How I Lost Weight Day Three

Day 3-Daily Salad

I began the slow process to find out what I liked among the lower-calorie dressings. Imagine my surprise that I could make my own dressing of 16 ounces for 180 calories for the whole thing. That averages out to about 12 calories per tablespoon.

Quite a difference from the huge amount of 500 calories that I had been eating! At the same time, I realized that the lettuce salads weren't giving me much in nutrition. So I researched the salads online and came upon a Greek salad with no lettuce that I modified. I now use Paul Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger (very tart-the way I like it). I can have ¼ cup for 70 cal.-1/2 cup for 140 cal.-3/4 cup for 210 cal.-and 1 cup for 280 cal. (if I decide to have salad for a meal--I do like to chew.)

My Greek Salad (that I have most days): small sweet tomatoes, crumbled Feta cheese, sliced black olives, cucumbers, red peppers, red onions, and anything else I choose. I make sure to have all the ingredients on hand so I don't run out. I need to chew everyday in order to enjoy food. The dressing that I created is 32 oz. of balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp. of Dijon mustard, 3-4 oz. of lemon juice, and 3-5 tablespoons of Splenda. The whole recipe makes over a pint and is 200 calories for the whole recipe. So 2 tablespoons of my dressing is 12 calories. My dressing is so strong that I don't need much. But if I used 8 tablespoons as I did in February I would still be using 50 calories instead of 500.

I sometimes use only one of the better lettuce blends (I especially like Dole's Hearts Delight--romaine, green leaf, and butter lettuce hearts). I also enjoy Raspberry Vinaigrette (Kraft: 2 T.= 60 calories or Good Seasons: 2 T.=60 calories).