This salad is so healthy and simple and one of the best things we’ve eaten all summer. Treat yourself and your family with a trip to a local farmer’s market. We never used to go to farmer’s markets before our weight loss, and are so happy we do now! It’s a fun family activity and makes you feel good that you’re not only buying something healthy, but also something that has been locally grown. We are fortunate to have several right around us and like to visit different markets throughout the season.
For this succulent, healthy salad, we bought all kinds of tomatoes in every shape and color, sprinkled them with chopped basil, balsamic vinegar, Kosher salt and ground black pepper. That’s it! Maintaining a healthy weight is a lot easier when you keep it this simple.
Ingredients:
6-7 Tomatoes, any kind
4-5 leaves Basil, chopped
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Kosher Salt
2 tbsp Pepper, fresh ground
But weight loss is not only about having good recipes to cook and eat. We found decluttering our house and reducing the amount of activities we were involved in, helped to just calm our minds allowing us to focus better on our good health goals. As we find ourselves at the start of the school year, here are some things that may help simplify life for you and your family:
- Try not to over schedule your kids. We live in a competitive area and it is super easy to over schedule your kids with the many activities available. We fell victim to this ourselves and it caused stress for our boy. Once we pulled back from some of the activities, things were just calmer in general for all of us.
- Purge baby purge! Clutter can take up space in your mind causing stress and overwhelm. This state of mind is how we ended up overweight to begin with. We sort of used food as a way to ignore a messy room. Cleaning out that linen closet will set you free and allow you the mental space to make those good choices.
- Be ok with down time. We had a hard time with this one due to the conditioning of the ‘rat race.’ We realized we were going at full speed all the time, and had been doing it for years. We were so conditioned it took us the better part of this last year to realize it, and just breathe. It really is ok to just relax and not have 1,000 things going.
Fat 0g | Calories 33 | Carbs 3g | Protein 1g | Fiber 2g
Hi Kevin, that recipe sounds and looks delicious! We haven’t been back to Washington in awhile. Actually, the last time we were there was right before you retired. When we do go back someday, it won’t be the same at Kelly’s Irish Times without you there.. You might not remember us, but we would stop in around Christmas and also for the Pro Life March. Keep those recipes coming. Mary and Bill from Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania.
Hey Mary and Bill! So nice to hear from you! I love what I’m doing now but I do miss waiting on you all down at the corner of the bar for all those years. Thanks for the compliment, there are plenty more recipes where this one came from! Hope all is well with you two. Cheers!