Here's my fave salad recipe- I eat it several times weekly:
- Base: shredded cabbage and carrot mixed up with wholegrain mustard (about 1 tbs mustard)

THEN

chuck in some green oak leaf lettuce (though any lettuce works, iceberg, cos etc) on top of that.

ADD
Sliced mushrooms
Cut up sundried tomatoes

chopped cucumber(optional)
black pitted olives

25gms reduced fat fetta cheese (only 50 calories! worth it, if you ask me - for cheese)

Dressing:

1 tablespoon flaxseed oil (buy it in health stores etc, is really healthy and has great omega 3s, but is still oil so go easy)
AND
sprinkling of balsamic vinegar (sprinkling for me is drenching, but its yummy and low cal, go easy on it if you're not one for tangy, though)

If you want to cut back on calories, start with the cheese and olives, obviously - but other than that, heaps of changes can be made - like adding capsicum etc or whatever you like.

Hope you got some ideas from this - enjoy!

Wow, this is a great thread! I may start loving salad again ;).

I use the spritzer dressings. I also like to put the cheese and sunflower seeds on the bottom so my last bites are of the good stuff. Never use iceberg. That stuff is useless ;).

I buy a pre-made greens and herb mix. It costs $3 and I can get four or more good-sized salads out of it, so I figure that's not too bad. It has probably 20 things in it. I add nuts or tuna or whatever to it. I've also bought broccoli slaw.

I find that I use less salad dressing if I put it in a container with a lid and give it a good shake, as then the dressing gets all over everything.

You ladies are so creative with your salads. I've always loved salads in the past but they just got so boring. I've never really done anything with them. But today I am going to the store to buy a few things. I would never have thought to use mandarin oranges or pears. Yummy.

Thank you! :D

Thanks for the ideas! Some of those sound really good.

My favourite is cucumber, tomato and red onion with lime juice, vinegar and cilantro.. sometimes i replace the cilantro for mint.. either way its a salad I can eat at anytime anyplace. Just add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

My other favourite is mango salad... take a not so ripe mango and julienne it.. add red pepper, green pepper, red onion, cilantro, lime, vinegar, salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar. Then you can choose to make it even better by adding some crushed peanuts, shredded coconut or green onions. But of course watching your portions :)

For some reason I don't have a big passion for salads with lettuce anymore.. maybe I over did it and need a break.

my favorite salad at the moment is romaine, Kens Light Cesar Dressing, whole grain croutons and some grated Parmesan. The thought of fruit in salad is very revolting to me and I'm not a balsamic fan either, oh and for my taste, cucumbers and carrots would be out to. I am very picky eater...lol

Walnuts make a salad in my opinion...... absolutely delicious

My all-time favorite salad (sorry, Mandy, you wouldn't like this one):
baby spinach, mixed half & half with cabbage
celery
1 apple, chopped
1/2 grapefruit, sectioned
protein of your choice -- I've tried crab, shrimp and chicken so far. Loved them all.
Top with citrus dressing: 1/3 C. orange juice, 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp. EVOO, salt & pepper to taste.

Was going to tell you my favorite trick with salad. Old hat to most of you, probably, but it may be new to someone:

Fill a large lidded container with your basic salad ingredients -- greens, radishes, celery, peppers, etc., EXCEPT for wet ingredients like tomatoes. Place a couple paper towels on top, put on the lid, then turn container upside down. Each time you use part of the contents, put the paper towels back on top and turn upside down again. Replace the paper towels if they feel wet. Contents of the container will stay fresh and crispy for a week to 10 days and I find I'm much more likely to have a salad if all I have to cut up is a tomato and I don't have to stand there and chop, chop, chop each time.

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
Mix chopped broccoli, shredded carrots, slivered almonds, and some plain yogurt. Add whatever spices you want - I like to put in a generous tsp of yellow curry powder.

Yummmm!

Originally Posted by kaplods:
I buy the dark wheat chex and either use them plain as croutons in a salad or toss a gallon ziploc bag full of wheat chex with a tsp or two of oil (canola or olive), shake like crazy to distribute the oil and then shake with ranch dressing powder and garlic powder and bake in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

These sound amazing!

Originally Posted by ladynredd:
Fill a large lidded container with your basic salad ingredients -- greens, radishes, celery, peppers, etc., EXCEPT for wet ingredients like tomatoes. Place a couple paper towels on top, put on the lid, then turn container upside down. Each time you use part of the contents, put the paper towels back on top and turn upside down again. Replace the paper towels if they feel wet. Contents of the container will stay fresh and crispy for a week to 10 days and I find I'm much more likely to have a salad if all I have to cut up is a tomato and I don't have to stand there and chop, chop, chop each time.

I have not heard this tip before, thanks for sharing!

My salad advice is to avoid iceberg (not very nutritious), make a meal out of it by adding other meal ingredients (protein, grain, etc), and make your own salad dressing.

Originally Posted by lizziep:
I like the idea of thinning out the regular dressing, i'm going to have to try that.

For me, if I don't like the dressing, I won't eat the salad. I do like a lot of the lite ones and make some homemade ones using more vinegar/water & less oil. With regular full-fat commercial dressings, I thin them out with skim milk. That also makes them thinner so you still get the great flavor and you don't need that much.

You can throw so many things into salads to keep them interesting. I often toss leftover cooked, cold veggies into my salads. :)