Low Carb Cottage Cheese Salad and 9 Months Since the Launch of Letters to Antoinette

I cannot even get my head around the fact that it?s been precisely 9 months since the launch of LTA. And so many things have changed for me since then both in regards to my personal and professional life. However, if I have to pick one single thing that has changed the most, this will surely be my attitude towards life and the way I now resolve to live it.
After going through some crazy and quite challenging times, it seems to me that today I?m getting closer and closer to ?happiness?. But not in the sense of me finally approaching a certain endpoint labelled ‘happiness?, but rather in that I’m learning to experience rather than sleep walk through life, smile at all times rather than frown.

A case in point (by the way I’m giving away cookies made by La Bisquette)

Ultimately, ?life? is what you make out of it. And ?happiness? is relative. The way I see it: How could you have possibly appreciated the ?ups? if it wasn?t for the ?downs?. How could we have possibly defined ‘happiness’ if it wasn?t for sadness?

Precisely!
Happiness is the ability to feel, experience, and learn from each and every life occurrence. And most importantly to do that now. Postponing could indeed be quite addictive. You start postponing ?life? once, and eventually end up realising that you’ve actually missed hell of a lot of it.

Working on ?Letters to Antoinette? have given me the freedom to chase my dreams. And really, is there a greater gift than that? I doubt it…

Anyway, I just wanted to thank You for engaging with ‘Letters to Antoinette’. I hope I’ll be able to give you something back by shedding light on the questions you pose to me in the letters I daily receive.

After all that ramblings, it’s time for me to zip my lips and give you the recipe you requested a couple of days ago.

So here it is the healthy and overly tasty ‘Low Carb (and rich in protein) Cottage Cheese Salad’

Ingredients:

Mixed green salad of your choice

10 olives
5 Sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp. Basil Pesto
100 gr. Cottage cheese
20 gr. Raw Pumpkin Seed

1 avocado
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
a pinch of Himalayan salt

For the mixed green salad I tend to use radicchio, watercress, baby spinach, and argula, but feel free to add whichever greens you like the most. After you mix the leaves in a bowl, add a pinch of Himalayan salt which is the only salt I’d ever really use in my home-made meals.

The ‘white gold’ is way superior to the traditional iodized salt that you’d normally use, as it contains 84 natural elements and minerals that are also found in the human body. To name a few of its benefits for the health: it encourages excellent blood sugar health, reduces signs of ageing, helps deal with sinus problems, while controlling the water levels within the body.

Nuff said right?

I personally prefer to use home-made basil pesto for the seasoning, however, if you have no time to prepare some, feel free to use one from the grocery store. All you need is mix a spoonful of it with some cold-pressed olive oil. Then add the mixture to the greens and mix it all well.

Peel and slice the avocado in small pieces and add it to the leaves. In case you didn?t know, if the avocado is way too hard ? then please don’t use it as you’ll get very disappointed. Insteadm leave it for a few days in a very dark place (in your cupboard for ex.) and put a banana near it. In no time it will soften and be ready to use.

Then it’s time for the raw seeds. I’d personally use raw pumpkin seeds, not only because of their great taste, but also due to their great benefits for your body. As I have a very low blood pressure, for me it’s purely essential to provide my system with iron. The Pumpkin seeds are among the foods rich in it, also containing Vitamin E and K (Do you remember when we talked about the importance of being on a rich in vitamins diet (here))?

For some additional flavour, I add Greek olives. My all time favourite are the wrinkled black ones that do look quite weird I admit, but still taste pretty divine! And don?t worry. Even though olives contain quite a lot of fat, it?s actually healthy monosaturated fat which works towards decreasing the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Olives are also another great source of iron and vitamin E, which nourishes and hydrates the body, while helping you get the healthy and glowing complexion you’re craving for. Aw, and by the way, the olive oil acts as natural Iboprufen, which is great news for those of us allergic to any artificial painkillers.

Then I slice a few soft sun-dried tomatoes which are way easier to chew, and some cottage cheese. And please please please, don’t judge the cottage cheese by its weird curdled texture. I also used to hate it and it was only recently that I found out that depending on the way you eat it – it could actually taste pretty nice. Also, for a vegetarian like me, cottage cheese is a great source of protein, (which makes it great for a post-workout snack) while low in calories – great news for everyone who wants to stay in shape. For a quick comparison – it contains 98 kcal per 100 gr., while the cheddar cheese contains 403 gr. per 100 gr.

You do the math.

Also, the cottage cheese is rich of vitamin A absolutely essential for the growth of your cells, and of Vitamin B, the one that helps your body break down the foods and turn them into energy.

After you’ve added all ingredients together, pour some balsamic vinegar. And for the ones who don’t really get salads: it’s all about the way you season them and the additional healthy but TASTY ingredients you add.