Monday, January 23, 2017

A Decadent Meal

With a title like that, I bet you were expecting to read about something really high caloric - a diet-buster, to be certain.  Well, no.  Not this time, anyway.  But it's funny how I considered a recent restaurant meal to be decadent...and how I ended up turning it into more of a "treat yo self" meal.

Backstory is that after our vacation last month that included all things butterbeer, and then the holidays that included lots of sweets and treats, and then of course carb loading for our half marathon, well - Jeff and I have been feeling like we want to swing the pendulum around regarding our food choices.  So I've actually cooked a bit - I know, don't faint.  This recipe for an easy Korean beef bowl came out so well that I'm making it again tonight, only I'm doubling the amount of sauce and adding steamed broccoli to make it a little more well-rounded:
I served this over Calrose rice, which is a sticky rice that steamed up beautifully in my little rice cooker.

But that isn't the decadent meal.  Believe it or not, our decadent meal came from a salad restaurant - Salata, to be exact.  Remember back in the day, when I used to make giant salads for our dinner?  I'd chop up veggies and fruit and have everything ready to assemble, and those salads were delicious.  But I've gotten out of the habit of doing much in the way of food prep, and quite honestly, I didn't want to bother with going to the grocery store, much less wash and slice up all of the ingredients - I just wanted to eat a big, healthy salad.  So we decided to try Salata, which is where you stand in line and have your salad built in front of you as you go.  Now, I'm generally opposed to standing in line for my food - if I'm going out, I want it brought to me - but big salad was calling us, and this was the only way it was going to happen that night.

I have to say, there's something about seeing all of the veggies that were available that was so appealing - I had my server add a handful of this and a handful of that, building on my mixed greens base and then we moved to the fruit section, where they had thinly sliced apple pieces, and fresh strawberries and pineapple and I went to town with that, and on it went.  You could add a protein to your salad for an extra three bucks, and I did - the herbed chicken breast was really tasty.  Their dressings were all labeled with calorie amounts, and they let me taste a couple before deciding on one.

All told, our salads were $11 each - which is a lot for a salad, I know.  And it did feel decadent, especially knowing that I could have created a similar salad at home.  However, it ended up accomplishing more than just feeding us.  Along with nourishment, I felt worthy, to use Debby's favorite word.  Worthy of allowing myself to spend more money than really was necessary on a healthy meal for myself.  And once I was finished, I was inspired to make a list of ingredients to buy on my next trip to the grocery store, so that I could recreate that salad at home.  Win-win all around.  While I'm going to work on adding homemade salads to my meal repertoire more often, I'm not opposed to going back to Salata once in a while, because every now and then, you do need to treat yo self to a decadent meal.  Unless, of course, this is happening:

10 comments:

  1. I love the big salad! We eat them a lot in the summer, when it's too hot to cook. I didn't know there was a place just for the big salad!

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  2. Sometimes it's worth spending the money to be able to be served something you didn't have to prepare! Sound delish!!

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  3. We have a place like that in Sacramento. My favorite place to meet for lunch! Worthy😊

    I want to try your Korean beef recipe!

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  4. I love big mishmash salads. GRRR that they cost so much!!!
    Have a wonderful week Shelley!

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  5. Honestly, I think a good salad around here at any of the restaurants runs $10-$12 so you actually didn't spend a lot. Think about what you got for that and besides you could have spent $10 at McDonalds. I mean, my boss eats at fast food places all the time and I bet he spends about $10 every time, and it's not on salad.

    Also, like you said, sometimes doing that inspires you and gives you ideas of what you can do at home, where it's just so darn easy to get into a rut and I don't care how much one cooks.

    Nothing like a good rice bowl - in fact, we are having copycat Moe's Rice Bowls for dinner tonight at the Helen house.

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  6. I have to admit that when I read your title my mind thought it said a decadent Medal....haha

    I usually have a bag of spinach on hand to make salads during the week. Now I just need to find a way to get my husband to eat them too!

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  7. Haha! Treat Yo'Self is my new motto!! However, my bank account, like the one above is a buzzkill. So I can only Treat M'Self about once a month. But that's okay...it's progress.

    I love love love a big salad with a lot going on in it! I wish we had a place like Salata here...the grocery store has a salad buffet, I guess that'll have to do for now!

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  8. Yum! Salads in restaurants are the best.

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  9. A sit down restaurant salad with a protein can easily be $11 or $12 - and you got yours custom made! We have a place like that around here. Too far to go to regularly, but we will stop there if in the area.

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  10. I don't think it's that expensive for a salad, they have to earn some money too and you are completely right to treat yourself to a big salad every now and then. Much healthier than a burger and fries, right?

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