fit friday: make salads fun!

Happy Friday!

First, I have to exclaim that I am utterly thankful that today is Friday.  

I kind of want to jump up and down as I type this right now and shout at the top of my lungs, "It's Friday!!!!".  Just picture me jumping up and down instead :)

Well, all week long I've been really looking forward to this post.

I love having the opportunity to share some healthy tips that have made my life so much more enjoyable and just pure.  Just on a side note, I am not a nutritionist or professional.  I am someone who has a wholesome view on health and nutrition, and believe that taking care of our bodies can be fun and enjoyable.  

I was thinking about this post all this week.  What would I share???  I just want to spill everything because I get so passionate and excited, but baby steps.  One of the biggest things that I have learned about nutrition is that putting whole foods into your body is amazing.  It gives me so much energy.  I don't have food comas after consuming overly processed food or huge portions at restaurants.  Now, I love eating out and treating myself, but I do everything in moderation.  Breakfast and lunch are always homemade, and we like to eat out once a week.  When I talk to some people, making food at home seems to be really expensive to them versus just grabbing something on their way to work.  Wrong!  We have saved so much money by making a majority of our meals at home.  Plus, I LOVE knowing what I am putting in my body.  

When it comes to lunch I recently have fallen back in love with salads.  I used to eat salads all of the time, but then they got old.  (Sometimes they just do.)  But, the beauty of salads is how versatile they are.  I like to turn my leftovers from dinner into salad toppings.  For instance, if we make chicken tacos or chicken fajitas for dinner I cut up the chicken and add any of the veggies and black beans to my big bowl of greens, top it with avocado and salsa and have the most delicious salad.

P.S: Salsa is amazing on salads!  AND it has a ridiculously low amount of calories.  

(P.S.S: I'm not a calorie counter, but I am aware of how many calories are in what I eat so that I can balance out diet and know when to indulge.)

Another tip that has made salads super easy to make throughout the week has been to chop veggies on Sunday.  The Mr. loves when there are veggies pre-cut, it's the only way he'll eat a salad.  He is not a fan of cutting his own at all.  So, if I spend time on Sunday chopping and prepping it makes the week a breeze.  I like to chop up cucumber, bell peppers, green onions, and carrots.  We put them in their separate containers and it makes making a salad a breeze.

For this salad I had: greens, garbanzo beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, feta, and balsamic vinaigrette.

The biggest thing I have learned with salads is that they can be fun!  Just try out different variations, and when you're getting sick of it switch things up.  Maybe add some hummus or feta cheese on top, add some mandarin oranges and dried cranberries for a sweetened taste, just play around.  

My biggest tip with salads is add protein and fat!  I am one of those people that needs protein throughout my day or else I will eat all day long because I'm constantly hungry.  By ensuring that my salad has a good amount of protein and fat on it, I can stay fuller longer.  Protein can be chicken or meat from the night before, hard boiled eggs or beans.  I have just fallen in love with garbanzo beans on my salads.  Fat can be cheese (feta, goat) and avocado (my personal favorite)!  

So this week play around with your salads, eat your greens, and treat your body!