Hidden Valley and my big salads
Jan 25, 2012 Paid/Sponsored Post
[The following post was written as part of my paid ambassadorship with Hidden Valley.]
I’ve been on a weight-loss kick lately. I started out by losing ten pounds with Slim Fast, then moved to a diet that I devised myself, and I’ve lost an additional twelve pounds in the last six weeks, for a total of twenty-two since October. I’m now officially one-third of the way to my goal of weighing 140 by the time I turn 40! More importantly, I’m still going strong. There were a couple of days last week when I really wanted to quit, but I didn’t.
One of the keys to my success has been eating salad. I eat salads whether I’m trying to lose weight or not because I love them, but they’re totally different salads. Before, the lettuce was only an excuse for hardboiled eggs, cheese, croutons, and half a cup of dressing. Now, I make absolutely delicious and filling salads for around 100 calories each.
Today is going to be a two-salad day. Why? Because I had a salad for lunch, and while making that I packed another one to eat at tonight’s PTA meeting. I will not be tempted by the pizza they serve at PTA meetings!
I’m really excited to be working with Hidden Valley again this year as part of their Love Your Veggies program. They recently sent me a couple of their new Farmhouse Originals dressings to try, so today I cracked open the Italian with Herbs. Despite only using a tablespoon, it made my salad taste fantastic!
So besides great dressing, what’s my secret to a delicious salad that doesn’t bust my calorie bank? I make it a chopped salad. I don’t know what it is about chopped salads, but they taste totally different than the same ingredients in big pieces. And because it’s easier to distribute the dressing in a chopped salad, I can use less while still getting lots of flavor. I use one of these to chop most of the ingredients.
The salad that I packed for tonight has Hidden Valley Light Ranch Dressing in this very cool Glad-To-Go container that I found in a gift bag at some point, I don’t even know when. I love these containers – your dressing is right there, without having to take a separate container, because the little dressing bowl fits right into the big lid. And since you don’t have to mix the salad ahead of time, it won’t get soggy!
Amy’s 100 Calorie Chopped Salad
- 3 1/2 ounces green leaf lettuce
- 1/2 ounce shredded carrot
- 1/2 ounce onion
- 1 ounce tomato
- 1/8 cup chick peas
- 1 TBSP Hidden Valley Ranch Farmhouse Originals Italian with Herbs Dressing
Chop all of the veggies into tiny pieces, then toss well with the dressing. The flavors will all mix together so well in every bite, you won’t believe that this big salad is only 100 calories!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 1 (Glad containers) and 14 (Hidden Valley). Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
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Tags: Hidden Valley, Recipes, Weight Loss
Congrats, Amy! I eat a lot of salads too — especially when I’m focusing on weight or health. It’s a GREAT way to get in a handful of servings of veggies.
You sound like my sister actually! She turned 39 in January and just told me she wants to lose 80 pounds before she’s 40.
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Amy Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 11:13 pm
@Jennifer, Snapshot: Totally doable – she’s got plenty of time if she really focuses on it.
I’ll be 40 in July and my goal is also 140 lbs! I heart salads…but usually only when someone else makes them. I constantly buy bags of lettuce, and I’ll squeak a salad out of them…but then the rest get’s thrown away because I don’t eat it fast enough. I REALLY have to get my butt back in gear and pack me some more salads for work. This one looks perfect! Thank you for your post!! I think it’s just what I needed to bring me back to healthy salads!! And you are so right…chopped salads are SO SO SO much better!!!
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