Make a Healthy Meal in 5 Minutes

A Christine Salad: It's a meal.

It’s easy being vegan ’cause salads make a great meal. It’s a myth that all veg-heads live on salads alone. But! Salads make a hearty and healthy meal when done right.

Best of all, you can prepare about five days worth of ingredients in about an hour, making a salad an easy go-to meal when you don’t have much time. Get your veggies ready on Sunday and you’re all set for the week. Then all you have to do is throw a salad together each day and a meal is made. Easy.

Salads are a staple of my diet. It makes me feel good mentally and physically to eat healthy. I never beat myself up mentally after I eat a salad, but I sure do after I eat a bunch of crap. My goal is to eat one salad a day to fuel my nutrient-dense diet* and salads are a good way to do that.

Suggested Salad Fixin’s

• Greens (obviously). Use different types of lettuces each week to maximize your nutrient intake.
• Grape or cherry tomatoes. Wash and dry. Nothing else to do but drop a few in your salad.
• Brown rice or quinoa. Adding a grain to your salad will make it more like a meal.
• Tofu. Baked tofu works great. Plain will do.
• Beans. Try a new type each week. Again to maximize your nutrient intake. Drain a can of bean and store in a seal-tight container. They will last about a week.
• Peppers: red, green, yellow or orange
• Onions. Any type will do.
• Olives
• Carrots
• Celery
• Nuts and seeds such as walnuts, almonds, pecans or sunflower seeds
• Dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries

Top off your salad with a simple dressing. Buy it in a bottle or make this quick and easy recipe:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 balsamic or white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp mustard (Dijon or stoneground are best)
• Drizzle of agave or maple syrup, if desired
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• Store in glass bottle in the fridge

Store everything in tightly sealed containers, and you’ll have at least five meals ready to go in about five minutes.

Once you get on the salad bandwagon, you might want to wear this fun t-shirt.

Here’s to healthy eating!

*If you haven’t read Eat for Health by Dr. Fuhrman, consider reading it today. Learn about the importance of nutrient-dense food and your health. To learn more about weight-loss, I recommend reading Eat to Live.

Read about my Eat to Live experience:

• Live to Eat or Eat to Live?
• Eat to Live: 3 Weeks Down, 6 Weeks to Go?
• Eat to Live Follow-up
• Tofu Ranch Dressing

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