#8: Salads Don’t Have To Be Boring… Just Do Them My Way

Salads are often criticised for being the ‘standard go-to’ for healthy eating (even though they can be made unhealthy). As a result, they are often stigmatized for being cliché, tasteless and downright… standard. But it doesn’t have to be the case.

Any meal can be made into a ‘salad’ if you add enough vegetables. If you dice a ribeye and add it to a bed of greens, it’s technically a salad.

Salads are as convenient as they get when it comes to meal prep. And because they can be so good for you, it makes sense, logically, to have a portion of salad with every plate.

I recommend cultivating a standard home practice that would see you keep a large salad bowl in your fridge. Then, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, just put a dollop that bad boy on your plate. Right next to your eggs, goat cheese, chicken breast, or whatever you fancy for protein.

My default salad consists of:

1. Romaine lettuce (140 g)

2. Olives (75 g)

3. Cucumber (120 g)

4. Orange bell pepper (200 g)

5. Red bell pepper (200 g)

6. Yellow bell pepper (200 g)

7. Avocado (125 g)

8. Onion (100 g)

9. Chickpeas (475 g)

10. Carrots (100 g)

11. Apple cider vinegar (15 g)

12. Extra virgin olive oil (15 g)

With that, I add pepper, mixed Italian herbs, turmeric, and diced garlic. The final product can be seen in the picture below.

The whole salad bowl is 1245 kcal. 164 g carbs (50%), 58 g fat (40 %) and 37 g protein (10%). But it can contain anywhere from four to six portions per bowl. How about that for efficiency?

This means, that one portion of this salad (if you are dividing it by four), has the following nutritional value:

• 311 kcal

• 41 g carbohydrate

• 15 g fat

• 9 g protein

Add a protein to that (say, two eggs) and an apple for dessert and you’ve got a nice, complete meal. And for less than €5. If that isn’t a bargain, I don’t know what is.

What Protein Sources Can Be Added To This Salad?

The salad is already a meal on its own. But others (myself included) may want to add a little more protein because of their caloric requirement. Here are some great examples to choose from:

1. 100g tofu, Lord Of Tofu - Natural (165 calories; 16g protein, 1g carbohydrate, 10g fat) at €1.58

2. 100g tempeh, Biona (151 calories; 17g protein, 11g carbohydrate, 8g fat) at €1.00

3. 100g cooked chickpeas, Bonduelle (116 calories; 6g protein, 15g carbohydrate, 1g fat) at €0.59

4. 100g sheep or goat cheese, Feta (100 calories; 6g protein, 1g carbohydrate, 8g fat) at €0.70

5. 100g pasture-raised eggs or two eggs (143 calories; 13g protein, 1g carbohydrate, 10g fat) at €1.10

6. 100g salmon fillet (206 calories; 22g protein, 0g carbohydrate, 12g fat) at €2.35

7. 100g mackerel fillet (189 calories; 19g protein, 0g carbohydrate, 12g fat) at €0.78

8. 100g chicken breast (161 calories; 31g protein, 0g carbohydrate, 4g fat) at €0.50

9. 100g turkey breast (189 calories; 29g protein, 0g carbohydrate, 7g fat) at €1.10

10. 100g beef sirloin (244 calories; 27g protein, 0g carbohydrate, 14g fat) at €1.10

The Perfect, Healthy Meal On The Cheap

We’re looking at one healthy meal costing anywhere from €5.50 (chicken breast) to €7.50 (salmon). You may even opt for a plant-based option that would cost €6.58.

And to think, a restaurant would give less, both in terms of quantity and quantity, and charge anywhere from €11.00 to €15.00 depending on what you order, and from where.

The salad base takes 15 - 20 minutes to prepare, because it involves some washing, cutting, dicing and mixing. But it can yield anywhere from four to six portions, making it a big win, as far as efficiency goes.

I do believe it’s important to incorporate a large helping of plants with every meal. Their association with longevity is, at this point, practically irrefutable.