Shirazi Salad Recipe
Shirazi salad is fresh, packed with flavor and definitely refreshing on a hot day.
I have to be honest, I ate the whole entire recipe for breakfast this morning. But I don’t see that as a bad thing…
It’s all veggies, tons of nutrients, fiber, and good-for-my-tummy stuff. Can’t go wrong there!
You see, as I go along this clean eating road, I’m learning and changing (as it should be!). I’m learning that my overeating tendencies can actually work to my benefit if I manage them properly. I can indulge in a recipe like this, get the satisfying feeling of eating a lot, yet still be far from destroying my eating plan. It’s a win-win in my book.
The way I figure it, it’s in my nature to love food. It’s in my nature to eat food. It’s in my nature to enjoy the process of eating (maybe more than others at times). I’m also at a place in my life where I’m really working on being kind to myself. Trying not to beat myself up so much or be so hard on myself. I guess, I’m just finally learning to accept and love myself. So I’m just now beginning to be able to look at things that I previously considered bad or detrimental as blessings in some respects.
Because the truth is, if I didn’t love food, I wouldn’t have started this blog. And if I hadn’t started this blog, I wouldn’t be sitting here at this computer, in this apartment, sharing this recipe with you.
I firmly believe that all of our experiences in life, good AND bad, make us who we are in this moment. We can choose to let that be a good thing or a bad thing, but either way, I really think we are the sum of our experiences and our attitude towards those experiences. Maybe I’m way off here, but I’m starting to see all my food “issues” as blessings. And that in turn, is allowing me to accept them, deal with them, and turn them around to my benefit.
As a result, I’m slowly starting to see results. While I threw my scale out several weeks ago (can’t be a slave to that thing anymore!), my pants are fitting looser and I’m getting some energy back. It’s amazing what happens when you truly tend to yourself. When you take care of yourself as well as you would your own child. You just have so much more to give when you fill your own cup first.
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Enjoy!
SHIRAZI SALAD RECIPE:
Shirazi Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup peeled, chopped cucumbers
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped mint
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and store in the fridge for about 2 hours to allow flavors to meld. Serve.
Thank you for your words of wisdom that I read early this morning – inspiring.
I will make this salad today!! Thank you.
Phyllis – I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Delicious! I love the combination of tomato, cucumber and mint together. Perfect Spring salad 🙂
Laura – Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
This is a great and delicious salad.
Erika – Thank you! 🙂
I can’t do raw onions. I know I can just leave the out, but do you have any suggestions for a substitute? I think being kind to yourself is a great plan! 🙂
Amy – I’m not sure. Bell peppers maybe?
Sounds yummy! Thanks 🙂
I love this post! I also know what it’s like to love food so much! My husband says that most people eat to live and I LIVE to EAT! I tell people all the time that I must have superhero taste buds because I tend to love food so much more than other people I know :-). I love your posts and recipes. Thank you so much for your efforts to find healthy and yummy food!
Kat – I couldn’t agree more! Food is just AWESOME!!!
Salad of my country. The white(onion),red(tomato) and green(cucumber) are the colour of our flag 😀 Hence why it was named after one of the old capitals; Shiraz. God bless Persian food. All about slow coking stews,herbs and plenty of fruit and veg 🙂 Good recipe to share 😀
Naz – Thanks for the background!
As to the raw onion I have a few suggestions. I also dont like raw onion, they dont like me either! I’ve made this before & this is what I suggest. If you reduce the amount of onion and cut it very finely, it marinates in the mix of juices and looses it’s bite. I mix all but the tomato and let it marinate for an hour. I add the tomato close to serving time. Another option I recently learned from a family member (but havent tried) is to chop the onion & before adding to the dish, microwave it briefly – it takes the bite out as well.
🙂
Eileen – Good to know! Thank you! 😀
OMgoodness I will be trying this! Although I won’t be eating it all in one setting (can’t with the lap band) but I’m sure it won’t last long….
Melissa – Awesome! I’m actually considering having the lap band surgery done. What do you think of it so far?
Gracious- I’ve lost 110 pounds over the last 5 years so I say go with it if you have the chance you don’t lose the nutrients vs the roun-Y although there are other alternatives out there now. However I’m pro band, I can eat up to a cup of food (which is a lot) but its a lot healthier portion than what I was eating. 🙂
With clean eating I’ve noticed though I don’t get enough grains I have a hard time processing them (they expand your band) so be careful, although now some dr are pro brown rice mine isn’t still.
Melissa – Ya, I’ve given up grains anyway, so that’s not a problem. I’m just terrified to let somebody cut into me and of the loose skin. have you had any issues with that?
Its a laprascopic procedure so basically 5 little holes, of which they went through my scars from my gallbladder. And as for the loose skin I had loose skin to begin with so I can’t help you there, if you maintain a healthy workout schedule you should be okay.
Melissa – Really? Good to know! I thought loose skin went hand in hand with that type of surgery. Glad to know it can be managed. Thanks for talking to me about this! 🙂
Loose skin goes hand in hand with the major type the bypass will leave you with loose skin if you lose the weight too fat and don’t exercise and maintain the exercise.
Melissa – True. But I guess you don’t need surgery for that to happen. I think any rapid weight loss without proper exercise will create loose skin. I just wasn’t sure if exercising would be enough.
I wanted to add my two cents about the lap-band surgery. And, please know that this is only my experience, but I wish I’d heard something like this before I made my decision.
For a lot of people the lap-band works wonders, but for me it was a disaster. I have diabetes, therefore, losing weight has always been extremely difficult. Four years ago, with my doctor’s blessing, I decided to have the surgery.
Things quickly went downhill and I had a terrible time with it. I did not lose much weight but looked sickly and unhealthy, mainly because I couldn’t eat much (everything would get stuck) and had a hard time sleeping. I would choke whenever I would start falling asleep, especially if I drank any water before bed, which had always been my habit.
The surgeon figured out that my band was too tight, even though he had only done 2 very small fillings. And, after much complaining on my part, he removed all the liquid but I still felt awful.
I guess my immune system started fighting the band and I started getting sick a lot. If there was any type of cold or flu virus going around, I’d catch it. On three different ocassions, I ended up at the emergency room because I got so sick with horrible pain on my back & side, vomiting, etc. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, but they all thought it was my gallbldder. I had many expensive tests done, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with my gallbladder or anything else..
My regular dr. was the one who finally thought that it was the band. I had it removed almost 2 years ago, and my life changed for the better. Although, I did start to put back on a few of the 20 pounds I’d lost, I found a way to finally lose weight: Exercise.
I hate to exercise but I have to do it. I get bored super quickly but found CrossFit and that worked for me. Although I do have to admit that it’s still a love/hate relationship, it’s the only exercise that has worked for me.
When I started, I was a pitiful sight. I couldn’t finish the workouts and was very weak. But in a year, I have seen a tremendous improvement in my own body and self-esteem; I feel/look so much healthier and I know I am stronger. I have lost 23 pounds and 3 dress sizes. I still have ways to go but I am so much happier now. My next goal is to clean my diet (which is why I visited your site) and I plan to give Paleo a try.
If you do decide to get the surgery, please, please, do your research. I did not research it enough and really thought It would be the perfect solution for me, but it did not work that way. A good place to get good info on the band is: http://www.lapbandtalk.com
I do hope you find something that works for you.
Linda – Thank you! I agree it’s important to weigh both sides of the issue. Thanks for sharing your story here.
This sounds delicious. We will be making this tomorrow. Thank you !!
Rose – My pleasure! Enjoy!
I love the combination of tomatoes and cucumbers, but sometimes get tired of regular lettuce based salads. This is a great go-to.
Janet – Thanks! I’m glad you like it! 😀