Salad Snapshot

I have not been upholding my blogging duties.  But, you need to know, I think about it every day!

Somehow, it's just always the thing that gets pushed down the "To Do" list.

But not today.  Today, although this is not up to the usual, visual-standards I like to maintain, I give you…

Ehem.  Drumroll please……………

my lunch time salad.

She's a beaute ain't she? (that picture didn't turn out so bad after all) Well, it was delicious whether your mouth is watering or not.

Today's salad consisted of:
- red tipped romaine lettuce
- kidney beans
- garbonzo beans
- goat cheese crumbles
- chopped walnuts
- dried cranberries
- pickled jalapeños
- fresh cracked, black pepper
- and about a tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette

The final product had a nice, lingering heat (thanks to the jalapeños) and the balsamic vinegar,  though a permeating flavor, was very complementary with the other sweet and savory flavors; plus, at 10 calories per tablespoon, its such a great way to add a ton of flavor without sacrificing a ton of calories in just the dressing alone.

Note:  goat cheese definitely doesn't fall under the Whole Foods, Plant-Based diet category.  Strictly speaking, that diet consists of no meat or dairy products of any kind.  But, as mentioned in an earlier post, I have backed off from a strict, w.f.p.b. diet to one that includes fish and dairy, from time to time.  When I do eat dairy, it is usually this, goat cheese.  It's incredibly creamy texture and smooth, I wanna say, almost warm taste is especially complementary with toasted nuts and dried cranberries.  It was a little odd to add the peppers.  Ordinarily, I have a few cherry tomatoes or peppadew peppers (bright red, surprisingly sweet, and super good) on hand to help beef up my dish.  Today though I thought, "Yeah.  I could do with a little heat."

So there you have it.

Delightful.  Delicious.  and Quite Nutritious.

In addition to this, I had some fresh cut veggies and some fresh made spicy, black bean dip.  (Ya' think I was hankerin' for some heat today?  I guess so…)

Lovingly Yours,
Rachel