Veteran question about salads

[chitowngirl 886]

Hello everyone. I was curious. I am a year out and for some reason I can eat a lot of salad. However I do tend to eat my salads with spinach. I did notice one when I had a salad with romaine lettuce I got full much faster. For example I have made salads for lunch, I have been doing the salad in a mason jar thing (which works really well) I have been using the quart size jar. I also have been able to eat the whole salad. I would say about 2/3 of the jar is spinach. For the rest of the veggies I use cucumbers, about 5 mini cherry tomatoes, and some orange peppers along with about 3-4 ounces of chicken breast with vinigerette dressing.

And for the record salad is the only thing that I can eat such a large portion of. Is anyone else able to eat so much salad?

[kyllfalcon 768]

Simply cannot tolerate greens at all. I really miss them.

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I can eat a bit of salad, and I am lucky, it doesn't bother my stomach. I would say maybe a packed cup of salad is about how much I can eat. You know what though, if you were coming here and saying I can eat a whole big Mac, I would be a little more worried! Salad with grilled chicken is a great meal!

[Supersweetums 1,164]

Oh, and I just looked it up, a cup of spinach has a whole 7 calories!

[lsereno 2,525]

I'm nearly two years out and I ca eat about that much. I had salad last night. About 1/2 cup greens packed tight, 1/5 cucumber, 5 cherry tomatoes, 1 green onion, 1/4 avocado, 2 oz. turkey lunchmeat, 1.5 slices of bacon cooked crisp, 2 T. lowfat blue cheese dressing. I also ate 1 slice whole wheat bread toasted.

Yum!

Lynda

[Puja 148]

I can eat fruits and veggies in greater quantities, and have come up with a few theories:

1. The Water content is higher

2. Carbs are broken down very quickly. I imagine the Fiber content of lettuce is higher than spinach, which is why it fills you up faster? I have no idea about its nutritional content, so maybe you can look it up.

3. If I eat a veggie patty from Subway along with some veggies, I can eat much more than if I have the patty first, followed by vegetables. Perhaps it has something to do with satiety levels?

I know one of the reasons nutritionists recommend eating one or two items during a meal is because many different flavor varieties increase our appetite, and we eat more. I have a fondness for combining sweet with salty, and often find that it takes much more of the combination to satisfy me, than if I had eaten each item separately.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

this is interesting... i had not heard this before about the flavor combinations.

I can eat fruits and veggies in greater quantities, and have come up with a few theories:

1. The Water content is higher

2. Carbs are broken down very quickly. I imagine the Fiber content of lettuce is higher than spinach, which is why it fills you up faster? I have no idea about its nutritional content, so maybe you can look it up.

3. If I eat a veggie patty from Subway along with some veggies, I can eat much more than if I have the patty first, followed by vegetables. Perhaps it has something to do with satiety levels?

I know one of the reasons nutritionists recommend eating one or two items during a meal is because many different flavor varieties increase our appetite, and we eat more. I have a fondness for combining sweet with salty, and often find that it takes much more of the combination to satisfy me, than if I had eaten each item separately.

[missmeow 156]

Have you ever made creamed spinach? You know, when you add like 3 huge boxes of spinach to get maybe 4 servings of the final product? Therein lies your answer.

I hope to be able to eat spinach again. Its so full of good stuff.

[Puja 148]

this is interesting... i had not heard this before about the flavor combinations.

CowgirlJane, here's an article!

http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/sci/0601/blobese601.htm

I know there are more extensive papers out there, but this was the first one I found, and it gets the basic idea across. Happy reading!

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Here is a puzzler.. France is sorta known for NOT being obese. Their meals are quite elaborate and have many flavors. I would say the same about alot of Asian food... at least in some countries, a traditional meal has many foods offered.

I do notice that since being sleeved I am a boring eater, I have very little variety except for times when i go "out" or to a special event. Alot of it is that food is just fuel, not that important to me. I very much enjoy a special dinner, but not enough to cook it...LOL

[missmeow 156]

In france they have small portions with several courses eaten over a long period of time. Our RDs would call it grazing but the philosophy is that the meal is for socialization and enjoyment of flavor rather than scarfing large volumes as quickly as possible. I think it is very sleeve friendly.

[Puja 148]

Mmm I'm not sure if you are referring to "flavors" as spices that complement each other, or foods with a complete different texture and taste from each other? An Indian dish might have tons of different spices with some lentils, but the flavors are homogenized for the most part. Each bite will be similar. If I pair that with a side of a single veggie, or a small portion of rice/bread, I will feel satiety soon, However, if I mix those same lentils with different veggies so that each bite is different, or I add a few side dishes, I will probably eat more and feel satiety later. Does that make sense?

I don't know much about French or Asian cuisine (unless it's Indian) that is normally served in homes, so I can't comment, but I have read something similar to what Missmeow mentioned.

[Katie713 423]

Greens, like lettuce break down into a small amount when chewed, just as they do if you put them in the food processor. They seem to have a lot of volume at first, but break down in to a MUCH smaller and denser amount when pulverized. I can eat a decent sized salad these days, and your combination sounds mightly familiar!!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I eat GIANT salads. Tonight I had a salad of around two cups of chopped greens...and I mean heavy greens like kale, herbs,radishes, onions and a handful of grapes. I also had 1/3 avocado and cheese smashed ona half bread roll. The two cups greens is what I ate, there was another cup left in the bowl that there was no room for. I love eating fresh raw food, and seem to be able to get bunch down. This is actually a strategy of mine...filling up on greens and some fruit. I had plenty of Protein during the day...I just make sure I log it all... the crunchy nuts, croutons, cheese and such that can go into the salad will add up... I just keep track to make sure I don't go overboard.I could not eat salad for months after surgery, it came back slowly. I can also eat a lot of veggie soup... but that is a slider as well.

[OneWritersSoul 353]

I eat GIANT salads. Tonight I had a salad of around two cups of chopped greens...and I mean heavy greens like kale' date=' herbs,radishes, onions and a handful of grapes. I also had 1/3 avocado and cheese smashed ona half bread roll. The two cups greens is what I ate, there was another cup left in the bowl that there was no room for. I love eating fresh raw food, and seem to be able to get bunch down. This is actually a strategy of mine...filling up on greens and some fruit. I had plenty of Protein during the day...I just make sure I log it all... the crunchy nuts, croutons, cheese and such that can go into the salad will add up... I just keep track to make sure I don't go overboard.I could not eat salad for months after surgery, it came back slowly. I can also eat a lot of veggie soup... but that is a slider as well.[/quote']

Homemade vegetable Soup that isn't heavy on the starchy vegetables has quite literally been a lifesaver for me since being sleeved. Even before realizing that I'd developed a stricture, the nausea was so overwhelmingly bad that even the thought of eating made it worse. So my Mama (God bless her!) made some vegetable soup to my specifications, with extra beef, etc. I was able to get a couple ounces in and keep it in for more than five minutes! Since then it has been one of my "staple" foods to have on hand. With it being homemade, I'm able to calculate the exact number of calories for each serving and make sure it has the better quality ingredients in it. But, like you, Feedyoureye, this is something I consider a slider if I'm not extremely careful.