Super Dinner Salad!!

We all have them... Those moments when we just want to stuff our faces.  Be it mashed potatoes, or mac 'n cheese, or enchiladas; we want the satisfaction only a loaded fork and a full mouth can give.  In a word--gluttony.  We allllll get like that sometimes.  And it isn't always good for you, especially if what you grab to eat is loaded with the naughty stuff like, grease, processed meats and carbs, and saturated fat.  
When that craving, that desire, that NEED arrives, you will be prepared.  Like I was, last night.  
I looked in my fridge to find out what I could slap together.  Well, I had cheese, and I had bacon, and I had chips in the pantry.  Nachos would have been soooo easy!  So satisfying!  But no.  I kept my focus and eventually withdrew from that glorious icebox,


a bag of spring mix
shredded carrots
some hardboiled eggs
a cucumber
some leftover grilled chicken
a slice of mozzarella 
some cherry tomatoes
an onion



I decided to make a chopped salad!!  Salads can be tricky too.  We are oft faced with the temptation to add lots of deliciousness that really takes away from the health benefits inherent in a bowl of greens.  Tons of cheese, and ham, and bacon and GOBS of dressing all over a few lettuce bits DO NOT count as a proper green salad.  A salad (in my humble opinion) should be two to three times as many greens as toppings.  Otherwise it's truly worse for you in the end.
In a giant bowl, I dumped the entire bag of spring mix and cut it up into bits with my kitchen shears (it halved in size!!).  I added a handfull of shredded carrots, 5 or 6 cherry tomatoes that I had quartered and squeezed. about a third of a chopped cucumber, a few bits of onion for some ZING, and then I cut up the chicken, egg white, and the mozzarella into smallish bits and tossed those in also. (ooooooOOoOoooo, I so wish I had an avocado!!)
Over all of it I poured a little olive oil and balsamic, sprinkled a little salt, and ground a bit of pepper.  I tossed it up, and WHOA.  
I grabbed the biggest fork I had and just started shoveling mouthfuls.  The satisfaction was enormous.  In fact, it was difficult to eat it all, I had to slowly polish it off near the end.  Finger licking good!  Just look at that poor, lonely fork!

Yes, it was mostly veggies, yes it was a "real" dressing, and yes it was delicious.  I urge you to try something like this one day.  It really fills you up to the brim, and keeps you full for a while!  Enjoy!
Cheers! xoxo