Salad

[2goldengirl 2,076]

I discovered, to my delight, that iceberg and romaine are a slider for me. I just had a mini taco salad for dinner: 2 oz chicken taco meat (I made a huge batch of this in the Instant Pot), a handful if shredded lettuce, a sprinkle of shredded cheese, a morsel of light sour cream, a slice of avocado, and salsa. The crunch and coolness of the lettuce adds to my enjoyment of what's become a favorite mini-meal. It doesn't fill me up, or keep me from getting my Protein.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

What the heck is an instant pot?

[LipstickLady 25,682]

For the fam, I make the best (easiest) concoction.

1pd chicken breast, boneless skinless
1 can corn drained

1 can pinto Beans rinsed
1 jar salsa
1 can crushed tomatoes (I like hot Rotel)


Throw it all in a crock pot and cook it on low all day. Shred chicken with two forks and serve with topping(s) of your choice. I choose cheese, sour cream, avocado, chopped red onion and a bit of hot sauce.

[Dub 10,072]

Eating a salad for lunch at work right now, in fact.

Small $2.30 side salad from the salad bar.

I use spinach leaves as the base....thin layer. Hard boiled eggs, ham, cheese, sunflower seeds, bell peppers, some pepperoni and a couple cucumber slices.

I'm almost 7 months out and have been enjoying salads again for the past month or so. It does feel good to get these back.

I fully agree with everyone in that iceburg is a waste of time and space. I wish they had kale on the bar, too.

[2goldengirl 2,076]

What the heck is an instant pot?

It's an all in one pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, and steamer. You can also make taco chicken in a slow cooker, but in the pressure cooker, it only takes 15" (plus I refrigerate it overnight so I can take the fat off).

six or eight skinless, bone-in chicken thighs

a pkg of taco seasoning

a jar of salsa

That's it. I cook down the sauce a bit while I'm pulling the chicken off the bones the next day.

Pressure cooking is exceptionally sleeve-friendly, everything gets very tender.

[2goldengirl 2,076]

@@Dub, maybe it's because I'm from California, but if it doesn't have shredded iceberg in it, it ain't a taco. I don't miss the shell if I can have my shredded lettuce. Since it's a slider for me, it's there for the texture and crunch, not the nutrition.

I have in mind to build a taco on a romaine leaf, but I haven't done it yet.

[Alex Brecher 10,516]

I would first ask your nutritionist or surgeon about their opinions. I would think it would be normal to eat more than 2 ounces of salad greens at a time since they’re mostly Water. When you finish chewing them up, there’s not much left of them.

I would also suggest keeping really close tabs on how full you are. I would think your goal when eating salad would be to stop when you’re just as full as (not more full than) you usually are when you eat the meals you have been eating up until this point. You wouldn’t want to get used to stuffing yourself with salad, even though it’s low-calorie, because eventually you might feel the need to get stuffed at every meal.

[2goldengirl 2,076]

@@Alex Brecher, no danger with me getting "stuffed" on salad; I can't stand even one bite too much, even with something slide-y like salad greens.

I bought a half-size of my favorite salad from my favorite lunch place near the office the other day. I had about a third of it for lunch (it has chicken breast, avocado, hard-cooked egg, carrots, peppers, mushroom, and Tomato in addition to greens). I had another third of it for dinner. Huz finished the rest. And that's a half-size.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I get zero restriction on salad. I read Dr Matthew Weiner's book Pound of Cure, and I am trying to incorporate more veggies in my diet.

I have 3 ounces of spinach with a Walden Farms dressing most afternoons as my snack. The only way I can get veggies in, is to eat them separate from my Protein, since once I eat my Protein I have no room left for anything else. A salad makes the perfect snack for me.

I wouldn't have been able to have an afternoon salad and meet my protein goals before the 6 month mark.

[Ele marie 92]

My menu says I can eat salad at 6 weeks.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using the BariatricPal App

[smg 471]

I am not going to tell you what you should or should not do and I totally understand your craving for salad because I had it, too.

When I asked my NP, she asked me what I missed about salads and I told her it was the crunch. She told me to go to a salad bar and make a "salad" out of all my favorite toppings, add seeds, dressing and cheese and enjoy. She told me lettuce had almost no nutritional value and just took up space. She advised me to skip it and she was right.

I got all the flavors of carrots and broccoli and onions and sunflower seeds and egg and bacon bits and blue cheese and... YUM!!

Couldn't eat much but got some Fiber and Protein, too.

Now, I will say, I was 3 months out before I was released for salad so don't take my advice. Some veggies may be far too fibrous for your 7 week old tummy and lettuce may be your only option right now. Ask questions but don't worry about eating a bit more lettuce. It chews to nothing.

A very important lesson, though? Just because you CAN eat more, doesn't mean you should.

Whoa! I don't agree with your NP. Perhaps if they were speaking only of Iceberg lettuce I might, but there are many greens out there with TONS of nutrition. Instead of Iceberg, try spinach, or romaine, some Kale, swiss chard, collards, endive, escarole, leaf lettuces, dandelions...etc....etc. There are so many greens that provide excellent nutrition I'm really shocked to hear a physician tell you to pass on them altogether.

I will admit, that it's difficult to get enough of them, but you might consider juicing with fresh greens, carrots, cucumbers, celery, and add some lemon and ginger or an apple to help the taste. Lots and lots of Vitamins and minerals!!!

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

Juicing is pretty awful, because you miss the Fiber. I don't know why people still think juicing is the business when you are missing out on the best part of veggies.

[glitter eyes 1,398]

I don't juice on a regular basis, but when I do I save the pulp that has all the fiber in it and add it to to my veggie soups- it thickens the Soup and makes it a littler creamier and I still get the pulp/fiber. I have even put the pulp in homemade muffins, but I rarely eat those, but my family scarfs them down.

[pr_pitbullgrl 1,040]

I'm so glad I read this cuz I had forgotten about the "just eat the toppings" thing. Thanks for the reminder. I'm starting it today. Bye bye lettuce [emoji13]

[Christy P 12]

What’s a slider?