For years, I've been meal-prepping mason-jar salads [1] for lunch, just to make sure I always eat one huge salad every day [2] — gotta get in those greens and veggies [3]! It's been getting chillier here, though, and one day I was craving something warmer and heartier, and I ended up eating leftover veggie soup [4] for lunch instead. Then I ate my enormous salad for dinner, plus a smaller portion of the dinner I made for my family. That night I felt lighter and less bloated and wanted to see how I'd feel if I ate a big salad for dinner every night for one week. Would there be other benefits? Keep reading to find out what happened.
What I Ate For Dinner
As usual, I meal prepped five or six mason jar salads for the week, made with red cabbage, shredded carrots, red and yellow peppers, celery, cucumbers, and sugar snap peas. I added greens to a huge bowl (a serving-size bowl!), poured the jar of veggies on top, and added fresh berries, beans, some seeds, and drizzled balsamic vinegar on top since I'm avoiding oil [6].
Although the salad was very filling, I also enjoyed a little of whatever vegan dinner I made for the rest of the family. Sometimes it was a pasta dish like vegan lasagna [7], or roasted sweet potatoes with peppers and tofu [8], or black bean and rice tacos.
Eating Salad For Dinner Made Me Less Bloated
I liked starting with my salad, and would eat about three-quarters of it before moving on to the other part of my meal. I noticed after this week of eating a big salad as my meal, I felt full and satisfied, but never experienced that gross, uncomfortable, too full feeling. I loved that I could sit down and enjoy a huge meal, which made me feel emotionally satisfied! Previously, when eating heavier dinners like curry and rice or a veggie burger, I'd want to eat a big portion to feel satisfied, but that often left me feeling bloated.
I often added fruit to my salad, so I found I wasn't craving anything sweet after dinner. I truly felt really satisfied, yet light, which typically inspired a family walk after dinner.
Eating Salad For Dinner Helped Me Sleep Better
Even though I was eating such a huge bowl of veggies, and feeling completely full afterward, my stomach still felt lighter. It was easier to digest than say a few pieces of homemade whole wheat veggie pizza or a bean and sweet potato burrito [9]. I wasn't bloated after dinner, and always finished eating by 6:30/7:00 p.m., so when I went to bed, I slept better not having to deal with any gas pains or other discomfort that I often had before.
Eating Salad For Dinner Made Me More Energetic
Since I was saving my salad for dinner, for lunch I meal prepped more filling meals like bean and veggie soups with homemade sourdough bread (my husband bakes too!), or rice and beans with steamed broccoli. I liked filling up on such hearty foods in the middle of the day, and was surprised I felt so energetic and focussed.
By dinnertime, even though I always have an afternoon snack, I didn't find I was as hungry as I was when I ate a salad for lunch, which I realise now is why I often overate at dinner. Eating a lighter dinner also helped me feel energetic until bed, instead of logy. So many benefits!
Salad For Dinner Didn't Just Benefit Me
Another bonus I discovered about eating salad for dinner is that it inspired me to serve salad with dinner for the rest of my family. They enjoyed a smaller bowl, but it helped everyone get in more veggies! I got creative with the toppings (sautéed chickpeas [10] were a family fave) so every night my salad looked different and was enticing and delicious.
I'm so glad I tried this dinner salad experiment, because now I prefer eating my huge salad at night. It's always good to try new things when it comes to eating because you never know what might work better!