Paleo DIY Challenge-Friendly Cobb Salad

Ah, the flurry of whole30s, sugar detoxes, and other noble nutrition challenges has taken hold of the Twittersphere. Every other tweet seems to be folks ready to cast aside their dalliance with sugar and other less savory characters in favor of the basics, fuel-wise: meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and natural fats.

When embarking on such challenges, I've come to appreciate the value of having ingredients ready to go at a moment's notice. This is why the paleo-fied version of a Cobb salad makes a great fast meal: everything can be chopped and ready to add way ahead of time. The DIY aspect also makes salad assembly company-friendly.

Also get yo'self some romaine.

This is what we made today when we had my inlaws
for company. I like my Cobb salads to be as colorful
as possible, so I go for as many contrasting hues
as I can manage. Red peppers, orange carrots,
yellow egg yolks - delicious!

Our ingredients included:

• Cubed cold chicken
• Bacon, cooked crispy
• Fresh sliced red pepper
• Fresh shredded carrot
• Some hot-and-sweet seasoned/baked pecans and almonds
  (These pictured I made at home...you can make your own seasoned nuts low carb and challenge-friendly by coating them in the barest splash of hot sauce and macadamia oil before toasting in the oven, 425F for 20 minutes, stirring throughout.)
• Hard boiled eggs
  (We kept them in their shells until chosen for a salad so they'd go right back in the fridge if we didn't use them all.)
• A batch of my homemade ranch

Part of the appeal when serving to company is presentation, and nothing presents more beautifully than simple, fresh ingredients. 

 

 

What salads are you throwing together in a bid to clean up your diet in the new year?

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