A Salad Supper Fit for Firefighters!

I was invited to hang out with the Firefighters of Engine One in Norwalk Connecticut during the filming of my Food Network series, Cooking Thin with Kathleen Daelemans. Heart Disease is the number one killer of firefighters and these guys were concerned about their health.

Food plays an integral role in a firefighters day. "Meal time is family time. Everyone sits down together and we've got big appetites so we need some new recipes that are healthy but that will also fill us up." "We're out all day sometimes and never know how long it will be until we get our next meal. "

I sat down with the guys and asked them what they wanted to learn the most. Because the alarm can go off at any moment, "We need recipes that cook fast and don't require a whole lot of prep". The ingredients have to be economical because "we all pitch in for groceries". I asked them what they felt their meals were lacking nutrition wise, "Our portions are way too big and we hardly ever eat vegetables except when we make salads because they take too long."

We spent some time going over portions. I showed them how to use a kitchen scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons to calculate portions. Their biggest revelations? Pasta and meat servings. "We're eating two and three times what we should be eating. No wonder we got some bellies in here. We gotta cut some calories out somewhere.".

When I asked them if they'd ever considered substituting a salad meal for a meat meal, I was nearly laughed out of the room! "We can't live on leaves!" "No offense, but salads like that are for girls". I had my work cut out for me but I knew I could win them over.

Since the guys loved salads, I knew I could teach them how to work extra servings of vegetables into something they were already used to preparing. Plus, I wanted to prove to them that a Salad Meal could be satisfying flavor-wise and substantial enough to fuel them through their long days. My Black Bean, Mango Salad can be prepared with Chicken, Shrimp, Fish or Steak and has become a Firehouse staple.

Link to Recipe Video: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/salad-for-dinner/1172.html