February 22, 2018
Early in my health journey, I made the mistake most of us make when we declare an “unwavering” resolve to lose weight, get fit, eat healthier, or whatever your case may be; I spent ludicrous amounts of money week after week on organic kale, all-natural turkey jerky, and plain, fat-free Greek yogurt. And week after week, my loot sat in my fridge, wilting and souring while I snuck down to the food court at the mall where I worked. That’s because, even though all that healthy stuff aligned perfectly with what I intended for myself and my body, I didn’t like any of it.
It’s easy, especially this time of year, to get overly ambitious with our goals. We often feel the need to “crack down” on ourselves after the holidays, prioritizing total virtuousness with regards to health and fitness and forgetting about the importance of enjoyment. But here’s the thing: we’d better enjoy the foods we resolve to eat day in and day out. Otherwise, it’s not going to last.
The miniscule percentage of people who lose weight and keep it off long-term have a secret to their success: simplicity. When we try to make too many changes at once, they almost never stick, because doing too much too fast is simply not realistic. We need to make it easier on ourselves. More than that, we need to make it enjoyable.
It took me a few months of dry, bitter kale wraps (when I actually ate the lunch I’d packed), but I eventually realized that force-feeding myself “health” foods was doing me more harm than good, since it almost always led to a defiant, dissatisfied binge-fest. One day I came across an article touting the benefits of romaine. I like romaine, I thought. I used to love Caesar salads, before I found out they packed more calories and saturated fat than your standard cheeseburger (blame the creamy dressing, bacon, cheese and croutons).
As I read the article, I was surprised to learn that the understated romaine rivals even the superfood-king kale in terms of health benefits. Besides being extremely low-calorie (8kcal/cup) with a high water content, romaine is an excellent source of Vitamins A and K, folate, and fibre, as well as several essential minerals.
Relieved that I would never have to choke down another kale wrap, I immediately began incorporating romaine into my recipes instead, and found that I was much more likely to actually eat them.
Now, less than a year, two cleanses, one vegan transition and -20 lbs. later, my “Caesar” Salad recipe has undergone almost as many evolutions as I have. It’s one of my go-to’s for a quick and easy meal-prep that’s guaranteed to keep me on track all week long. Minimal ingredients make it super snappy to throw together and still packed full of flavour, I promise you, but if you’d like to add other veggies or topping to jazz it up a little, by all means, go for it! This recipe is a blank canvas – one I am very excited to share with you:
4-Ingredient Vegan “Caesar” Salad
Ingredients
Serves 1
- 2 cups romaine, washed and torn
- 2 Tbsp. kale chips***
- 2 Tbsp. tahini
- 1 tsp. (or more to taste) coconut aminos
Directions
- To make the dressing, mix the coconut aminos and tahini and stir until smooth. Add water, if needed, a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- In a bowl, toss the dressing and romaine together. Top with kale chips.
Enjoy!
*** That’s right; I said kale. Once I got over the trauma of eating the raw leaves, I discovered Solar Raw kale chips, which turned out to be truly delicious and a great way to sneak in some extra greens. I use the crumbs at the bottom of the bag to sprinkle over my salad for some extra flavour and crunch. They make great croutons. My favourite flavour is Hemp Cream and Chive. If you don’t want to use kale chips, you could add some sliced cucumber and nutritional yeast instead, and get a similar effect.
