July
2008
2 Minute Salad
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Most readers here understand the concepts behind the Primal Blueprint, but some seem to be concerned about the amount of time it must take to prepare PB-style meals every day. Nothing could be further from the truth. My 4-egg breakfast or protein shake take but a few minutes. My evening lamb-chop or grass-fed porterhouse with steamed veggies is complete in under ten minutes. But my fastest meal is also my favorite (and probably healthiest). That, of course, is the “2-minute big-ass salad” I have every day. I’ll show you how easy it is to make in the following video. I’ve also done the fitday.com analysis and it’s pretty impressive: 588 total calories. 37 grams of protein, 40 of fat and only 27 of carbs…and that’s probably my highest carb meal of the day!
Click the image below to see a full-size version.
I plan on trying to do more videos in the future. If you have anything you would like me to address in video format hit me up with a comment.
Further Reading:
Primal Breakfast Suggestions for People on the Go
Choose Your Own Salad Adventure
DIY - Butter, Yogurt, Kefir, Oh My!
We’re salad twins!
I keep a ton of veggies and protein prepped in my fridge in reusable containers (to cut down on trash, instead of using Baggies) and when it’s time for lunch, I grab and dump. I love my salads. I never tire of them.
And I like the prepping every few days. It’s hard to feel stressed when you’re slicing cucumbers. It’s a good break from the daily grind, it gives my eyes a break from staring at the computer screen, and it eliminates any thought of, “Oh, I’m hungry. But I don’t have anything in the house. Well, I’ll just run to McDonalds.” Where, incidentally, I’d buy a salad, but still. I like mine better.
mark i love the site. a lot of the principles make sense and through trial and error i’ve come to similar conclusions. i’m a professional ultra distance athlete so at times i simply need a bit more carbs. but it doesn’t have to come from grains/wheat. 4oz of pasta and 4oz of veggies contain the same amount of carbs… and one leaves me feeling a whole lot better.
keep it up!
Hey, that was fun! The salad I’ve got sitting in the frig at work is almost exactly the same (including the pine nuts, yum!) except for eggs instead of chicken. Oh, and radishes, which I’ve become addicted to! I’ve been referring to my daily monster salad as my ‘kitchen sink’ salad, since it’s got everything but. I promise to do a testimonial in the future. Thank you again for a great, great blog and for sharing the PB with all of us!!
I love to put chicken in my salad, and I agree with the addition of cucumbers to add a little texture as well. I also gotta say that the addition of bell peppers really will give that extra “taste” factor that really brings the salad together into the meal category. Well done!!
Love big salads - love them! They are a pain to make from scratch daily, though, with all the vegetable scrubbing and lettuce washing (and re-washing). I’m talking 30-45 minutes a day, just for one meal. I’d love to do the prep work just once or twice a week, but don’t vegetables begin to lose nutrients (rapidly) once they are cut? I have too many food intolerances to take supplements, so I must rely on food to get what I need. Am I fooling myself (and wasting precious time) by insisting on “fresh” salads or is the amount of nutrition lost in a day or two not worth fretting over?
Looks great! I’ve got to start using tupperware for my veggies. I have to hit the grocery store 3-4 times a week just so I have fresh veggies. The tupperware method looks much easier.
And hey, I’d love to get some more of your salad dressing recipes, Mark!
Salad dressing recipes are coming, Samuel. Check back next week!
Greta - Veggies actually stay pretty well in tupperware. If using this method gets one to start eating regular salads, or cuts chunk of time out of your daily effort to get the “freshest” IMO it is worth any sacrifice in nutrition lost. 30-45 minutes a day for one meal is a lot of time in my book. Give Mark’s method a try and report back on how you feel!
Good stuff - looks like the big salad I like to make.
Hey! “Big-Ass Salad” is my term!
:-)
I’m currently preaching the PB gospel on a forum frequented by ex-pats (and ex-pat wannabes) in Thailand. I posted a picture of my big-ass salad bowl yesterday. I’m dealing with some opposition from carboholics, but hopefully some are getting the message!
Great video, Mark! Looking forward to a lot of these in the future.
I like to add some fresh salsa, cilantro, and peppers to a salad when using beef.
Blueberries also add a nice flavor to a salad–really!
I’m a lunchtime salad eater, too. What kind of container is the dressing in? It looks rather like a french press. Making dressing at home and bringing it to work tends to be messy, any tips?
Lex-
Here is kind of a cool idea: http://www.lifesolutionsplus.com/fit-fresh-salad-shaker-p-427.html
I suppose one needs a container that has a screw on lid so there is no worry that the vial/cup/bottle will spill any of the oil/vinegar. Anybody seen/own something like this?
Cool…where’s the 8-cup size?
hey mark,
i post a primal salad recipe on nutritious junk! Everyone and their mother was “going primal” so i decided to dedicate it to the primal efforts!
Thanks for the link love, Hungry Waif. The salad recipe looks delicious. (Though, we’d probably ditch the peanuts for almonds ;)) Thanks again!
Or 12 cup size for that matter?!
I’m a pig…my salad bowl is even bigger than yours! (I think it’s actually a pasta serving bowl.) I like to refer to it as “a really righteous salad.”
It’s amazing how using different cutting techniques can alter the texture (and perceived taste difference) of veggies. For example, I enjoy spinach much more if I shred it. Many veggies (like jicama and butternut squash) become my favorites if I cut them into julienne strips. Dicing also gives an entirely different effect.
if we’re going with names mine is the “mega-salad”.
Big-Ass Salad
Really Righteous Salad
Mega-Salad
All sound good to me. Any others? (As long as it isn’t pasta salad or potato salad I’m all ears!)
“Primal Salad” seems appropriate…
Great point, dragonmamma!
I like spinach shredded, too.
I also like chopped salads where everything is in uber-small pieces. This way you can get a little of each ingredient in every bite. It’s amazing how much the size of the ingredients really matters.
Another nomination: Salad of Unusual Size or S.o.U.S.
(tip of the hat to Heather Daniel - http://heatherdaniel.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/track-running-and-breakfasts-of-unusual-size/)
I think I might just grab an 8 oz Nalgene jar while I’m at REI to bring salad dressing to work in. It’s enough to last me several days, and I haven’t had any problems with them leaking.
Here’s where I first introduced my B.A.S. back in May:
http://davegetsfit.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-it-aint-rabbit-food.html
Love the video! And great dressing container tips all around. Is the one you have a French press?
The Fit and Fresh line is pretty nifty - not huge containers and there is a little danger of spillage from the dressing containers. I have the snack one that has a dressing cup in the lid, but my stuff stays upright on my commute, so no worries.
Last thing - I totally agree about how chopping makes a big difference. I’ve gotten lazy with my veggie prep on the weekend (still making my other stuff, though) so this is inspiring and a reminder to cut them small (how I like it).
That’s what i always tell my friends, preparing healthy meals don’t take that long, it’s really easy and quick to get them ready, and our health will thank us
“I’m talking 30-45 minutes a day, just for one meal. I’d love to do the prep work just once or twice a week, but don’t vegetables begin to lose nutrients (rapidly) once they are cut? “
I noticed that, too. Vitamin C in particular, a nutrient found in so many fruits and vegetables, does degrade after the produce is picked and cut. Produce with beneficial sulfur compounds - garlic, onion, broccoli, cabbage - should be cut about ten minutes before cooking/serving to allow heat-sensitive enzymes in the plant to convert the sulfur compounds into more bioavailable forms. These compounds degrade over time, too. To maximize nutrition, I also prepare my produce shortly before cooking or eating it.
I do like the convenience of storing together foods regularly eaten together.
Ok, smart move to call this salad a 2 minutes salad, but we all know it is more than 2 minutes to make this salad. Preparing the ingredients is an another 10 minutes, not to mention cooking the chicken.
:).
Hey, I’m the Salad of Unusual Size Eater!
Thanks for the Shout Out. Yes, I love big salads and I especially love them for breakfast (after a big, pre-work run). I’m known at the office for being “the girl who eats those gigantic salads.”
“A-salad-that-can-feed-five” salad, if you want names ….
romesaz - That sounds about right…
Dave C. - Sure enough. You certainly beat us to the “Big Ass Salad” punch!
Great video, thanks for sharing! I make a similar salad although it’s a chopped salad with everything more mixed up. Salt, pepper and a little balsalmic is all I use for dressing. Big ass salads rule!
Mark, how about that dressing recipe!?
Check back on Tuesday, Derek. We’ll have 10 dressing recipes for “The Tuesday 10.”