Well, I had another baby! On December 15, 2016, little Maxwell decided he wasn’t going to wait another second and was born. And even though he was born on his due date, I was anything but prepared. See, JR was 12 days late. Yes, 12 days. While I certainly was not rooting for another almost two week late baby, I had convinced myself that Max would not be showing up anytime near the 15th. Perhaps sometime in the 20’s–like Christmas. But surely not on his due date. So when my water broke at 9:40 p.m. on December 14th, I immediately panicked (our house was a complete mess. I had lost my phone. I hadn’t done laundry in weeks.) But after a mere two and a half hours of labor, Maxwell was born. It was perfect.
Of course, now that Max is here, I should be in the “lose the baby weight” phase. But there was Christmas. Then New Years. And donuts are freaking delicious. Plus, who is going to eat all those Junior Mints?! And while I am technically down to my pre-Max weight (note: not pre-baby), my belly is squishy. It would be nice to be back to my law school size. Since it’s the beginning of the year, I can jump on the “new year new you” bandwagon. My social media has been swarmed with Whole30 posts so it is a constant reminder that I too need to be more aware of what I am eating if I want to see results.
That’s where this salad comes in. It’s healthy and quick to make. Plus, you can toss in as many vegetables you’d like, add chicken, salmon, etc., and make the salad more filling (and more of an entree v. side dish). But, regardless of what ingredients you put in the salad, it is truly the salad dressing that holds it all together. My friend Mel shared her dressing recipe with me, and now it is my go-to dressing. Ok, it is the only salad dressing I use these days. It’s light but full of flavor. And I can eat a salad and still feel healthy that it isn’t covered in a creamy, fattening dressing.
Ingredients
dressing
- 2 parts olive oil
- 1 part white balsamic vinegar
- garlic clove, minced
- shallot, minced
- pinch of salt and pepper
- pinch of fresh (dried if need be) basil
salad inners
- romaine heart, chopped
- chickpeas, drained
- cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
- green, red, yellow, orange peppers, diced
- cucumbers, diced
- avocado
- feta cheese
- croutons
Directions
- Combine salad dressing ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients in a different bowl. Slowly add dressing to salad and toss.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Dressing Source: Mel
Salad Source: My brain
2 Comments
Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try the dressing this weekend!
Let me know how it goes!