salad help
 

I want to like salad, really I do. But seriously :p- I'm just not feeling it. Unless there's a bunch of cheese in there to tempt me into eating it, I mostly just push it around on my plate like a child. I'd like to do something a little more interesting then romaine with balsamic on it. It's not bad but YAWN!

Anybody have a favorite salad they are willing to share? :carrot:

Salads can be anything you want them to be. I can't imagine limiting a salad to romaine with balsamic - which is good in it's own right but would get boring really quickly.

Spinach salad - baby organic spinach, with mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, blue cheese (if you want), a sprinkle of roasted flax seeds. No dressing is needed, but if you *must*, mix a little of the juice from the mandarin oranges with some olive oil.

Or do the same thing with sliced strawberries and/or blueberries and drizzle with a fruit flavored vinagrette.

A for something less fruity, do baby spinach, crumbled bacon (I cook one strip of bacon in the microwave), a diced boiled egg, blue cheese if you want it.

Or a big garden salad: A combination of dark romaine and baby spinach and any or all of the following: sliced grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrot, celery, zucchini slices, thin slices of beet, mushrooms, broccoli ... basically any veggies you want. Toss with a combination of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a bit of dijon mustard.

What about coleslaw instead of a leafy salad? Thinly slice or shred some cabbage and some kale and mix with a couple of teaspoons of Kraft Light Asian Sesame dressing.

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.

A yummy Greek salad - lots of romaine, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, green/black olives, feta cheese, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper.

A Mexican version - romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, again with a little olive oil.

A favorite variation from California Pizza Kitchen: romaine lettuce, sliced pears, walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, and a balsamic vinegarette with a bit of dijon mustard in it. Top it with some grilled chicken or shrimp and it's a great lunch or dinner.

Seriously - you can add all kinds of things to a salad to jazz it up:
Sprinkle a salad with pomegranite seeds, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, whatever fruit you want.
Add some kind of cheese (in reasonable quantities) - not just cheddar, but feta, blue, parmesan, etc.
Add nuts of some kind - slivered almonds, walnuts, pecans.

Salads are amazingly flexible and versatile - you can do just about anything with a salad.

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Cilantro to me makes any salad taste better. I like it with chopped romaine lettuce, chopped onions and cucumbers, and some dill. Squeeze some lemon juice on top. Taste good to me.

my fav is:
Baby Spinach (2 Cups)
Low fat Feta (1 Tbsp)
Strawberries (1/2 Cup)
Green apple slices (1/4 apple)
Grilled chicken (1/2 Cup)
Chopped walnuts (1/2 Tbsp)
FF Poppyseed Dressing (1 Tbsp)

or

Baby Spinach (2 Cups)
Tostitos Chips (6 bite size)
Pineapple Chiplote salsa (3 Tbsp)
Light Mexican shred. cheese (1/4Cup)
Avacado (1/4 Cup)
Optional: Grilled chicken or Boca "ground beef" soy

another is:
Grilled veggies (Zucchini, squash, artichoke, bell peppers, onion)
Grilled Chicken
Spinach

Great ideas so far. I find the biggest motivator for me is to have my protein for the meal in the salad- my chicken cubed or shrimp or sliced steak. Works best if the protein is warm as I find it tastier that way.

thanks for the help!! I actually had a salad for lunch today & ate it! :)

still not my most favorite thing in the world, but I think I can do it. i think protein is the key & having something hidden in there that i am willing to eat the lettuce to find- like avocado!

never thought of adding fruit, or grilled veggies. can't wait to experiment.

Angie made a taco salad tonight. Green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, chopped black olives, corn and black beans with a dressing of ranch and taco bell mild hot sauce mixed....handful of tortilla chips on the side.

Yum!!! We had something similar:

Soy crumbles cooked with zucchini, shallots, garlic and red onion (and a lot of spices and herbs) served with black beans, corn, vegan nacho cheese, green salsa, romaine, black olives, avocado and Tofutti Sour Supreme (soy sour cream).

My hubby is very picky about veggies and salads. At first, it irked me that if it was "good for you," hubby probably was going to balk unless it contained cheese or bacon or beef or had a high fat dressing or some other higher calorie component to counteract the "healthiness".

And then I realized that as long as he was "budgeting" for the higher calorie "accessories," it wasn't a big deal. If you need a bit of cheese, pick a really good, flavorful cheese and buy it finely shredded (the "fancy" shred) or buy a grater and grate it yourself. Finely grated or even shaved with a vegetable peeler, a little bit of cheese can go a very long way.

There're also really good lower fat alternatives to high fat salad favorites. 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.

Sunflower seeds (just a tbs) also go along way.

I prefer a light dressing to a fat free, and sometimes would rather budget for a full fat dressing than eat the light. Often I will thin a full fat dressing with rice wine vinegar (other vinegars tend to be to acidic).

Sometimes I really have a craving for something that is a calorie nightmare if I eat it the traditional way. For example general tso's chicken, over rice, this is a calorie nightmare. However, I can satisfy my craving by adapting it a bit. I make a giant bed of lettuce and toss with a low calorie asian dressing (I make my own with rice wine vinegar, splenda, and a dash of sesame oil - just a drop or three and maybe some garlic). I usually dice some green onion and if I have them some raw bean sprouts and then put a 1/2 to 1/3 cup of general tso's chicken over the top.

YES! Especially toasted in soy sauce/Braggs!

mmm gread ideas! added some green olive slices and a couple walnut pieces to mine today. nummm.

i think i need to learn how to make dressing- that seems to be the biggest thing for me. most commercial dressings are bleh. especially their light versions. i got a good goddess dressing, but it is in no way GOOD for me- but i'm taking this in baby steps. learn to eat salad w/ a dressing i love... then slow it down.

I like the idea of thinning out the regular dressing, i'm going to have to try that. i bet it would work with yumm! sauce too.

thanks!

Salad for me is time to pull "everything" out of the crisper and a lot from the fridge. "What's in your fridge?" = SALAD

Base: Some type(s) of greens: lettuces, spinach, cabbage
Veggies: any raw veggies you like:carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli, radishes, peppers, onions, snow peas, jicama, cauliflower
any cooked and chilled (or still hot) veggies you like:carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, zuchinni, yellow squash, green beans, edamame, brussels sprouts, corn, peas, grilled or roasted veggie leftovers
Flavor-packed treats in small amounts: beets, nuts, fruit/dried fruit, olives, salsa, fresh herbs
Proteins (hot or cold): chicken, beef, beans, cheese, chili (with lower fat meats or TVP or just beans), tuna, fish
Whole grains: brown rice, ww pasta, barley,
Leftovers: It can be a good way to clean out your fridge of a little of this a little of that.
Dressing: Something low fat and tasty. Thinner oil based dressings go further than creamy mayo based dressings. However put a small amount of dressing on your salad and toss it or cut the salad up, distributing the dressing through the salad. You may find you don't need as much. Plus if there are lots of flavors already in the salad you may need less dressing or even :o NO dressing. Try putting the dressing on the base (lettuce, spinach, cabbage) and tossing - then piling everything else on top. The blander greens get the dressing. The yummier toppings are fine just plain.

Sometimes I skip the lettuce/spinach all together. I just mix all the other stuff together.

I make a salad base once a week. I chop a med-small head of cabbage, a head of cauliflower and several carrots. I m ix it up, then build that up all week. I'll take a couple handfuls of the base and add whatever I want to it. I almost always add half an apple, chopped, and 2T craisins. I might add garbanzo beans or steamed edamame or a chicken breast. I'll add whatever veggies I have in the drawer as well. I also like to put 2T of shredded parmesan cheese. I have been eating this for months, and because I can tweak it so many ways, I haven't gotten tired of it.