Salad, What's for Lunch 2/10/2010

I have a very love-hate relationship with salad. Up until about a year or two ago, I wouldn't even touch salad, mostly because of the lettuce. I grew only exposed to Iceberg lettuce. That stuff makes me vomit just thinking about it. Since then I've been more apt to try new things and I've given salad a shot. I'm still pretty picky about lettuce and even go as far as being picky about the appearance of my lettuce.

My must haves for lettuce:

• Romaine or spring greens
• Fresh as absolutely possible
• a healthy green appearance (not wilted looking or fading)
• Not too much of the white crunchy stalk area
• Not too big of pieces.

Yes. I'm psychotic. I get that, which is why my fiance has given up trying to sort out the logic behind all my food issues  It is also is why I don't partake in restaurant salad too often. I used to only like caesar salad loaded with super-bad-for-you caeser dressing and parmesan cheese. I  rarely ate it because I knew just how bad it was calorie-wise. I mean, what's the point of getting a salad for the health benefits if you just slop it full of unhealthy dressing, right?

Somewhere along the way, I discovered I loved italian dressing, specifically a Roasted Red Pepper and Parmesan dressing. My favorite salad morphed from Caesar to:


Roasted Red Pepper and Parmesan salad:

1. Spring green mix or Romaine
2. Dressing
3. croutons
4. carrots
5. red cabbage

 I have since tired of this salad and have discovered a new one that is my new lunch obsession:


Asian Toasted Sesame Salad:

1. Romaine
2. Dressing
3. croutons
4. carrots
5. red bell pepper
6. (Chow Mein noodles)-- didn't have any of these, but would like to get some for this salad

So this is a combo post as that and a Cara Cara orange were for lunch today. I feel so healthy!