Since living in the country, I have had the opportunity to deeply explore where foods comes from and how it can make me and my family feel. I grew up eating plenty of fresh produce and my family always talked about how health is not just the absence of sickness. Rather, it’s a balance of many things. In my 30’s I dove head first into holistic nutritional studies, learning about food and plant-based medicine. The line between plants and medicine is definitely blurred and in many people’s minds it was never drawn in the first place.
The idea that food is medicine is far older than human civilization. Hippocrates put it on paper over 2400 years ago when we stated “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
Here in modern day society, ideas about food being medicine is almost completely lost. Herbalism and holistic nutrition practices were forced almost entirely underground as health care systems grew and drug companies made strides. Despite the deep body of knowledge that has existed for centuries in traditional cultures around the world, plant medicine has been shunned- and often denigrated as dangerous or ineffective.
The exciting news is that it doesn’t seem like I’m the only one using plant-based medicine in my life. Slowly it’s reentering the discourse as more people reexamine what it means to be truly healthy, both in body and mind and spirit. I’m seeing natural remedies popping up in grocery stores, Dr.’s offices, farms and homes. I’m so excited to be doing my part to reacquaint people and families with an idea understood by Hippocrates and hundreds of other humans throughout history.
So how can you start using food as medicine?
One simple way we can be happier and healthier is by choosing to eat a big, plantiful salad every day. Really? Yep, it’s true! This one small change can make a big difference in your health. How does salad make us happier? Fresh, vibrant, veggies in beautiful colors and a variety of flavors supports health, which makes us feel better. Plain and simple. Plants are power foods. The easiest way to make healthier food choices is to create a DIY Salad Bar right in your own home kitchen! This allows you to make a salad in less than 3 minutes!
Creating a DIY salad bar for the week is a sustainable way to get health-supporting nutrition into your body without making your already full schedule catapult you into overwhelm. Two of the biggest struggles people have when it comes to choosing to eat healthier are:
Lack of Willpower – after a long day of effort, being “good” by resisting tempting “foods” that don’t support their bodies, and feeling spent, they want to reward themselves and by then, it’s just too hard to choose something healthy.
Exhaustion – feeling too tired to go to all the work of spending an hour (or more) in the kitchen dicing, slicing, and shredding a bunch of vegetables for a healthy meal.
Healthy choices can be easy ones.
Most of my clients create a weekly DYI salad bar and are loving it! After sharing this with so many of my clients, I wanted to share with my readers as well; exactly how to do it, including which veggies work best; which ones to slice, which to shred, and which to cut and how to store them.
There are countless ways to make a killer salad completely your own, so I’m sharing some of my favorites today. The key for me is to prep all the greens and the vegetables for the salads about once a week; I typically do this on Sunday. Also, I use 6 large containers that I line with a paper towel. The paper towel absorbs moisture and as a result, the greens and other vegetables will stay fresh longer. (I use glass containers and to store the prepped salads).
Ingredients:
- Chopped greens – typically a mix of romaine, spring mix, farm fresh lettuce, spinach, arugula, butter lettuce ( I rarely have all of them at once).
- Tomatoes: sliced or chopped
- Cucumber: sliced or chopped
- Corn: fresh or frozen
- Bell peppers: sliced thin or chopped small
- In-season produce like farm fresh radishes, kohlrabi, beets and zucchini, shredded
- Red onions: sliced thin
- Green onions: sliced thin
- Optional Protein Ideas: harb boiled eggs, beans, nuts and seeds, taco seasoned meat, leftover grilled chicken, steak or pulled pork. As I meal plan for the week, I often make a little extra protein and simply chop it up for the following days salads. Canned tuna or salmon or fresh shrimp is tasty as well.
- Toppings: cheese that is shredded, diced or crumbled, avocado slices, dried fruits, fresh orange slices, apples or berries, tortilla chips, croutons, fresh lime, salt and pepper.
- Salad dressing of choice. Here’s my favorite recipe.
When ready to enjoy: Warm the protein ( if using) then add it to the pre-made salad greens and vegetables. Add the toppings of your choice and squeeze lime generously over the salad, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
This entire prepping process takes me about 30-45 minutes, but in the end, having a grab and go salad bar in the fridge keeps vegetables on hand and your family healthier!
I believe that we all deserve good health AND the time and space to enjoy life. That’s exactly why I am here to help people find AMAZING health! I hope these salad making tips helps you and your family as much as it’s helped me and my clients.
Living healthy through eating is not a brief diet but a way of living. Want to learn more? Contact me to set up a free discovery session and learn more about Holistic Health and how it Can HELP YOU!