If you're trying to eat a healthy diet of food, salad has always been at the top of the list of things to eat. And, of course, doctors have told us for many years that eating a lot of leafy green veggies is one of the keys to a successful healthy lifestyle.
But here's the thing, I really just don't enjoy salad. In all honestly, I probably never have, even way back to when I was a kid. In fact, I remember one meal when I was at some buffet-type restaurant, and I loaded up my plate with a little bit of lettuce, and a lot of toppings. As my dad was going through the line behind me, he even commented that I really wasn't putting a salad together, so much as a mixture of the yummy stuff. (At the time, he probably phrased it quite differently, but the sentiment is still the same.) Even now, I will eat whatever leafy greens make up the actual "salad" portion of the meal, and then leave the toppings for last. It's nice to know that some things never change.
As I mentioned previously, if you're trying to eat healthy (like I do) salads are the staple food. But also, when you happen to be genetically inferior like me (gluten AND dairy free...not just by choice) you are often relegated to the world of salads. For example, last week, I was presenting at a school, and some of the directors wanted it go to lunch together. Not knowing the city we were in, I was at a loss for what to suggest. The executive director took over, and suggested an Italian restaurant. I immediately prayed that actually had salad, because even if the standard salad comes with cheese, it's not a huge deal to request that it not come with cheese.
But are you getting the idea that I'm fun to eat with? Because it's a joy sometimes, and makes me feel ridiculously high maintenance. Perhaps I should just wear a button that says "I'm not really high maintenance, it's just my GI track that is." There have been many meals where I've had to order something like: I'd like a bowl of chili, but no cheese on that, and I'd like the grilled chicken sandwich without the bread. Yes, just give me all the toppings, and the chicken, but not bread. Or when the meal actually comes out: I'm sorry, the description on the menu didn't include that you poured an entire cup of cheese over the spinach, so I would really appreciate (and so would my traveling companions) if you could take that back to the kitchen, not spit in it, and bring it back dairy free. Thanks! Or even: I ordered the naked tenders, not the regular ones, so no, I'm not going to keep the thing that I didn't order, and yes, I'm going to cut your tip because you didn't pay attention to what I ordered, brought me the wrong thing, and then expected me to eat it anyway. :)
So anyway, back to the scary Italian restaurant. They did have salad, they actually had salad that didn't automatically come with cheese on it, thus my looking like an ass hat that doesn't like food was significantly reduced. And I ate the salad. There were even moments that I enjoyed what I was eating. Admittedly, those were the moments when I was eating the toppings, but still...there were a few enjoyable bites in there. And of course, I ate the entire thing because even at 2pm, I was aware that this would be my only chance to eat any amount of food of substance until after 10pm when I would get back home.
I'm sure I can't be the only one out there that doesn't like salad. I've admitted it, it took a long time to do so, but I did it. And I would like to stand up and say that it's ok not to like salad. It doesn't mean that I don't eat healthy. But I'm more likely to eat tomatoes, avocado, bell peppers, and whatever other veggie I'm in the mood for sans lettuce, spinach, arugula or whatever leafy green you might throw my way.
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