Lately my first meal tends to be a salad. I’ve lost the taste for shakes because the kind I need to make is green, and drinking green lumpy stuff, especially in the morning, is not appealing anymore. So the concoctions I make now I might get tired of soon, but they seem wonderful at the moment.

1/2 a boiled potato, chopped up
half-handful of grapes, chopped
some blueberries if I have them
cooked carrots if I have them ready (I slice them and microwave them a few minutes)
a few canned artichoke pieces
about a quarter-cup of bread & butter pickles, chopped up
chopped cucumber
a heap of shredded romaine or spinach
a hard-boiled egg if I have one ready
spoonful of some dressing — ranch, Italian, or Russian

If I make this for dinner, I can add tuna, chick peas, zucchini, corn, etc. The thing is to chop everything small so it mixes. It makes a good-sized salad so I usually have to put some away for later.

I think it's the pickles that make me like this. I’m thinking of adding this sweet pickle juice to other things, like stir-fried chicken.