[Snoofie]

OK, I know this is probably going to sound weird, but....I don't like salad dressing. At all. Like, even the smell of it makes me want to hurl. So, I've never actually eaten salads. I'm also not a fan of tomatoes (it's a texture thing) so getting greens into my diet has been...a challenge, to say the least.

But I still do want to incorporate salads into my diet, especially spinach salad (I bloody well LOVE spinach.)

So, does anyone have any suggestions for spinach salads, just without the salad dressing? What can I add to plain old spinach to spice it up and make it flavourful? Any ideas would be fantastic.

[Candeka]

Some people choose to put plain oil on their salads as opposed to oil or cream based salad dressings. Others like honey mustard. Cottage cheese is a personal favorite for me to add to salads (sounds weird but tastes amazing, just like cottage cheese and cantaloupe)

[Kitcherella]

plain olive oil, vinegar or lemon? I hope these are not considered dressing, I always use them

[Brooklynn]

my husband doesnt like salad dressing either so he uses 1 tbsp of mayo and mixes it around really well you can get the low fat no fat mayo if thats your thing were on atkins so we do full fat and it really doesnt taste that bad for a little sweet kick I guess you could use miracle whip but I havent tried that.

[surfergirl2]

I hate salad dressing. I use stuff like cheese, grilled chicken, and/or mustard to give my salads flavor. Every single day at work i eat a salad w/ grilled chicken on top...no dressing. I make hte chicken with spices like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

[berryblondeboys]

I didn't used to like salad dressings either and I still only like a few.

First, you can do just olive oil and vinegar. I particularly like balsamic vinegar. Or, just olive oil with a dash of salt and pepper. If you want to spice things up, add a bit of garlic or feta cheese crumbled.

I also like to use avocado in place of dressing with a bit of lime added to it for a zing.

[rachaelm]

I like salsa on my salad!

[valareha]

I use Olive Oil, Fresh Lemon Juice and some salt..it's yummy. I started this when I was pregnant and couldn't stomach salad dressing.

The other thing that I do is grill (or broill in the oven) some fish or shrimp and put on top of a bed of spinach without any dressing, the heat wilts the spinach a bit and the flavor (especially if you use shrimp is awesome!)

Hope you find a wonderful way to enjoy raw spinach - I love it too!

Donna

[kaplods]

Some people like salsa on a salad. I like salsa mixed with sour cream.

Another non-dressing salad I make, is to top a lettuce or spinache salad with a frozen dinner (after heating it up in the microwave, I pour it over the lettuce or other greens). I especially like to use the mexican and asian flavored frozen dinners for salad toppings.

For the italian frozen dinners, I would saute the spinach or steam it in the microwave before topping with the heated frozen dinner. One of my favorites was lasagna over a bed of steamed spinach.

[XLMuffnTop]

If you like tuna, I'll make a good tuna salad with homemade mayo and ahi tuna and put it over greens. I add tomatoes but that's just cause I love em.

If you like spinach and want to incorporate it in your diet without a traditional salad, you could try it sauteed. Instead of putting the oil over the spinach, just put a tad in a pan and add some crushed garlic, salt pepper and a bunch of fresh spinach. Saute just enough so it wilts. I love it this way.

I second the cottage cheese vote ! Cold cottage cheese on crisp iceburg is so refreshing. Add in some more nutritionally-dense greens, some green mellon, and mmmmmmmmm

[124chicksinger]

canned mandarin orange slices and a small bit of sliced almonds and scallions

I second salsa, but you wrote you don't like tomatoes

There are plenty of ways to make salsa that are tomato-free. All start with cilantro, lime juice, onions, garlic, then you can add chopped pineapple, or chopped mango, or chopped peaches. Matter of fact, you can top your salad with a bit of guacomole.

[luckymommy]

How about mixing it with some grilled bell pepper and onions? Or, put saute onions and mushrooms and put that on top of some spinach?

My mom loves to use red wine vinegar because it doesn't have the sulfites that balsamic vinegar has (according to her....I haven't checked).

You could sprinkle it with some shredded cheese, croutons, olives, sundried tomatoes (they have a different texture from the raw tomatoes), spicy ground turkey that has been cooked, of course! you can get as creative as you's like. I like to use Jicama and cilantro with lemon juice at times. I only wish I didn't like dressing!

[chickadee32]

I love to make a spinach salad with just raw spinach, sliced strawberries, some goat cheese and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. A touch of olive oil is optional, but not necessary - the strawberries, cheese and vinegar have so much flavor that you really don't need the oil.

[mirax3]

avocado avocado avocado... haha.. it's one of my million excuses to eat it. Healthy fats, creamy texture- it's perfect. Put it in the blender with some lime juice and garlic and a little salt and it is spectacular.