You’ve probably heard of the “Freshman Ten”–the 10 pounds that many freshmen seem to gain that first year of college. Well, I’m here today to report to you a new phenomenon: The Blogging Ten. I believe that blogging can actually cause you to gain weight, particularly if you are writing and reading about food.
Think about it. All the hours spent sitting at the keyboard rather than exercising. All the experimenting with recipes just to get them right before you blog about them. All the images of luscious foods on other people’s blogs–images that invariably assault you in the form of cravings for dessert just around bedtime.
Or maybe that’s just me. Whether it’s an epidemic or just an isolated case, I’ve definitely caught the Blogging Ten. And now I’m determined to get rid of it.
So you can expect to see fewer photos of cheesecake here and more fresh fruits, vegetables, and salad, lots of salad. This week I plan to feature a different green salad every day. That will tax my creativity a little because I usually fall into a rut of only two types of green salad. So I’m open to suggestions. Drop me a comment describing your favorite salad combination. Remember, I’m going for vegetable-based salads, so tempting me with pasta salad would just be too cruel!
Here’s the salad of the day, my new favorite:
Baby Lettuces with Grilled Portabella Mushrooms
(serves one)
1 large portabella mushroom
1 tsp. minced garlic
balsamic vinegar
baby lettuces
chickpeas
1 tbsp. chopped walnuts
fatfree dressing
Combine the garlic with a couple of tablespoons balsamic vinegar and an equal amount of water. Slice the portabella into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Toss the balsamic mixture with the mushroom slices.
Heat up your George Foreman Grill (or your oven). Place the mushrooms in a single layer on the grill, and cook until tender. (This takes less than 5 minutes in the GF.)
Fill a large bowl with baby lettuces. Top with portabella strips, chickpeas, and walnuts. Lightly drizzle with dressing.
I’ve tried this with fat-free balsamic and Italian dressings, but I think it’d also be good with raspberry dressing. I’ve also grilled the mushrooms using soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil in the marinade and topped the salad with Gingery Vinaigrette. You may even find that the grilled portabellas give the salad so much flavor that you can do without dressing–or just toss in whatever remains of the marinade.
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Wonderful salad!! I didn’t have chickpeas this time around and added craisons. I used the marinade as the dressing. Thanks!!
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