[Daisychic220]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has gone on a simple salad diet. In my mind it makes sense, and seems as if it would work. I just bought a bunch of salad ingredients, and i dont plan on going overboard with the stuff in it. I plan on keeping it light. Has anyone else ever tried this? Does it work? Is it worth my time? Should I alternate with something else? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

[kaplods]

It really depends on what is in your salad. Too much in the salad and it's no longer weight loss-friendly, and too little or too little variety and you're crash-dieting, and not getting enough nutrition or energy for your body to function properly. Monotony can also be a problem, if you're not careful.

That being said, salads and soups are among my favorite ways to add volume/bulk to my meals - they provide more "bang for the buck" than more calorie-dense options, so I don't feel deprived by small portions.

I will say that I overused salads during most of my dieting life. I thought dieting meant you had to eat a huge leavy salad with a low-cal dressing at almost every meal (I even made breakfast salads), until I was so sick of salad I could barely stand the sight of lettuce, and I still can't face low-calorie bottled salad dressings (I've found so few commercial salad dressings that don't have a chemically aftertaste).

[kaplods]

By the way, to make great low-calorie salad dressings at home, check out an asian grocery store if you can. Or the oriental section of your supermarket. Rice wine vinegar is usually much milder than cider or even wine vinegars, so you can add a lot less oil or sweetener. Some are so mild, you won't miss oil if you leave it out completely.

I also like nut oils (walnut is my favorite, so far) for salad dressings, mostly because they taste wonderful, but because they're rather expensive I tend to use them very sparingly to make them last as long as possible.

Also many bottled salad dressings in asian groceries are often much lower in calorie than typical American-style dressings. Check the ingredients and nutritional information on the label. They're not specifically diet dressings, but some of them are really good (one I like is called green salad dressing - because it's green - or maybe because you put it on green salads. I think it's from Thailand).

[tiffany0809]

Originally Posted by kaplods

It really depends on what is in your salad. Too much in the salad and it's no longer weight loss-friendly, and too little or too little variety and you're crash-dieting, and not getting enough nutrition or energy for your body to function properly. Monotony can also be a problem, if you're not careful.

I 100% agree. But there are a lot of different types of salads to try. I used to do the typical leafy salad w/ veggies. This summer I started having watermelon w/ feta cheese over a wedge of iceberg, and I also had strawberries w/ balsamic vinegar and goat cheese over romaine. (Just go light on the goat cheese). I had never thought to combine food that way and they were SOOO delicious. And much more interesting than a "regular" salad.

[beerab]

I wouldn't eat salad for every meal, you'd get tired of that.

My meals are usually egg/protein breakfasts, then large salads with protein for lunch (I made a shrimp salad with romaine, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cottage cheese, and ranch), then dinner is another protein with veggies on the side, sometimes more salad.

[Me Too]

Beerab, thats pretty much how i eat too. I like a big salad for lunch with maybe a rice cake and a big glass of water. When I add some protein like last nights chicken, or tuna, then i am usually full till dinner time.

[srmb60]

I eat salad ... probably 6-12 times a week.

In the fridge, I have a perpetual salad bowl. It normally contains chopped romaine and whatever was a good deal at the grocer(or in the garden). Right now it's broccoli, radishes, zucchini and carrots.

For my lunch for work tomorrow, I will take a tupperware box, start with the perpetual salad and add nuts and grape tomatoes. In the freezer, I have single serving sizes of beans and grains, I think I'll choose black beans and barley. The current salad dressing is fat free italian.

For supper, we will have fish, baked potatoes, the perpetual salad and a vegetable like green beans. I may or may not have a potato. I may or may not add to the salad.

I'm probably rambling and if you don't care for my substitutions, you can skip the next part.

romaine=iceberg=spinach=mixed greens etc or any combination of them

vegetable add ins=celery, sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, peppers etc

grains I have used=kamut, brown rice

beans= black beans, adzuki beans, chick peas

dressing= I'm not averse to full fat dressings, I just have to watch the fat content of my other foods, cottage cheese instead of dressing

nuts= walnuts, almonds

proteins= although I have been using beans lately, canned salmon, sardines or tuna, cottage cheese, left over chicken, beef, pork ...

I have added grapes, dried fruits and apple.

I have become sick to death of salads before, and I probably will again, but it never lasts for long. The variety is almost endless and delicious!

Measure, measure, measure ... a few add ins can make a big difference to the calorie count of a salad!

[Daisychic220]

Thanks alot everyone! Great insight, I'll definately take alot of this with me when i consider what i make in my salads from now on! Thank you!

[mom2cole]

One of my favorite things to do with salad is to add a little protein. I like to cook up some boneless skinless chicken breasts and chop it into small pieces, put it into a frying pan with some taco seasoning, add a can or two of red beans or black beans and let it simmer a bit. Keep this in the fridge and serve over salad to have a nice filling light meal.