I went into tonight’s dinner knowing full well what the potential outcome could be.
The odds of it turning out in my favor are pretty slim.
But the time had finally come. It has been far too long since I really indulged.
It was time to just bite the bullet and dive in head first…
Tonight, my friends, called for a Salad Beast.
And beastly it was!
In the mix beast:
- Romaine lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Tomato
- Carrots
- Grilled yellow squash & zucchini
- Grilled red pepper
- Grilled red onion
- 1/2 a can of chunk light tuna
The grilled veggies were definitely what made this salad. All I did was slice up the veggies thin, sprayed them with a little non-stick cooking spray and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and popped ‘em on my Griddler Jr. That machine is seriously one of my favorite kitchen tools.
I was actually really craving this salad at lunchtime, but since lunchtime salads tend to wreak havoc on my tummy, I figured I’d hold off on the inevitable food baby that will most likely occur. Dealing with tummy bloat for four hours is better than eight, right?
My salad eventually got a little drizzle of Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan dressing which, in my opinion, is perfect for a salad like this. It.was.amazing.
On the side I also enjoyed another slice of my Farmers Market whole wheat bread, toasted and topped with a little light butter. Clearly, I broke out my stellar bread slicing skills for this one. Yikes.
Even though I’m already feeling the effects of this bad boy…
It was totally worth it.
(Then again, we’ll see what I’m saying an hour from now!)
I guess it’s a good thing that all I have planned for the evening is a relaxing night with my two boys.
Question for the Evening:
Are there any foods that you still eat, despite the fact that they may not agree with you afterward?
Cait @ Beyond Bananas says
SALAD DOES THE SAME THING TO ME! Any type of raw veggie actually. It is so awful. I stopped eating salad for a while to avoid the bloating.. uncomfortableness.. etc. But.. I missed salad too much! I am with you on eating them for dinner. rather then lunch. I hate my stomach for hating a food I love!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey says
salad beasts always wreak havoc on my stomach. I had seriously hardly any veggies this weekend, and I had a salad beast for lunch – umm bad decision. My stomach hurt so bad but I NEEDED those veggies!
Courtney says
I hear you, girl! I was the same way this weekend…
Crista says
um, I have the same probo. What do we do? all steamed veg unless we’re prepared for the pain? I’m at a loss but I’m tired of food baby :( boo. glad I’m not the only one though…
Chocolate, Cheese and Wine says
Milk hurts me! Over the years I have learned to balance dairy and non-dairy well enough that I barely notice it anymore!
Sweet and Savvy says
Sometimes cravings outweigh our best interests…. but they are also worth it [on occasion]
Hope you aren’t feeling too bad!: )
Katelyn @ Chef Katelyn says
I get the saaaaame way! But I love veggies so I eat them anyways. I think my tummy eventually gets used to it…SORTA. Haha buttt cooked veggies aren’t as bad on the tums! Which is odd.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
That is quite the salad beast! I’m lucky in the fact that not many foods wreak havoc my my stomach (knock on wood). Pears and grapes are the only 2 that make me feel bloated and gross but I still eat them :)
Blog is the New Black says
So funny you mention your griddler! I have the regular sized one and I LOVE it! It’s awesome for burgers. I just used it for pancakes for the boy and eggs for me…. I will NEVER use a pan for over easy eggs again- seriously, they were like “thick” and cooked evenly… only needed a tiny bit of spray! AMAZING!
I eat waaaay too much sugar… and I always get sick. It’s that damn sweet tooth!
Cassie says
That bread looks so yummy. I’m relaxing with some chocolate and pretty little liars…oh downtime, how I love thee!
Claire says
I get sick on gluten products…but luckily do not have Celiac disease, just a wheat allergy or intolerance. Sometimes, when I am feeling particularly like I MUST HAVE BREAD PRODUCTS I will take a Benadryl and Pepcid to block the symptoms (I’m sure that’s good for you, right?)
Courtney says
Really? Do those two things work? I would have never thought to do those two together for that!
Claire says
They work like a charm! I actually was able to eat a Jimmy John’s sandwich last night (had to get something quick due to all of the packing I’m doing for this weekend!), take a Benadryl and Pepcid (because pepcid blocks the stomach histamine response) and slept like a baby! No swelling this morning! Yay!
Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles says
I can’t imagine having problems with eating a salad – my body always feels so good after eating a giant salad beast! Not to brag or anything… ;)
Hope this one treats you right!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says
Oh my does salad make my stomach feel about 7X larger! But it tastes sooooo good! :)
April @ Motor City Runner says
I ate my weight and then some at Taco Bell this weekend. Didn’t agree with me, but it was SO worth it!!
Erica says
quinoa! it would give me the worst crampings in the world, and i tried to ignore them, but it got so bad i eventually had to just stop eating it :(
Kristin says
That salad looks so fresh and delicious! I hope you dont mind I used your soda cake recipe from a while ago in my post today (I’ve been slightly obsessed with soda cake since reading it!). Hope you are feeling ok :)
Courtney says
Not at all! Thanks for linking back :)
Andrea @ Onion in My Hair says
What a BEAST!
Good luck in the ole stomach department! Start drinking TONS of water to off-set all that fiber! ;)
Melissa (MelissaLikesToEat) says
I’m lucky in that I haven’t met a food that does not agree with me. Hope that lasts forever! :)
Courtney says
You ARE lucky!! :)
Amy says
Peanut butter and apples used to kill my stomach. I’ve also developed acid reflux in the last few years, so now I’m not supposed to have anything tomato based, but I LOVE pizza so I still have it every now and then! Wine (and anything alcohol really) messed with my reflux but I still drink it anyways!!
kaila @ healthy helper! says
Broccoli and brussel sprouts! I LOVE them and eat them almost everyday….but they do kind of upset my tum. Totally worth it though…..I’m addicted!
Katelyn says
Salad > food baby
(as long as I have sweat pants on and a loose shirt ;))
Katelyn says
oops i meant:
salad and food baby > no food baby and no veggies!
Andrea (Run. Learn. Repeat.) says
Yes! Gluten does not agree with my stomach, but I still give in to really yummy bread at restaurants, and desserts with gluten. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s not.
Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine says
Loooove salad beasts. Raw red peppers never agree with me, but I eat them occasionally anyways…one of my favorite veggies!
Lee @ in the pink of condition says
A few years ago, dairy started to really not agree with me, so I gave up cow’s milk in favor of almond milk, and ice cream in favor of fro yo, but I cannot substitute pizza at all. I like to say that eating it “hurts so good” :-)
Sarah @ Food and Love Diaries says
Hahaha I have issues with salads and fiber, too. Ughhh I wish I didn’t love them soo muchhh
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
Coffee will give me stomachaches sometimes, but I drink it regardless. I risk the possible pain gladly!
Lindsey says
Ice cream! Yes, sadly it makes my tummy very unhappy, unless it is a very small amount but I cannot just eat a little bit of ice cream! Its almost always worth it though.
Courtney says
Oh gosh, that’s so tragic. And I agree…it’d totally be worth it for me ;)
Katherine says
Apples! Sometimes they don’t bother me, but sometimes they all out tear my stomach up.
sara says
Hey courtney, this has nothing to do with this post but oh well!
first off I love your blog. It makes my day to receive an email of your posts at 930 in the morning every day. . I hope that doesn’t sound creepy either.
but my question is where did you get your carba nada?? my husband loves pasta and I’m not the biggest lover of pasta but I really want to try it!
Courtney says
Hey Sara! (Not creepy at all!) ;)
I bought my carba nada pasta at The Fresh Market. It’s the only place around me that I’ve seen them. I’m sure, if you can’t find them in stores though, that you’d probably be able to order them somewhere online? Good luck!
Liz @ Something To Chew On says
You know what’s strange? Sometimes LaraBars try to mess with me. Which is so tragic, because I love them.
That salad beast looks fantastic!
Kristine @ Runningon Hungry says
Prosciutto, mozzarella pesto roll-ups! The sodium alone is enough to make it look like I have a bloat filled food baby stomach but the combo is so delicious I’ll each ’em anyway!
Khushboo says
Fortunately I have a stomach of steel. However I try not to eat TOO much garlic because it leaves you with a hellish after-breath…sometimes it is just so necessary though :)
Erica says
Sweets! Especially ice cream. If I find myself eating them in abundance, I do NOT feel well, but that hasn’t stopped me yet! :-)
allison says
Wow – it’s so good to see that so many others have serious stomach problems with eating salad. I too had a big salad (what we call it in our house, so original) and suffered most of the night. It was great to clean out the fridge, but my poor tummy :(
Although, it did force me to go to bed early cause I was suffering and slept 9 hours, felt great this morning.
Anna says
You should definitely check out your blood type… To certain blood types, too many raw veggies can be detrimental to your digestive system and health; so on the contrary, your body could be storing your salad beasts as toxins. If veggies make you bloated, your body obviously isn’t digesting them properly, therefore you aren’t even acquiring those essential nutrients and the best thing is to learn how to prepare the veggies properly to benefit your digestive track and not cause severe issues in the future. My dad is O blood type, and all kinds of vegetables clog his intestines. Over the years he has developed Diverticulitis because he didn’t watch his veggie intake. Now he can only eat meats, liquids, certain grains, and certain boiled vegetables because those are what benefit his blood type. Other types like A cannot digest dairy or meat and thrive off of vegetables. You definitely need to look into this.
Amy says
Gluten wrecks havoc on my stomach as does dairy but I can’t live w/o my greek yogurt so I eat it with lactaid and it helps a little. As far as the gluten I’ve learned to love the brown rice wraps and a millet and flax bread thats gluten free. Since I cut out gluten and all dairy except 1 greek yogurt a day no more food babies usually unless I eat beans and brocolli together.
Amy says
Ah ha, I’m a type A bloodtype maybe thats why dairy does me in.
Jen @familyfoodfitnessandfun says
Hi, I’m new to your blog and I’m loving what I’m reading…and seeing (great pics)!
I love to eat cake! However, I just found out I have a sensitivity to gluten and dairy :( I love cake so much though….it’s something I can’t give up, even if I must pay the price!
Courtney says
Oh man…so sorry to hear about your sensitivities :(
Luckily, it seems like there’s a bunch of new products out there, so hopefully you find something to fulfill your cake craving!