Asian Sesame Salad For One

Have you ever found yourself in a funk where you don't want to do... anything?

Where you just want to blow off all of your responsibilities and watch TV?  That's totally the adult thing to do anyway, right?

I've been avoiding my cycling training, paying my bills, doing my laundry, and weeding my garden for far too long now.  I've even been avoiding my runs for my Couch-To-5k program.  And I'm only in week one. How pathetic is that?

I finally kicked my butt off the couch yesterday and did a 33 mile bike ride.  I'd like to say that it made me feel better, but it actually made me want to avoid everything more.  I'm officially on strike.

However, I might have found the cure:  I can be bribed with food.  If I am promised food, and great food at that, then I can be bribed to pay my bills, do my laundry, and complete my first 30-minute run.  It's a start.

Maybe not everyone wants to be bribed with a salad, but I do.  Especially when that salad contains cashews, green onions, edamame, and a creamy Asian dressing.  Count me in.  If I had avocado and cucumber on hand you can bet those would have made it in here too.

The key to bribing yourself with food is that you have to make it all about you.  I fixed my dinner, poured myself some sparkling water with fresh lemon, and sat down with a nice plate and a cloth napkin.  Even though it was just a salad and just for me, it was a fancy pants dinner.  And apparently that's what it takes to get me through the day.  Lesson learned:  when the going gets tough, the tough gets bribed with food.

Asian Sesame Salad For One

2.5 cups mixed greens

1 carrot, grated

1 green onion, chopped

small handful of cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup cashews

1/2 cup edamame

1/2 cucumber, grated (optional)

1/4 avocado, sliced (optional)

sprinkle of sesame seeds

freshly grated black pepper to taste

Dressing:

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon agave syrup

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon tahini

Mix ingredients together.  Toss with your greens.