15 Mar Rainbow BBQ Chopped Salad
I recently sat in on a talk about flexible macro counting by the Lululemon Scottsdale Quarter ambassador, Kacey Luvi ; avid cross fitter, busy mom and fellow blogger (if you are interested in macro counting click on her name above and she gives a pretty good explanation and how to on her blog). She reminded me of the need to be consuming enough calories to fuel your body. As a woman, I believe our society rewards us for eating “like birds” and as we integrate that habit into our daily lives, the desire to cut calories in order to lose weight becomes second nature to us. Personally, I can find myself falling into the same trap often. Kacey talks about “reverse dieting” on her blog as well.
When I was running for distance, I learned I needed to eat more in order to maintain my stamina for the longer endurance runs. Historically, I am embarrassed to say this, I have limited my caloric intake to 1200 or fewer calories a day. As I increased the intensity of my workouts, especially my runs, I was running out of energy mid-way through and my recovery was taking longer and my weight loss had completely stalled out. I had to increase my caloric intake. Surprisingly enough, by increasing my intake, I dropped more weight, could take my workouts to another level and my time starting dropping. I didn’t even increase my intake by a tremendous amount either, adding a mere 400 to 600 calories.
The lesson here is that if you have drastically reduced your caloric intake over an extended period of time, and increased your workout intensity, and are not seeing any results in either continued weight loss OR increase in muscle mass, you may want to consider increasing your calories by another 250 each week until you see changes resume.
Keep in mind that the additional calories should still be nutrient dense; that is, additional food should be coming from fresh sources that add nutrients to your diet, adding another daily Starbucks to add 300 calories probably won’t help you reach your fitness or nutrition goal. Sorry.
Here’s a recipe that can help you get there. 500 calories sounds like a lot, however, this salad is a nutritional power house. 18 grams of plant based proteins, 18 grams of fiber and only 13 grams of fat. Not to mention vitamins and minerals for miles. And it tastes amazing!!
To make this into a mason jar salad, fill the jar in this order: Dressing, BBQ sauce, beans, squash, peppers and onions, tomato, egg, cilantro, lettuce, cheese.
Rainbow BBQ Chickpea Chopped Salad
Ingredients
1 cup Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 head romaine or iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 cup corn (frozen is okay)
1 large tomato , diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
4 Tablespoons cilantro (optional)
1 cup butternut squash, cubed
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Ranch dressing
directions
Heat over to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Toss butternut squash with a touch of olive oil, a sprinkle of cumin and salt and pepper and spread over half the sheet. Toss the corn with a touch of olive oil ad some salt and pepper and spread over the other half of the baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min, stirring halfway through cooking time. Set aside to cool.
In a small sauce pan, heat black beans for 5-6 minutes, set aside. In same sauce pan, combine chickpeas with BBQ sauce (reserving 1/4 cup for dressing), allow to simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and finish prepping the bowls.
Divide lettuce evenly between 4 bowls, then top each bowl with equal amounts of red onion, bell pepper, hard boiled eggs, cilantro, black beans, butternut squash, corn and chickpeas. Top with cheese, ranch dressing and the remainder of BBQ sauce.
Goes great with a side of corn bread.
Serves 4
Cal 486 * Fat 13g * Carbohydrates 98g (fiber 18g * sugar 19g) * Protein 18g
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