. We can post pics and talk about legumes. I think you are doing yourself a HUGE plus by going veg
The closest thing I could possibly get to going vegetarian is my fondness for cheese pizza. Give up meat? Forget it. I enjoy eating it too much. I may like my pizza without meat, but I also love a good Philly cheesesteak.
I don't trust a meal that doesn't contain some form of meat. And actually, if I go more than a day without meat, my skin starts to break out. So...yeah, I'm not giving up meat any time ever.
Agreed. This pretty much sums up my typical dressing as well. Sometimes I add a small spoonful of dijon to give it a little bite. Oh and +1 on tea's "going veggie" thread.
Firstly, a very genuine good for you and good luck! I've known type 2s who just didn't care, and didn't even try to care for themselves. That you're making the effort is awesome, and I know that as a type 1 I can't "get it" the way another type 2 could, but if you ever need support or suggestions, I've been navigating diabetes since I was 12, and I know my way around a bit, so feel free to ask! Secondly, as you probably know, J, I can't let any inexactitude or possible misinformation slide anywhere ever (I try, I really do!), so I wanted to be sure that you knew that meat doesn't affect blood sugar! It is one of the few foods that doesn't! There are a ton of great health benefits from going vegetarian, like weight loss and lower cholesterol, but eating meat won't directly affect your glucose levels. I say directly, because diabetes is complicated as fuck; if you lose weight by going veggie, that will most likely affect your glucose, and the fat and protein in meat slow carbohydrate absorption, which is generally good for blood sugar control. I'm not trying at all to dissuade you from your vegetarianism, I just want to share any information and experience I can, because information and experience are the best tools in dealing with diabetes. In my own experience, vegetarianism was hard on my control, but the saying is true: Your Diabetes May Vary. Now, for salad dressings, I have to disagree with the iguana. I love experimenting with new dressings, and I like trying different kinds to compliment what I've put in my salad (both homemade and store bought). One of my favorites is to mix a tablespoon of tahini with a splash of vinegar, a squirt of lemon juice, a little water, and some pepper. There's a grocery near me that carries a really nice fig dressing, and when I visit Seattle I try to pick up a bottle of local blackberry dressing.