Gut bacteria is of growing interest today. It seems like all the hubbub lately is about our “microbiome.”
For MSers, scientists looking specifically at the microbes of MS patients found that we have different microbes than those with a healthy gut, and that dietary alterations can actuate microbial shifts almost overnight. OK, then.
Since increasing the intake of leafy greens is one of the common recommendations for a healthier diet for everyone, I’ll start here. Experts recommend getting at least 2 servings of leafy greens per week, others recommend even more often.
My venture begins
One of the ways I aim to increase my leafy greens intake is to eat salad for lunch. But one problem is that I’m not a salad person (you know, I.don’t.like.salads).
I have especially not been fond of the generic iceberg lettuce, tomato slice, shredded carrot, Italian dressing salads. Oh, and those croutons! Bland, unimaginative, eaten in a rush to get to the main course.
As an aside, I did recently come across the notion that iceberg lettuce has more food value than I thought. Learn more here.
Salad kits
According an article in Bon Appetite, the simple formula for composing ‘the perfect” salad is
* Vegetables [Greens/Raw/Grilled/Roasted/Pickled]
* Dressing [Vinaigrette/Creamy]
* Crunchies [Seeds/Nuts/Croutons/Granola]
* Optional Protein [Meat/Cheese/More Cheese]
* Optional Extras [Herbs/Fruit/Grains/Etc.]
I can use this info in the future. I will file the idea for later.
Happily for now, I have discovered, and now regularly buy, the salad kits from the grocery store produce aisle that contain pre-chopped leafy greens like romaine with kale and even broccoli stems, packages of dried cranberries with pumpkin seeds, or chunks of bacon with sunflower seeds, along with a light poppy seed or mustard dressing.
Instead of croutons
And since I am not a fan of croutons, I decided I could get my carbs by wrapping the salad in one of our left-over tortillas. This one happened to be whole wheat, and my salad wrap was born. For about $4.00 I get two lunches out of one salad kit and am so pleased with this result.
Another aside, a friend with fussy kids told me years ago that he found they would eat anything if it was wrapped in a tortilla. Just sayin’…
Now I’m experimenting with how best to wrap the tortilla. Search YouTube for “how to fold a burrito” and you’ll get plenty of hits like How to Correctly Fold a Burrito or How to Properly Fold a Burrito.
Not yet a fan
Although I am loving this discovery (for me), I would not categorize myself as a salad lover yet. But I’ve found that after I eat the leafy greens for lunch, I do have less cog-fog in the afternoons.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to me, as I was raised believing ‘we are what we eat’. But it pleases me nonetheless. I am definitely eating more leafy greens and I do feel better.
Once I can use my kitchen again, I vow to find new and different configurations of my own salad greens to use in future wraps. I’ll keep you posted!
Other stuff