Salad Ideas

LaSirena29

I often take a big salad to work for lunch. I can make a big, filling salad and as long as I'm careful with the dressing, keep the calories relatively low. I start my salads with basics I always have (romaine, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, etc.), but I'm always looking for fun, different things to add to my salad, so I don't get bored with it. For example, last week we had corn-on-the-cob for dinner one night. I cooked a couple of extra, cut the corn off the cob & used that with black beans to bulk up my salad. Todays salad had a slightly sweet pomegranate vinaigrette (Marzetti's Simply Dressed 2T=60calories), but to spice it up a bit, I tossed in a handful of wasabi peas.

So, the question is, what different & unusual things do you add to you salad to keep them from getting boring?

annehdavis

dried cranberries and spinach are a great combo

lucky1ns

I mix a bottle of Ken's light ceaser vinegarette and a bottle of Ken's light creamy ceaser to make the perfect light ceasar dressing.

It's 90 calories for 2 T's and tastes like it is alot more.

Missjulesdid

chopped up dried fruit or whole dried fruit if it's something small.
a table spoon of cashews or pumpkin seeds.. high calories but big flavor and good for health
some crab, shrimp or lobster
a bit of gorgonzola cheese.. a little goes a long way
diced up apples
a half cup of vegetarian chili
a chopped up egg- 70 cals but really filling
lentils,
chick peas
chopped up mint
chopped up parsley
half of a a finely chopped up low-fat chicken dog

laurad1406

I agree with most of these! I love throwing some banana peppers into a veggie salad with chicken....I love spinach and/or spring mix with cranberries pumpkin seeds and gorgonzola or goat cheese....strawberries and blueberries are a common theme too. pretty much every salad i eat is with balsamic vinegar and olive oil!

I also love shrimp and avocado with a homemade cilantro/lime vinegarette. yum!

lucky1ns

Whenever I need a guaranteed loss for the next day, the night before I will have make salad and dump a can of tuna on it. I have been canning beets and they go well with it. If you dont have home canned beets try marinating the store bought ones in a little vinegar or a dressing before serving and keep them nice and cold. It changes everyting about them. They come alive.

kateopotato

raspberries and pine nuts have been my thing lately. Along with some chicken and shredded cheese. but mostly pine nuts

dayzeerock

I love hearts of palm and chickpeas in my salad!

gods_gal

Bean sprouts
sliced mushrooms
Ken's Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinagrette
Kroger's tortilla strips
feta cheese crumbles

brynnsmom

Strawberries, blueberries, sliced mangos or pears, toasted almonds, oranges, goat cheese, water chesnuts are some of the things I incorporate. We have a salad at our house every night so I have to get creative/ Try Maple Grove Farms dressings, too. They are quite low in calories and taste great.

karisamh

Garbanzo beans and just a little sun dried tomato fetta!!

nmclaurin

glazed pecans are so ymmy. any type of fruit. walnuts, too.

maremare312

My fave veggies to add are cucumber, green or red pepper, and tomato, but sometimes to mix it up it's fun to add cooked veggies. If you have sitr fry or fajitas to dinner, add leftovers to your lettuce base, or just sauteed veggies like onions, peppers, mushrooms, what have you. Also it's fun to add some tuna once in a while since I typically add chicken to salads. Sunflower seeds and alfalfa sprouts are great for a bit of crunch.

Ezada

Cheese like Feta, shredded Colby, mozzarella and pepper jack. That can ad just enough zing to keep a boring salad kinda spicy!

I love to use Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar mixed together.

Olives, Green or Black.

Cooked and cooled spaghetti squash. Gives it a bit of a different texture.

Chopped up bits of fish and chicken.

Mandarin Oranges

Pineapple

Spinach

Purple Cabbage

Pine Nuts

Artichokes, Avacado

Lord, so much stuff for salads! Lol.

babyblake11

lentils, four bean mixes, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, water chesnuts even. it really is limitless! olives are great

lucky1ns

The canned veggies that have potatoes in them make a salad more on the heartty side.