Okay all you Seinfeld fans - Elaine Benes was right. It's good to eat a "big salad". And we aren't talking about a little side plate of lettuce with a few pieces of tomato. We are talking about a BIG salad - as Elaine said so eloquently "a salad only bigger with lots of stuff in it". So get yourself a nice wide, deep bowl and fill it with items from the list below or other fruits and vegetables you like. The Big Salad is very versatile and all of the quantities are just minimums. You are welcome to make the big salad even bigger by increasing the quantities of anything (except the nuts and seeds!). If you really like tomatoes, use more. If you love cannellini beans use 1 cup instead of 1/2. You can also change the vegetables and type of beans used. For example, you can use black beans or garbanzo beans instead of cannellini beans. You could use carrots instead of peppers etc.
I do however recommend you stick to the kind of lettuces recommended including some arugula, kale, chard, or collards as they are far healthier than iceberg lettuce. Also do keep some sort of beans or peas in the salad as they are important to have some protein and help you feel satiated.
And remember this is "no oil" living so stick with vinegar, lemon juice, or find yourself an oil free salad dressing.
The Big Salad 6 cups chopped leafy lettuce (green leaf, red leaf, butter lettuce, boston lettuce, romaine, arugula, swiss chard, kale, collards or any combination of these) 1/2 cup chopped carrot 2 sliced scallions (about 1/2 cup) 8 grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half (about 3.4 cup) 2 chopped radishes (1/2 cup) 1/2 cup chopped broccoli (or other vegetable from the "green" family such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower) 1/4 cup diced red, green, yellow or orange pepper 1/2 cup canned cannellini beans (or canned beans of choice), drained and rinsed 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (or seasoning of choice and to taste) 1 TBS nuts or seeds of choice, optional - do not use if weight loss is your goal fresh ground pepper, to taste 1 1/2 - 2 TBS red balsamic vinegar or lemon juice (an aged balsamic vinegar is nice)
Combine all ingredients in a LARGE bowl. Makes 1 serving for a meal or 2 servings as a dinner side salad.