Man Salad Suggestions?

iggyboo93

The hubby was so gracious to join my weight loss group to help me drop the weight. He lost 10 pounds since April but it's been hard for him. His diet plan is basically:

Breakfast - 1 slice of whole grain bread, smear of greek yogurt, light jam

Lunch - small salad from the cafeteria

Dinner - larger salad that I make and one serving of light yogurt; or one serving of meat (deck of cards size) and a big pile of steamed veggies.

He drinks milk (~ 24 ounces of 1% per day) and water for fluids (no soda or coffee). Weekend meals include a couple of brats and veggies for lunch.

I'm very concerned for him because he told me recently that he gets dizzy and hungry during the day. I asked him to eat more during lunch but he says he gains weight when he eats even just a little more. He is 6'7" and is about 250 pounds. He has a light frame so 200 pounds would be ideal for him (when he came to the States from Germany he weighed 165 pounds :noway: ). Then he married me and "blossomed". He wants to keep eating salads but I want to mix things up for him and make sure he eats enough so he isn't dizzy. I usually make any of the following:

1.) Asian salad with romaine, cucumbers, green onions, toasted almonds, crunchy rice noodles and a light poppy seed dressing.

2.) A steak salad with light blue cheese and extra tomatoes.

3.) Curry cashew salad with romaine, pears, grapes, bacon and light honey mustard.

4.) Romaine with tomatoes, feta, cucumbers, red onions and a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette.

I measure out about 400-500 calorie salads and they are pretty filling. I also have started to make my own dressings - they are so much tastier and I usually cut the oil amount in half. Generally - when one of us loses, the other gains and I can't figure out what is going on.

Any other salad recipes or suggestions?

FireStorm1972

How about throwing some protein in the salad like boneless,skinless chicken breast. I do that in my lunch salads , helps keep full longer. Dizziness may be from not eating enough of his daily calories.

macm40

When I go on the strictly salad stretch, I to get that dizzy feeling. What helps me is some protein. Sounds like he is craving some red meat. I suggest making some steak tips with the dinner salad.

dklibert

What about adding some protein, brown rice or beans? Here are some salad recipes I have made the California roll salad is been a favorite of mine lately.

http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/06/california-roll-salad.html

http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2013/06/chicken-tortilla-salad-with-pineapple.html

http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2013/06/malibleu-beach-salad-with-grilled.html

kmh0617

Top greens with more balanced ingredients:
Smoked salmon, roasted beets, cucumber, feta or goat cheese
Chicken, avocado, strawberries
Shrimp, black beans, mango (make cilantro lime dressing to go with!)
Leftover taco meat over crunchy romaine, corn, tomatoes, green onion, cheese (salsa for dressing)
Steak, bleu cheese, red onion
Chicken, feta, blueberries, walnuts

I buy extra meat for dinners and use leftovers to top my salads.
I also buy rotisserie chicken or turkey breast and portion it along with veggies into little packs to top basic greens for my work lunches. Add a cup of high protein/high fiber soup and a low sugar/high protein yogurt and there you have a man meal. Maybe he needs a snack? Fruit plus cheese, veggies plus hummus, etc. to ward off hunger during the work day?

Also, his breakfast is not sufficient. Add a couple of eggs, or a protein shake/bar to start him off right!

dbmata

Poor guy, he's eating like a 14 year old teen girl with image issues.

Smirnoff65

I love Turkey breast fillets with a salad and some sweet potato wedges done in actifryer with a few squirts of frylight, always fills me up and gives me loads of energy

abadvat

Poor guy, he's eating like a 14 year old teen girl with image issues.

I would have said 16 but yeah - 14 sounds reasonable!
Your man is under eating hence him not being well - being hungry. A rabbit diet will give him results but on a very short stretch of time - it is unhealthy and his body is telling him!

dbmata

What's an actifryer?

Meerataila

How about asking him what he ate in the Old Country when he was at a healthy weight and seeing if he will eat that again? If of course it can be gotten here.

iggyboo93

Poor guy, he's eating like a 14 year old teen girl with image issues.

That is so true! I used to make rouladen, sauerbraten, jagerschnitzel or curry wurst with spaetzle, potatoes or red cabbage when we weren't watching our weight. Until recently, there was usually some sort of fruit torte in the fridge which was always served with a side of real whipped cream. Now he gets upset when I cook a typical German meal for him. He weighs himself every day. I've asked him to see a nutritionist to do a deep dive on his eating and why he isn't losing the weight now (actually gaining).

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions - right now, I'm grilled some chicken with Mrs. Dash spices to mix into the crunch asian salad.

Soggynode

Top greens with more balanced ingredients:
Smoked salmon, roasted beets, cucumber, feta or goat cheese
Chicken, avocado, strawberries
Shrimp, black beans, mango (make cilantro lime dressing to go with!)
Leftover taco meat over crunchy romaine, corn, tomatoes, green onion, cheese (salsa for dressing)
Steak, bleu cheese, red onion
Chicken, feta, blueberries, walnuts

I buy extra meat for dinners and use leftovers to top my salads.
I also buy rotisserie chicken or turkey breast and portion it along with veggies into little packs to top basic greens for my work lunches. Add a cup of high protein/high fiber soup and a low sugar/high protein yogurt and there you have a man meal. Maybe he needs a snack? Fruit plus cheese, veggies plus hummus, etc. to ward off hunger during the work day?

Also, his breakfast is not sufficient. Add a couple of eggs, or a protein shake/bar to start him off right!

I would start with the list that @kmh0617 posted. That is a good looking list of salad toppings. Also, if you have a Costco nearby, they sell a pack of breast meat they take off of their left-over rotisserie chickens. All the tasty, none of the work.

dbmata

Poor guy, he's eating like a 14 year old teen girl with image issues.

That is so true! I used to make rouladen, sauerbraten, jagerschnitzel or curry wurst with spaetzle, potatoes or red cabbage when we weren't watching our weight. Until recently, there was usually some sort of fruit torte in the fridge which was always served with a side of real whipped cream. Now he gets upset when I cook a typical German meal for him. He weighs himself every day. I've asked him to see a nutritionist to do a deep dive on his eating and why he isn't losing the weight now (actually gaining).

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions - right now, I'm grilled some chicken with Mrs. Dash spices to mix into the crunch asian salad.

He's one of MY PEOPLE and EATING LIKE THAT?!

No.

Fleischsalat, stat.

So here's the thing, sauerkraut and rottkraut are both good to go. Sauerbraten, totally fine, just go super light on the sauce, no need for the ginger snaps in it.

Listen, he doesn't have to cut out our traditional foods, just eat less.

iggyboo93

How about asking him what he ate in the Old Country when he was at a healthy weight and seeing if he will eat that again? If of course it can be gotten here.

That is an excellent idea. I will quiz him on this when he gets home from work.

We are fortunate enough to have a couple of German delis in Portland that are outstanding. I figured out how to make bauernbrot that is pretty close to the bread we had in Germany. The hubby was awesome to translate his mother's recipes so I can make them here in the States. Would love it if he could eat what he likes from old country - maybe just smaller portions...

ge105

I think he'd benefit from this salad:

iggyboo93

Poor guy, he's eating like a 14 year old teen girl with image issues.

That is so true! I used to make rouladen, sauerbraten, jagerschnitzel or curry wurst with spaetzle, potatoes or red cabbage when we weren't watching our weight. Until recently, there was usually some sort of fruit torte in the fridge which was always served with a side of real whipped cream. Now he gets upset when I cook a typical German meal for him. He weighs himself every day. I've asked him to see a nutritionist to do a deep dive on his eating and why he isn't losing the weight now (actually gaining).

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions - right now, I'm grilled some chicken with Mrs. Dash spices to mix into the crunch asian salad.

He's one of MY PEOPLE and EATING LIKE THAT?!

No.

Fleischsalat, stat.

So here's the thing, sauerkraut and rottkraut are both good to go. Sauerbraten, totally fine, just go super light on the sauce, no need for the ginger snaps in it.

Listen, he doesn't have to cut out our traditional foods, just eat less.

LOL! I totally agree with what you are saying. I miss the rouladen and rotkohl too. We could probably wait on the kase sahne torte until we get closer to goal weight.

iggyboo93

ge105- LOL! That is the perfect salad.. bacon.... drool...

MonicaJumper

Yep sounds to me like he needs more protein, more variation, and a better breakfast. Also sounds like he is unfortunately pretty anxious about his weight seeing a nutritionist might help, and if needed, maybe even a therapist? Not trying to be derogatory, it just sounds like he's way too hard on himself, and sometimes a little talk therapy can go a long way.

The salads on this thread sound amazing, btw

Best of luck to both of you!

ilovelucy711

A Tex Mex Salad! He needs protein! Grill some chicken and dice it into cubs, put on top of romaine lettuce as well as tomatoes, black olives, black beans, corn, cheese and whatever other veggies you like. Use salsa as the dressing.

Or grill steak and put that on a salad with blue cheese.

BarbieAS

Oh, I love me a good salad. I could talk for hours about all the variations I can do.

Here's a current favorite. I'm just gonna list ingredients; you vary the proportions of the toppings and such based on your needs and goals for the day. I blatantly ripped it off a local restaurant and re-created it, lol.

Green leaf or romaine lettuce
Grilled chicken breast
Crumbled bacon
Crumbled goat cheese
Avocado
Corn, preferably fresh cut off the cob and lightly steamed (for extra yummy, blot all but a teeny bit of oil out of the bacon pan when it's done and cook the corn in it for a couple minutes with some salt and pepper instead of steaming)
Thinly sliced green apples
Dried cherries
Honey mustard vinaigrette (1 part honey, 2 parts dijon mustard, 2 parts olive oil, 3 parts white balsamic vinegar...or you can vary that to taste)

teresamwhite

My version of a Cobb salad...which I always put on my menus as "Catch Me A Man Salad"


2 cups chopped romaine
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 c each:
*diced tomato
*diced cucumbers
*shredded carrots
1/4 c each:
*diced red onion
*chopped eggs
*crumbled crispy bacon
*diced avocado
*diced chicken
*diced ham

Optional is the dressing you use...