Goddess

I started reading labels while grocery shopping years ago. I go in phases, reading things closely to just throwing random junk in my cart. Over the last few years, I have seen my weight go up, my energy level go down and my overall health & we'll being plummet. I knew something had to change, so I decided to be more aware of what I was putting in my body (as well as on it) and made some big changes.

I have always eaten a lot of salad. In fact, I probably eat at least two a day with lunch and dinner. I keep it in a big bowl in my fridge and just grab it and go. I also love my salad dressing, which I began to realize was a bit of a problem. Reading labels, I discovered some of my favorite dressings had lots of bad stuff in there, including high fructose corn syrup, MSG and lots of chemicals.

What's a semi-crunchy mom to do?

Make my own.

It's actually pretty easy. I love green goddess dressing (you would think with a name like that, it's good for you) but none were healthy. Since my little health crisis, I made the conscious choice I need to eat more "cleanly"-whole, unprocessed foods. That was not green goddess dressing, at least in the supermarket.

I was watching the movie Food Matters, and there was a discussion on spirulina, which is an algae. Before you get grossed out, it's actually pretty good and has tons of health benefits.

And it's green.

I found my new green goddess dressing.

1 pkg silken tofu, soft

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp spirulina powder

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp coconut oil

Dash of sriachia sauce

1/4 c non dairy milk

Put all ingredients in a blender, purée. Keeps for about 5 days in the fridge

Better than Panera chicken salad

One of my favorite "fast food" places is Panera Bread. In addition to the best chicken salad sandwich and French onion soup, they have some really amazing salads.
My favorite salad is a chicken apple one with a fruited vinegrette. However I like my version even better!

1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced
2 c lettuce
1 pear diced
1 apple diced
Other salad veggies
2 tbsp raspberry vinegrette

Mix lettuce, chicken, fruit and veggies together. Toss with dressing.