Yum Series: Enjoying the Fruits (veggies?) of my Labor

So in my last post, I neglected to mention a few kitchen tools I use almost daily - mainly a wonderful tool called the Vidalia Chop Wizard.  Yes, you probably saw it on TV.  And no, I'm not one to buy anything I see on infomercials, but this one caught my eye a few years ago.  I was literally in the middle of telling DH (who was just my cute boyfriend then) how I need some sort of easy chopping device for veggies, when the ad for Vidalia came on.  I took it as a sign and bought it, and guess what?  I love it!  It does exactly what it advertises, and it's ridiculously simple.  It comes with 2 different blade discs you can use:  One with really small squares and one medium-sized squares (for lack of a better description).  You place your food of choice (veggies, cheese, etc.) on the blade and press the top handle down.  As cheesy as it looks, this little tool has saved me a lot of time in the kitchen.  I can cut a bell pepper into lovely little bite-sized squares instead of awkward, uneven pieces.  OK that sounds unconvincing and a little unappetizing, but the bottom line is, the Vidalia is awesome.  If you're convinced and want one for yourself, it's available here and here.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

I was able to chop all of this with the 2 blades and less than 5 minutes of my time
(From left to right - cucumbers, green bell peppers, green onion):

So thanks to the Vidalia, I have a lot of easy-to-access veggies to add to my lettuce this week (which I cut with a large Oxo knife, also a fantastic buy).

And was able to make my first chopped salad for lunch today!

My Chopped Salad - Yummmmm

Here's a quick rundown of what I put in my Chopped Salad:
Lettuce
Tofu (can also use chicken, beef or my fave, shrimp)
Edamame
Corn
Cucumber
Grape Tomatoes (I took them out and sliced each one into 3 pieces)
Green Onion
Green Bell Pepper

And for some added seasoning/flavor:
Garlic Pepper
Lemon Juice*
(*Just FYI, I'm going to switch off between lemon juice and Sesame dressing this week. I usually use EVOO, but had no idea it was 120 calories per tablespoon!  I know it's good for you but gosh darnit, that's a lot of calories)

Total =  257 calories of fresh and healthy, delicious goodness
(With Sesame dressing, the same salad will be 339 calories)

Looking forward to lunch this week.