Shin Splints and Salads

Last night I text-ed my mom this picture and said, this is what happens when you have too much weight on you and you try to run. Shin Splints.

I wish each time I had taken a bite of a cheeseburger, or had an extra serving of whatever I was eating, or ate just because I was bored...someone would have told me that one day I would want to run. And every single one of those pounds I put on would make it harder for me. Even at 40 lbs lighter, its still hard to have all that weight pounding on my joints. I remind myself that with each pound it will get easier and hurt a little less but I also convinced myself that a really great pair of running shoes absolutely had to be purchased to help as well (which is actually a solid theory). 

Those are Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 shoes. They are a stability shoe since I have trouble with my arches collapsing, and they are a god send. Thanks Mom for the new shoes (yes, spoiled Emma here).

So, enough about the Shin Splints and feeling bad for myself. I thought I'd share my salad secret. One of my favorite things to bring to work for lunch is a pre-made salad. It requires absolutely no cooking effort on my part and requires no cleanup either! My current favorite is the Dole Southwest Salad Pack. 

Now, here comes the secret part. You have to be very careful about these salads. They are usually between 2 1/2 to 3 servings per bag (1 - 1/2 cup serving), so you have to tweak them a little to get something filling and low in calories and WW points. 

This salad comes with Taco Ranch Dressing, Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, Cheddar Tortilla Strips, and Iceberg and Romaine Lettuce. If you are a Weight Watchers goddess like me you can probably count up the points in those 5 things pretty fast and count out this salad as a meal (i.e. making a large salad for lunch instead of a 1 cup serving). So here is the secret to get the salad down to right around 5 or 6 points depending how heavy your hand is. :) 

• Use all of the lettuce- This way you get a large portion of a 0 pt food 
• Use only 1/2 of the Taco Ranch Dressing- It is pretty thick and spicy and I promise you don't need all of it
• Throw the sour cream away immediately- Grab your own fat free sour cream, use it generously if you want, if it's fat free like I use, it's 0 pts for up to 1/4 cup
• Use about 1/4 of the Tortilla Strips- There are a lot and honestly the lettuce is plenty crunchy, you don't need extra crunch
• Use about 1/2 of the cheese- It adds a nice little kick and 1/2 of the packet is only about 1 tbsp 

And TADA! A huge yummy salad for lunch. Today I added a piece of chicken (3 oz) so I marked it around 8 pts. Yummy! 

Hope you enjoy! 

<3 xoxo <3