Thirty Minute Monday

Oh my goodness, what to dooooo, what to do. *Looks at watch (Yes, I do have a watch) * *Looks in brain* Gosh, thirty more minutes till I need to roll out of my pjimmies.........

Got 30 Minutes today? How about at some point during this week? Yes, you will, you know you will! Make use of that time, and make a Salad Book! to throw in your bag.

Here's the deal--I eat dinner, almost daily, out of the Bigg's Salad Bar next to my local Curves. And yes, I freaking get tired of eating the same dinner after about two or three weeks. Now, imagine how chic and powerful you will feel conquering that salad bar next time your brain is fried out after a long day of work and study. What's that? You managed to pull a creative culinary masterpiece together in the blink of an eye? And you did it AFTER spending ten hours at work and four hours at school? You are brilliant. Likewise--I made a book--a little book, that falls easily into my abyss of a purse, where I jot down salad recipes. Sometimes, I get lazy and just cut them out of Women's Health magazine. It works! I bought one of the below notebooks from Ten Thousand Villages (fair trade, nonprofit), but any tiny notepad will do. I just wanted mine to scream "fun" so I would be certain to use it more often. :)

To get you started, here are my current recipes:

1. Spinach
Blue or Feta Cheese (not a lot!)
Slivered Almonds
Cranberries
Strawberries
Pears

2. Sauteed Asparagus pieces
Minced garlic
Spinach
1 hard boiled egg
Salt and pepper to taste
(I don't particularly like this one)

3. Whisk together .5 tbsp natural peanut butter and 1.5 tbsp warm water until smooth. Toss with 2 cups Spinach and 2 tbsp raisins. Yum!

4. Black Beans
Avocado
Corn
Cherry Tomato
Lime
Spinach
Delicious

5. Arugula
Pesto Sauce
Tomato
Pine Nuts
White Beans
Lemon Juice
Sometimes, pita pieces

6. Grapefruit
Orange
Pineapple
A Hawaiian Boy, please

That's what I've got! Don't make excuses, make it work. Find your own recipes. Explore your own salad bars. Be happy that you can get a huge meal for $2.30 :)