Always be prepared

For me, one of the biggest factors in falling off my nutrition game, is simply failing to prepare. [I would insert the famous Benjamin Franklin quote here, but I’m gonna save it for the end 😉] As many people know, busy moms or not, life gets crazy. The things you have to take care of in the day, feel like they don’t fit in the 24 hours you’ve got. So these are two salads I like to prepare ahead of time, so that when the day gets ahead of me I have something healthy in the fridge to eat, and I don’t end up making crappy decisions about what to eat in a hurry. I’m making this post because last week I fell victim to the “too busy to make something healthy” excuse. So this is my little reminder to myself. I do have my shakes. I usually chose to have one of those for breakfast and one post workout, so the rest of the day I’ve gotta make good decisions. Unfortunately, if I’m unprepared I will more likely skip a meal, than eat bad. Which is also terrible for you. Don’t think you’re doing yourself any favors by skipping meals. You can cause your metabolism to tank and super slow down when you do that. No bueno. The solution: be prepared. 

These two salads are similar because I’m a creature of habit. I like what I like, so I just keep eating it. I change it up a bit, so I don’t get tired of the same thing, but I do what works for me. I feel like you can really add anything healthy to these that you like, but I’ll tell you what I add and why.
Avocado- I always add avocado. Do you have to ask why? Because avocado is delicious! It’s got ‘good for you’ fats and it’s a very nutrient dense food, with nearly 20 vitamins and minerals in it. Nuff said. (Well, also it helps to add moisture and acts as a ‘mayo substitute’ sorta.) 
Olives and pickles- these may seem odd to some, I’m not sure, but I love them. Mostly because of the saltiness they offer, but also the texture. The crunch that the pickle adds is crucial.
Red Bell Pepper- also important for adding to the texture. Crunch is crucial. You don’t want a bowl full of mush. (Unless that’s your thing. Then you do you. Lol) I happen to love bell peppers, but you could substitute celery or onions, for crunch. Neither of those are my jam. Like, I don’t wanna ‘yuck somebody’s yum’, but not the texture I like 😬. (I do add onion powder. I like the flavor, just not the texture)
The mayonnaise substitute- this is important for me. Most people use mayo in tuna or chicken salad. If you aren’t watching your waistline that’s all well and good, but I am. So, I need something to hold everything together. Most “healthier” recipes of these salads call for plain Greek yogurt. I like that, and I do that some times. Sometimes I use the combo of greek yogurt, salsa, and avocado. That’s a nice way to change it up. But one time I was out of Greek yogurt and needed to come up with something else. What I chose to experiment with instead, was really good! Like, I prefer to use that over Greek yogurt now. I’m not sure if this will also seem odd to others or not, but to me it’s good and worth mentioning. I used cottage cheese! It was good! 


The protein- this one is pretty self explanatory. I use chicken breast that I have made in advance. I usually try to make chicken breast every week and use it in a bunch of different things. (Whole ‘nother blog idea right there- Uses for Prepreped Chicken- Coming Soon) I just chop it up to pretty small pieces. You could also shred it. Up to you. And the tuna I use is Solid White Albacore, but you can use whatever you like. 

Put whatever you think sounds good in it! (Don’t forget the spices! I use onion powder, garlic powered, salt, and pepper sometimes.) Just remember texture is good! And put it on whatever you want too, just remember this is a delicious low carb meal. You don’t have to put it on anything (often I eat it right out of the bowl), but I wouldn’t put it on a big ‘ole carb-y bun. That would really defeat the purpose of trying to prepare ahead of time and being super mindful of your meal. 

Remember:

Be healthy and happy, my friends.