KHFP Week Seven: Toss Up A Big Bowl of Salad

This is week seven of Kandie’s Health and Fitness Project where the goal is to progressively introduce new healthy habits into your diet by “crowding out” your old bad unhealthy eating habits. During weeks one thru six you have started drinking eight 8oz glasses of water, eating a hearty healthy breakfast, get movin' by walking, eating an apple, saying no to your guilty pleasure and going a little nuts. Essentially you have been "breaking-in" to gradually into eating a more healthy diet. For most people (especially women over forty), tend to fail at dieting because of the many strict restrictions. So, with this project’s 24 week progression of adding just one new "tweak" to your daily habit each week and building upon the previous weeks, you will incorporate these new habits seamlessly into your everyday life, giving you a better chance at successful weight loss. The goal is to take the stress out of eating and exercising that usually goes along with any diet plan. Most diets focus on what you can’t have for a certain period of time, like 6 weeks or 3 months. But once the program is over you begin to crave all the old bad stuff and you slip right back into your old habits because you were so restricted and forced to eat dry, bland, even tasteless food you were not accustomed to. However, with this project you will have many choices of healthy tasteful food and instead of focusing more on what you can’t have it focuses on what you should have instead.


Now, for this week’s new habit to add to your daily diet you will be eating a big salad. Now of course there are some things you should restrict from eating but, let’s focus more on what you should eat instead. Start with the basics and choose what type of lettuce(s) you want as the base. Next, choose the main vegetables, then your healthy additions and lastly, your salad dressing. That’s all there is to it really!


　
 
KHFP Guidelines for Making Your Salad:

Beginners:
choose certified organic lean meats (no pork), fruits & vegetables(fresh, frozen or canned-in juices). Add, dried fruits, nuts & seeds. Choose fresh, frozen or canned beans & legumes. Add low-fat cheeses & salad dressings. Ditch the croutons please! Unless they are made from whole grains.

Intermediates:
limit your meats to certified organic fish, chicken or turkey(about 2 oz). Plus, add certified organic fruits & vegetables(fresh, frozen or canned-in juices). Add raw nuts & seeds. Also, use beans & legumes as well. Use or limit cheeses to low-fat varieties. Be aware of the trappings of the low-fat labels, they tend to add unwanted/unhealthy fillers and hidden fat ingredients like sugar. Your choice of salad dressings should include mainly fruit vinegarettes, light olive oil & vinegar bases, fat-free/low-fat non-dairy varieties and avoid creamy dressings. Ditch the croutons as well as boiled eggs!!

Advanced:
choose vegetarian/vegan products which are certified organic or certified vegetarian/vegan. No meat for the vegetarians and no meat products (including dairy, cheeses, any animal by-products) for vegans. Use meat alternatives such as tofu, tempeh, seitan. Include fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes. Add raw unsalted nuts & seeds as well. Use certified organic salad dressings, fruit vinegarettes and vinegar & oil based dressings or all natural. Also, skip the croutons and eggs(for the vegetarians).


　

　
KHFP’s How to Build Your Salad in Four Stages:
1). Lettuce Base: 
this is the foundation for your salad. Choose any variety of lettuce or use a mixture of different varieties. You can choose your lettuce based on its taste, texture or nutritional value. Your lettuce determines what types of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans and even dressings you add. Make your choice count, you can pick your old boring favorite (iceburg) or step out and try a new variety like the ultra nutritious Kale, watercress or arugula to keep you from getting bored.
 
2). Fruits, Vegetables, Beans/Legumes:
the next layer should start out with your vegetable choice and this can be just about any vegetable. It can be a standard of tomato, cucumber & onions or something you’ve always wanted to try but never have. It can be ordinary vegetables (green peppers, carrots, broccoli) or more adventurous(artichokes, hearts of palm). The vegetable mixture should be complemented with fruits, and beans.


3). Nuts, Seeds, Dried Fruits:
this layer is what adds a little more punch to your salad. Adding in some healthy nuts like walnuts or pecans along with sesame seeds and raisins will help crowd out those less desirable additions like croutons, cheese or eggs. An added bonus is that these items help give your jaws a workout therefore, slowing you down and filling you up.


4). Salad Dressings:
this layer is the most crucial stage of salad building. Your choice of salad dressing can make or break your caloric intake. Most creamy based dressings are loaded with fat even the low-fat ones can derail your caloric intake even if they are low in fat. Today, there are so many choices of healthier, tastier salad dressings that you can try a different one each week for several years. So when it comes to your dressing, think about how it will compliment your choice of vegetable as well as fruit. Believe it or not, Ranch doesn’t go well with everything even though I Love It, I will not put Ranch on a salad that has fruit in it like apples (that’s just me). You can even make healthier salad dressings at home easier than you think. I have come to enjoy a basic dressing of 1-2 tbsp olive oil, ½ fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice and a pinch of salt to taste and it really goes a long way.


　

A Few Types of Lettuce You Should Know About
Most lettuces grow in heads, either tightly closed crispheads or looseleaf heads. Over the years, farmers have developed many varieties of lettuce with many forms, textures and colors. Most fall into one of four categories -- crisphead, romaine (or cos), butterhead and loose-leaf. Crisphead lettuces include the iceberg strains, favorites in the United States. Romaine lettuce is another popular variety, especially as the key ingredient of Caesar salads. The two most common butterheads are Boston lettuce and Bibb lettuce, both of which produce loose heads with small, tender leaves. Loose-leaf lettuces, on the other hand, don't grow to form true heads, but have leaves joined at the stem. This group includes green-leaf, red-leaf and oak-leaf lettuce says William Harris on Discovery Fit & Health.


　
Kale is one of the most nutrient dense lettuces is Kale. Health enthusiasts have known for years the health benefits of eating Kale compared to any other variety of lettuce. Unlike iceburg lettuce, which has few vitamins and minerals, Kale leaves pack a nutritional punch. Each bite provides antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients and cancer-fighting glucosinolates. Kale is a rich source of vitamins A, C and K as well as minerals such as calcium, copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. Sherry Boas of “Simply Living” has found that Kale belongs to the Brassica family, whose members include arugula, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, mustard greens, radishes, rapini, turnips and watercress. While some of its cousins are strong-flavored and bitter, kale is mild-mannered and inoffensive.


　
Watercress has small round dark-green leaves on crunchy stems. It comes in bunches, some with roots attached. It is very peppery and nutty. Watercress offers a good contrast in fruit-based salads and also pairs well with endive. It does best with citrus dressings.  In the About.com Guide profile mentions that Watercress has a bright, peppery flavor prized for salads and gently "wilted" preparations. Much cultivated "watercress" is actually garden cress, which has slightly less bite and crunch than its watercress cousin. Whatever cress we're talking about, they're all members of the mustard family. The older they get – either in the ground or after being harvested – the sharper their flavor becomes. Use cress as soon as possible, removing any yellowed or wilted leaves. Tender stalks and roots are perfectly edible along with the dark green leaves.


　
Arugula (a.k.a. rocket) is very popular in Mediterranean cuisine. It has long, spiked, dark green leaves and a peppery flavor. Wild-harvested arugula is the most pungent (look for it at farmers markets and local foods co-ops). Cultivated arugula is widely available and varies greatly in strength of flavor. In general, larger leaves tend to be stronger tasting, but if pungency is a concern, be sure to taste the batch before using. The leaves have a large central lobe with smaller spiky side lobes. Arugula does not grow in a head but on stems. It has a peppery, slightly bitter taste. Try arugula on its own or mixed into salads.


　
Romaine heads consist of long pale-green leaves that are crisp in texture. When preparing romaine, it is best to discard the dark outer leaves as well as the darker tops of the inner leaves. The crispest, most flavorful parts of the romaine are the lighter leaves near the center. You will sometimes see these labeled as romaine hearts. Romaine pairs well with other crunchy salad ingredients such as cucumbers and onions, as well as fruit and nuts. It is the traditional lettuce used in Ceasar Salad.


Butterhead is sometimes referred to as butter crunch lettuce. Butterhead lettuces have small, round, loosely formed heads with soft, buttery-textured leaves ranging from pale green on the outer leaves to progressively smaller pale yellow-green on the inner leaves. The flavor is sweet and succulent. Because the leaves are quite tender, they require gentle washing and handling. There are 2 main varieties of butterhead lettuce. The first is Boston or butter lettuce and the second is Bibb or Kentucky limestone. Both varieties lend themselves to lighter dressings because of their soft texture and mild flavor.


Iceburg also known as crisphead. Iceburg is considered the least nutritional variety of lettuce. Many say it has no nutritional value at all. It has a round, compact pale-green head and will last for over a week in the refrigerator because it is 90% water. Generally the mildest of the lettuces, iceberg lettuce is valued more for its crunchy texture than for its flavor. It is typically eaten cold and raw in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and in many other dishes. It is by far the most well-known of the lettuces. Even though it is the least nutritious of the lettuces, it still serves the purpose of getting you eating more vegetables. Its definitely a start.


　
You can find on the Mangia Bene Pasta website along with the above mentioned Romaine, Butterhead and Iceburg varieties what type of dressing is good to use with the different varieties of lettuces. You should also be familiar with Radicchio, Spinach, Escarole, Belgian Endive and Chicory.

Radicchio-has a bitter nutty flavor and it resembles red cabbage
Spinach- has small or big leaves and has a mild neutral flavor
Escarole- has broad flat dark-green leaves that crunch
Belgian Endive- has long white leaves tipped pale yellow-green and has a mild crunch and bitter taste
Chicory- has jagged spidery leaves and a crunchy assertive bitter taste


Now that you are familiar with how you can make a powerful, healthy, great tasting salad you can toss up a big, big bowl of salad everyday. For now, what you want to do is toss up this big salad and start eating it for lunch. Make the bowl as big as you like and with as many vegetables you please. Don’t fret about not being able to eat the whole salad because you can eat half now and the other half tomorrow. You can also split the salad with a friend, your family, your diet-partner. You can have a small portion as a snack or a side dish as well. The goal is to get you eating more vegetables and make you feel full longer. Please don’t overstuff yourself in one sitting or add heavy, creamy dressings. Remember to keep it light, healthy and nutritious. Kandie’s Health & Fitness Project is on a mission for nutrition. Even though the project is geared towards women over forty, it can be used by women and men of all ages. The choices being made for the weekly break-in habits are especially beneficial for women over forty. As we progress in the coming weeks I will start to make the connections more profound. So, let’s toss up that big, big bowl of salad.


　

　

Weekly Checklist:
Drink 8 glasses of water every day
Eat a Hearty Healthy breakfast
Get movin’ by walking or aerobics
Eat an Apple or Pear everyday
Say no to your poison, ditch the junk food
Go a little nuts by eating a handful of nuts
Toss Up a Big Bowl of Salad



　
Assignment
The majority of novice dieters are most familiar with iceburg and romaine lettuce. If you are like me, you may not have been exposed to the other varieties of lettuces mentioned. So of course your assignment for this week is to try one other kind of lettuce besides iceburg or romaine. Try to avoid the prepacked bags of lettuce mixes because they are a little more expensive and more perishable and contain chemical additives we could otherwise do without or avoid. But if you have to, go for something like Spring Mix, it has a mixture of some of the best dark greens. Its all about variety.


　
References:
"What are the healthiest types of lettuce?" by William Harris
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/healthiest-types-of-lettuce.htm
“Versatile kale packs nutritional punch” By Sherry Boas, Simply Living, The Orlando Sentinel
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-01-10/news/os-lk-sherry-boas-simply-living-0110120110110_1_kale-nutritional-punch-mustard-greens
Mangia Bene Pasta
http://www.mangiabenepasta.com/salad_greens.html
“Lettuce Varieties: How Different Kinds of Lettuces Taste & How to Use Them” by Molly Watson, About.com Guide
http://localfoods.about.com/od/spring/tp/LettuceVarieties.htm
“Lettuce Varieties: A Guide To What's What”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/25/lettuce-varieties_n_1626023.html#slide=1143725


Picture Sources:
Kale:
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJh8pQ68d0OavMr2MT7H8ONWEwHAaUFbfqmbX7H-M8BnhWgtfYJxfylXUl
Watercress:
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSh86UsPOWvukXJkn5N8tHoMpbZJIO5G9pKXC2HA88UrNFZW4Jxe-qqzMk
Arugula:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQkm4yXE1ny0ZvqmDNZ9yzviOgeAFXsLwiUSll3pxUlcrMHHpXUo_42N5Iy
Romaine:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQh6oFTBQKaPGvyujhIqDTASkyPodr3nhKI0F94oTJusrF4av44lXPxJk4
Butterhead:
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQEdGjSq8VxYlnPDFS0IXw6Zb6u5LVn5ly1_FqoNl7m9ajouGzHz4-5MNI3Uw
Iceburg:
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSj4vfoYP17oyoXLABjEsmrFPjEGKHNsHmGdfG7Ty8hQlHmEbrzjfGJYCAo