What do you have on garden salads? (low calorie)

magicpickles

I like to have mine saturated with dressing, but that is probably 150-300 calories.

What do you have on or with a salad to make it edible?

loseitin_2016

I use extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.EVOO has more calories but we need healthy oils to keep our hair from falling out,losing muscle tone,etc.I also add protein to all my salads.

Machka9

A bit of salt.

I like the taste of raw veggies, and I'm not particularly fond of the taste of dressings.


I've been known to try to wipe or drain dressing off my salad ... as subtly as possible ... if I've been served one that's drowning in the stuff.

magicpickles

loseitin_2016 wrote: »

I use extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.EVOO has more calories but we need healthy oils to keep our hair from falling out,losing muscle tone,etc.I also add protein to all my salads.

Whats EVOO?

I would be inclined to agree with you about healthy oils, but I like to keep salads as low cal as possible, so I can eat stuff like chocolate instead.

Machka9

When I was much younger, my mother used to get a Mrs Dash seasoning (probably the original one) and we'd have that on salad sometimes. If you've got to have extra flavour, maybe something like that would work.

http://www.mrsdash.com/products/seasoning-blends

magicpickles

Machka9 wrote: »

When I was much younger, my mother used to get a Mrs Dash seasoning (probably the original one) and we'd have that on salad sometimes. If you've got to have extra flavour, maybe something like that would work.

http://www.mrsdash.com/products/seasoning-blends

Would prefer simple stuff I can make at home, not sure if Mrs Dash sends to New Zealand? I imagine it would be a fortune. Thanks though

louann_jude

I use to drown my salads in dressing. Now I still use dressings but just the serving size of the fat free ranch.

Francl27

Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar with salt and pepper. I used to add oil but you really can't taste it.

lightenup2016

Salsa or hot sauce! Almost calorie-free!

zoritt

Spicy salsa, hot sauce, mustard, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with seasonings, hummus, low calorie zesty Italian dressings, extra Virginia oil with pepper flakes and lemon

Hope228

I mix one tbsp of Marie's Ranch (the yogurt one) with on tbsp of plain Greek Yogurt. It's pretty awesome!

zyxst

magicpickles wrote: »

loseitin_2016 wrote: »

I use extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.EVOO has more calories but we need healthy oils to keep our hair from falling out,losing muscle tone,etc.I also add protein to all my salads.

Whats EVOO?

I would be inclined to agree with you about healthy oils, but I like to keep salads as low cal as possible, so I can eat stuff like chocolate instead.

EVOO - extra virgin olive oil

I used to use lemon poppyseed dressing (25 cals per 15 mL). Then I tried balsamic reductions and now use them as salad dressings. I have Nonna Pia's chili lime (spicy, 60 cals per 15 mL) and strawberry-fig (40 cals per 10 mL).

magicpickles

Btw, when I saw the salad is drenched in dressing, its probably like 4-6 teaspoons, I'm not totally gross. Something like lemon juice would probably work, but what do you pair that with? I like all of the ingrediants of the salad to be coated with something.

Btw, I am not a fan of garden salads, but they seem simple and easy. Thought if I knew what to pair with them, I would like them more.

I like having salads with some sort of meat and a flour wrap, but the flour wraps are about 150 calories, so I can't have more than one. I should probably try paper/rice wraps.

Francl27

magicpickles wrote: »

Btw, when I saw the salad is drenched in dressing, its probably like 4-6 teaspoons, I'm not totally gross. Something like lemon juice would probably work, but what do you pair that with? I like all of the ingrediants of the salad to be coated with something.

Btw, I am not a fan of garden salads, but they seem simple and easy. Thought if I knew what to pair with them, I would like them more.

I like having salads with some sort of meat and a flour wrap, but the flour wraps are about 150 calories, so I can't have more than one. I should probably try paper/rice wraps.

Try low carb tortillas, there are a lot out there - 60-80 calories and a lot of protein and fiber.

Sira125

I got tired of salads, so I'm currently packing my salad greens into my wraps. Makes the super portable which I consider a bonus.

Tomatoes with a little salt and some vinegar and olive oil in a bowl will lose a lot of juices and make a pretty good dressing if you throw in some herbs. I like basil.

Grapefruit sections and their juices and some olive oil and some herbs is also good.

lemurcat12

Lots of vegetables depending on what I have around. Often I add cooked vegetables. I typically use more tasty (to me) greens, like spinach and arugula, as well as watercress and maybe some cabbage for crunch. Red onions add a nice bite, as do radishes.

Other things I might add that up the calories but are worth it are feta or goat cheese, olives, maybe some nuts or seeds.

For dressing I either use a good vinegar + a little olive oil (good olive oil and small amount to control calories) or if I really want to save on calories just balsamic or vinegar+mustard and herbs.

I also like cucumber/tomato salads and for those (as well as some garden salads when the other ingredients are right) I will do a soy/sriracha/lime based dressing.

I mostly add meat or tofu to these to make a whole meat, but sometimes do them as a side.

kbmnurse

Ken's Lite Options or oil/vinegar.

ouryve

Good balsamic vinegar, by itself, is good. A little goes a long way, too.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

I actually love salads with no lettuce. Tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, cheese maybe a boiled egg and bacon bits. Italian dressing of some kind.

DancingMoosie

I like ranch style beans on my salad. The sauce creates a sort of dressing. I also like Cholula or salsa, plain yogurt mixed with dry veggie soup mix, lemon and lime juice, or light/low cal salad dressing. Wishbone has some good ones, and Olive Garden light is also good.

bunnyluv19

I use white vinegar diluted with a bit of water,poured over salad and 1 tsp white sugar/Mrs.dash sprinkled on top

inertiastrength

Like another poster mentioned a little goes a long way with balsamic. I use a thick glaze (I need about .5-1T) and I use olive oil as well since I suck at fats and it helps spread the balsamic around. Also like to add goat cheese and raspberries, onions and toss

lizandrashaw

I make my own sun dried tomatoes and store them in balsamic vinegar rather than oil. So good on a salad. This week I'm also having roasted beets, roasted Brussels sprouts, artichoke hearts, blue cheese and roasted unsalted sesame seeds.

jgnatca

Here's a tip I learned at a Wright Watchers meeting. Have your dressing on the side and dip your fork tongs in to the dressing before picking up a mouthful. You get a taste with every bite with a fraction of the calories.

cmo246

Favorite dressing right now is a spoonful of Dijon mustard mixed with a couple spoonfuls of lemon juice. Super quick to make and around 20 cal.

thereshegoesagain

I've been on a mexican salad kick lately. Romain lettuce, grilled chicken breast, rinsed black beans, corn, red bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots, avocado and a few broken up blue corn chips. I squeeze fresh limes over it all for a calorie free dressing.

jenilla1

I'm crazy for Romaine lettuce. If I get a really good, fresh, crunchy sweet bunch, it's one of my favorite foods. (The pre-chopped stuff in packages is never quite as good.) I can munch on that stuff all by itself. It's something I tend to binge on when I get a craving. I'm weird like that. Just a basic vinegar, oil, lemon juice, salt, maybe some herbs kind of concoction works for me.

jenilla1

loseitin_2016 wrote: »

I use extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.EVOO has more calories but we need healthy oils to keep our hair from falling out,losing muscle tone,etc.I also add protein to all my salads.

Fats also help you absorb some of the key nutrients (like lycopene and beta-carotene) in the vegetables you're eating. A little fat is good for you.

roamingtiger

A 2.5 oz pouch of tuna which is 60 calories. With 2 tbsp on balsamic. Another 60 calories. Chopped hard boiled egg whites and just a huge variety of veggies.

fishshark

tessemaes dressings and marinades... especially the honey mustard mmmmm.