Here is something that I HAD to share! Yesterday, Crystle made this amazing, ALL INCLUSIVE salad, that turned out to be quite possibly the most amazing thing ever!! It is not only delicious, it pretty much contains about every daily nutrient you could ask for. You could pretty much alter this recipe a million different ways and use a million variations of the ingredients to change it up and mix it up to keep the flavors coming.

As most of those who read this blog are healthy athletes, this is in my opinion, the PERFECT recipe for fueling up during the day. This here salad will get you through and fuel you up for the most intense workout and it can be enjoyed any time of day as a before or after workout snack/meal.

Here is a the EXACT salad that Crystle made yesterday and I will also add a few other ingredients that we will be adding to future variations.

Keep in mind, there is not necessarily any exact measurements for the ingredients. Measurements and quantity will be based on how much you are wanting to prepare and how much of the ingredients you have in your kitchen.

2 cups chick peas (you could subsitute chick peas with kidney, black or other type of bean, legume)

4 cups of fresh leaf spinach (could use other leafy greens here…kale, watercrest, etc)

2 cups endamame shelled (Trader Joes brand)

1/2 red onion (diced)

1 tomato cut into small triangle wedges

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup almond slices

1/2 cucumber cut into small chunks

1/2 cup feta cheese (try not to substitute cheese type here..the flavor of feta works well in this salad)

1 cup brocolli (raw and cut into small florettes)

2 cups cooked couscous (you could subsitute regular couscous with Isreali couscous, Quinoa, Bulgur Wheat or other)

1 cup diced bell peppers (try to use multiple color, orange, yellow, red, green)

2 hard boiled eggs (diced up)

Baked Chicken breast (could substitute with turkey burger, steamed shrimp or other lean meat of your choice…or no meat for you vegetarians)

THAT’S IT!!! That is the recipe…Now, for the other yummy variations and optional ingredients:

Fresh berries (strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, etc.)

Dried fruits (apricot, mango, apples, etc)

Fresh fruits (apple, mango, avocado etc)

Nuts (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, etc)

Grains, noodles, pastas (variations of rices, variations of noodles and pasta..just about anything could be used here..get creative).

Olives

Other Cheeses

Oils (olive, grapeseed, avocado, etc)

Salts (sea salts, volcanic salts, etc)

Pepper and spices (paprika, black pepper, crushed red paper, etc)..

Okay, we have provided a base to get started with and also some other ideas for variations thereof! Now go out and get the ingredients and get started on your own unique version…Fuel right, perform right!!!