Congratulations!  I’m so proud of you for making it to the fourth day of “The Give-Back Diet.”  I’m sure you’re making and enjoying some positive changes in your life.  Today, we’re going to make another simple change for the better, and we’ll see the results together.  If you are just starting, or you’ve had some difficulties, no problem.  Start here now.  You’re in good company.

I hope you’re keeping your logging and journaling going.  Make note of any patterns you see, and post them as a comment below.  I also want you to continue to record your food types and amounts on paper, as well as your feelings connected with eating and activity, and then share them in your comment.  By doing this, you’re helping a lot of other readers.  Remember, it may not seem that helpful at first, but trust me – it is helpful – there are far more readers than commenters!  I wish everyone participating would write comments.  

Today, let’s change what you have for one meal: lunch or dinner.  I’m going to give you a recipe for a meal-sized salad.  Having this can give you a lot of nutrition (vegetables, protein, fiber, and some good carbs), and give you a feeling of satisfaction and fullness.  Also today, let’s put our money where our mouth is!  I’ll show you how eating healthier can also save you money.  Real cash, no kidding!

Dr. Norris Chumley’s Satisfying Salad

Lettuce Greens, 2 cups (mixed, preferably – try mesclun, radicchio, romaine, etc.)
Basil, fresh, about 10 leaves.  (substitute spinach, or kale, or chard)
¼ cup mandarin oranges (fresh preferably, actually any orange will do, or canned without syrup)
 2 radishes (for ravishing)
Protein: choose 1 serving of chicken, or tofu (marinated/baked), or nuts (almonds, pecans, peanuts), an egg, etc.
Dried Cranberries, ¼ cup  (unsweetened.  Substitute raisins or other dried fruit if you like)
Dressing, 1 tablespoon: balsamic vinaigrette, Italian, or raspberry/walnut (make sure it’s lower-fat and lower-calorie, without added chemicals or artificial sweeteners.)
Seasoning: add some dried tarragon, thyme, and/or a dash or red pepper or chilies.
Toss.  Eat.  Love.

This salad has very strong, delicious flavors, in an unusual combination.  If eating out at a buffet or salad-bar, these are ingredients that you can often find.  Just avoid adding other fattening salad stuff: such as cheese, mayonnaise-based salads, and fatty salad dressings – they pour on the pounds.  The same goes for cheese, sugared nuts, and other salad bar fare.  Choose an all-natural balsamic vinaigrette, or a little vinegar and olive oil, instead of high-fat, high calorie ranch, blue cheese, French, or Russian dressing..

Now, back to the saving part.  What did you save?  First off, by having a big salad for lunch instead of a sandwich of sliced meats and cheese you can save yourself many calories, in addition to some cash.  Depending on where you get your salad, you may save anywhere from $2-$5 at lunch. I’ve done some research: meat and cheese sandwiches with fries or a side dish can cost in a restaurant $5 to as much as $10 in some cities.  A pound of a salad-bar salad I found in a city-suburb in the Midwest was $4.99.  This was for a big container loaded with lots of greens, broccoli, tomatoes, onion, peppers, nuts, chicken pieces and vinegar/oil dressing.  If you substitute a salad for dinner, and make it yourself, you can save even more, as much as $10.  I have been doing research in groceries and supermarkets around the country, and was able to make a large bowl of salad, enough to have 3 meals from it, for as little as $6.  I bought a large head of red-leaf lettuce, a tomato, 2 peppers, spring onion, radishes, and an orange for $6 total, or only $2 a serving.  This is much cheaper than a meat entrée and two sides of fattening macaroni and cheese, and mayonnaise-laden potato salad, which was $7 at a large national restaurant chain.  Cheaper than a burger, fries and shake special also for $7.99 at a fast-food burger drive-through.

How can you give back something meaningful from your experience of switching out a salad for a meal today?  You might want to create a “Give-Back Diet Jar” that you contribute to every time you save…and I’m talking either money or calories here.  Every time you make a healthy choice pledge yourself a quarter, a dollar, or any amount that feels right to you.  Every time you save money doing it, put the difference in cash into the jar.  Then at the end of each week or every two weeks, give the money back through a charitable donation.  I think donating money to hunger relief programs, such as these below, would be an especially helpful and rewarding thing to do.

SOME HUNGER-RELIEF CHARITIES:

Feed America.  www.feedingamerica.org
United Nations World Food Programme.  www.wfp.org
Family Care Foundation.  www.familycarefoundation.org
Care. www.care.org
Children’s Hunger Relief Fund.  www.chrf.org

Today’s Action Plan:

• Don’t forget to drink at least 3, 8-ounce glasses of water today (but preferably 8; see the Mayo Clinic page on drinking water at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283), and go for a walk or move for at least 10 minutes.

• Add a “savings” page to your journal.  Keep track of calories and money savings.

• Set up your “Give-Back Diet Jar” and begin contributing money for each of your newfound healthy choices.