How I stopped hating salad.
A very foodie edition.
Content warning: healthy eating, body dysmorphia, ED. I’m not a medical professional, dietitian, or even a professional chef. This is just my experience.
I have a complicated relationship with “health,” at least how social media defines it.
I was a piss-poor athlete growing up. And while my parents did their level best to feed us healthy, balanced meals at home, we were a far cry from an almond family. In fact, my best friend used to love to come to our house because we had real microwave popcorn in the bags, something that was verboten in her parents’ house. (Funny enough, I am now the one who recently told my mom that I don’t need to buy Skinny Pop at Costco because I got an air-popped popcorn maker as a wedding gift.)
My point is that I am, like any good 21st-century American, a creature of comfort. If a healthy habit doesn’t taste good, feel good, or amuse me, I’m much less likely to do it consistently. I will probably never be the kind of “Instagram healthy” person who chugs a tumbler full of disgusting green powder or hot lemon water first thing in the morning before CrossFit.1
However, throughout my adult life, I’ve had to experiment and struggle to find healthy habits that I actually enjoyed doing. It took me until just a few months ago to finally find a workout I loved (Pilates Princess 4 lyfe <3). One habit that I figured out pretty early in my 20s was how to make a salad that didn’t feel like a chore to eat. So for a fun, lighthearted post after last week’s slightly ranty one, I’ve compiled my top salad tips to implement in your kitchen.
Massive disclaimer: I’m a DINK with a lot more free time than most parents reading this and who also happens to love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I get that not everyone is like this. When I quote Ina Garten and say store-bought is fine, I actually mean it. If pre-packaged salad or bottled dressing is a better fit for your budget or your family or is the thing that is the most accessible to you or will actually get you to eat your vegetables, that’s fantastic. This is just a list of things that have made salads more enjoyable for me, but if you already like them, to quote Cogsworth, if it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it.
1. Use a template.
Two YouTube videos really cracked the code on salad for me in my 20s, one from BuzzFeed and the other from The Financial Diet, and I’ll be pulling from them extensively in this list.
Hearing TFD’s Chelsea Fagan talk about a hearty dinner salad template was a lightbulb moment for me. It helped me make plan salad recipes that used what I had in the fridge and were also filling and delicious (because just eating a pile of leaves isn’t going to cut it.)
The template she lays out in the video is as follows: greens + protein + roasted vegetable + fruit + cheese + extras (nuts, dressing, etc.) Sounds dirt simple, but trust me, this changed everything. It doesn’t require you to have specific ingredients on hand, but it does help the analysis paralysis you get standing in front of your open fridge.
One salad I made recently following this template was my base greens mix (will get there in a moment) + chicken + roasted baby carrots + cherry tomatoes + nutritional yeast + pumpkin seeds and homemade tahini dressing (again, coming later in this post). 10/10, would recommend.
2. Cut everything into smaller pieces than you think.
This was my biggest takeaway from the aforementioned BuzzFeed video: The more salad ingredients you can fit in a single bite, the better it will taste. When it comes to salad, there is nothing worse than cutting your chicken too big so it falls off your fork and you get a mouthful of huge spinach leaves. This step may take a little extra time, the difference in taste is worth it, at least for me.
3. Mixed greens, always.
You don’t have to buy the pre-made mixed greens if you don’t like them (though they are time-efficient). But I always recommend using more than one green as your base. My go-to salad base is kale, spinach, and red cabbage. I added arugula to my salads this week and I’m probably going to be doing that from now on. Also, massage your kale. Really.
4. If you want to, make your own salad dressing!
I discovered a basic recipe for tahini salad dressing from Rachel Gaewski while watching a Goodful video.
1–2 tbsp tahini
juice of 1 lemon (1-ish tbsp)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
water to thin it out
garlic powder
Mix the tahini, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard together in a bowl until it gets thick and paste-like. Slowly add water and stir until it reaches the consistency you like. If you add too much water, add garlic powder to thicken it.
Bonus tip: Even if you eat meat (which I do), follow plant-based cooking accounts. Since plants are all vegetarian or vegan cooks have to work with, they know how to make them taste good. Anything Rachel Gaewski does for Goodful is a great place to start.
Got any more salad tips? Leave them in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @vicky.wolak.writes.
ATL Spotlight of the Week
For my birthday in May, Charlie took me to La Grotta in Buckhead. It had been on my list for a while and it was worth the wait. The cocktails, the wine list, the melon and prosciutto appetizer—chef’s kiss! If you can, I would highly recommend getting a table outside. The week we went happened to be when my sister and brother-in-law were in Italy on their honeymoon, and that dinner was the one point in the week I wasn’t jealous. 😆 My parents are visiting soon, and you best believe we’re taking them!
Free Things that Make Me Happy
I started doing a blog series about this a while back and I still love the idea, so I’m bringing it to Substack! And for the purposes of not splitting hairs, my definition of “free” is “not spending money I haven’t already spent.” OK? OK.
Audio Rosaries. I’m awful at staying focused when praying the Rosary. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve rolled my eyes when someone said “The Rosary only takes 17 minutes,” I could pay off my student loans. And since I know that about myself, it’s discouraged me from praying the Rosary, which I knew I should do more often. Then I started to listen to audio rosaries while doing super menial tasks like emptying the dishwasher or folding laundry, and it was a game-changer.
There are a ton of free audio recordings of the Rosary to suit your preferences (with or without music, chanted or spoken, with video or not) but my personal favorites are from The Catholic Crusade on YouTube.
And before you come at me with “Listening doesn’t count!” ask yourself this: Is it better to pray the Rosary along with a recording, or not at all?
That’s what I thought.
Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what other topics you’d like to see from me, and I will see you next time.
No shade to anyone who does these things as part of a balanced, mentally and physically healthy lifestyle. I am just not one of those people.