The Wisdom of Salad

Greetings.  As one of this year's New Year's resolutions I vowed to eat more green leafy vegetables.  Lettuce, kale, collard greens, spinach, arugula, mustard greens, turnip greens, watercress, cabbage, Chinese broccoli, bok choy, chard, artichokes, escarole and even the often dreaded brussels sprouts.  And I'm starting to feel a lot healthier just writing about them.  But in reality, it was becoming increasing clear that both Mom and Grandma were right–eating my vegetables, and especially the mighty green leafy ones, was not only good for my current health but also my longevity.  And the shorter my likely longevity becomes, according to actuaries at least, the more focused I've become on it.  Besides, who says that a giant bowl of romaine lettuce isn't a perfect complement to chocolate, red wine and beer?  And, while I won't bore you with all of the awesome health benefits of these nutritional "powerhouses," let me simply say that they are loaded with weight-losing, energy-enhancing and disease preventing stuff whose names are too scientific to mention in this blog…but stuff that should instantly elevate them to the top of your personal food pyramid.

Which brings us to the real subject of this post, my recent discovery of a restaurant concept called Chop't which bills itself as "The Creative Salad Company."  A place that's all about serving fast and healthy food based on combining and chopping a wide array of fun ingredients into a tasty and engaging salad.  And it's focused keenly on the endless possibilities of salad.  

"What?" you exclaim, "there are endless possibilities in salad?"

A question that can now be answered with a resounding yes.  Because the folks at Chop't offer five types of greens, sixty different toppings, and over thirty different dressings which, according to our thirteen-year-old math-studying daughter Carly can be combined to produce several million unique salads.  How's that for endless possibilities?  Plus, your salad comes with a unique customer experience…because once you choose your favorite ingredients a Chop't team member chops, stirs and folds them into your very own fresh and personalized meal. 

And the idea must be catching on because I've always found a long line during my frequent visits to create a new salad and fulfill my green leafy destiny.  So if you're looking for a more innovative approach to lunch and salad, you might want to check out one of their 13 locations in New York City and Washington.  And while you're there, you might want to also think about the liberating power of focus and the potential to have fun with an idea as simple and important as salad.  

We win in business and in life when we choose to focus on something that matters.  And when we discover the almost limitless possibilities that come from setting limits.

Cheers!

P.S.  And great thanks to our daughter Sara whose passion for kale and regular readings from her new favorite book, Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr, has brought new energy and insight to our dinner table.