My three favorite salads with not a leaf of lettuce

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sarahmaryfearnley
sarahmaryfearnley Posts: 366 Member
in Recipes
I was talking to a work colleague about eating healthier and loosing weight and they said they would like to eat better but they don't like salad and could not live on only lettuce. Hmmmmm. "Dieting" to me definately does not include living off lettuce. So below are 3 of my favorite no-lettuce salads, all courtesy of the "Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry" girls. These ladies are awesome. My sister gave me the book for Christmas last year and for two months husband and I only ate food out of it. That was the beginning of our weight loss journey, quite unintentionally.

1. Let It Bean - This one is pretty much my staple lunch. Husband also eats it but usually adds tuna or chicken bc he needs more calories than I do.

SALAD
-2 cups frozen or fresh cut green beans (I use frozen mostly but even with fresh just pop them in the microwave covered with a little water for about 1.5min so they are not too mushy. Canned green beans do not work.)
-3 cans of beans (recommended are chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans but I use whatever I have. Be sure to drain and rinse well)
-1 can corn (also drained and rinsed)
-a little chopped onion (not too much! unless you love onion)
-1 chopped bell pepper (red or orange looks the prettiest but if they are too $$, I'll use green)
-1/2 cup chopped parsley
-1/2 cup chopped basil (this is not in the original recipe but basil is apparently me spirit plant, growing all over my backyard so I pretty much put it in everything)

DRESSING
-1/4 cup oil (olive or safflower tastes the best)
-1/4 cup wht vinegar
-2tbsp sugar (I use 2 packets of splenda cause that's what we got)
-1 squirt of Dijon mustard (1tbsp if you're into measuring)
-pinch of salt and pepper

Throw all the salad fixings into a container, whisk the dressing together and pour over salad, mix well. It's fine to eat right away but I like it better cold after it's been in the frindge for a bit. Holy soluble fiber, batman! This one will clear you out if eaten regularly. Makes 8 servings @ 253cal/serving.

2. Mind Your Peas and Cous - amazingly, this one is hubby's fav even thought he doesn't like tomatoes (so he says)

SALAD
-1 2/3 cup whole wheat couscous, cooked and cooled. (they recommend just use the box kind from the grocery but do not cook it with any oil. I use Israely (Pearl) couscous because I like the overall round texture that it gives the salad)
-1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
-1/2 a cucumber, diced
-1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
-a little chopped onion
-2oz crumbled light feta cheese
-1/4 cup chopped parsley
-1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (I always sub basil bc I can never find fresh dill and see above comment about basil)
-1/4 cup chopped blk olives (I skip this, not an olive fan)
-pinch of salt and pepper

DRESSING
-1/2 cup low fat Italian Dressing (I don't buy prepared dressing so I just use 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/8 cup wht vinegar)
-2tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
-1tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1tbsp lemon juice (read as juice of 1 lemon)
-2tsp lemon zest (use the fine grater part on your cheese grater and grate the outside of the lemon bf you squeeze the juice out)
-1tsp sugar (I always use 1 packet splenda)

Throw all the salad fixings in a bowl, whisk the dressing and combine. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Chilling makes a difference with this one. It gives the couscous time to soak up all that flavor and tastes WAY better. Makes 10 servings @ 196calories/serving - ya, go ahead and have 2 servings for lunch, it'll be fine.

3. Red, White, and Yahoo! For a couple of Canadian girls, these ladies know something about what Uncle Sam likes to eat. ;)

Throw all ingredients in a bowl in this order:
-1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-1pint cherry (or grape) tomatoes, halved
-4oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into cubes (Husband was doing the shopping one day and I asked him to get this for me. He came home with 1/2 pound of sliced, hard mozza from the deli. hmmmmm. Not what I had in mind. You want the soft, fresh, white stuff usually kept with the other fancy packaged cheeses by the deli but it's not really expensive.)
-a little finely chopped onion
-1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (actually in the recipe this time)
-1tbsp olive oil
-1tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1tbsp lemon juice (see above)
-pinch of salt and pepper

Mix well and it's RTG. Makes 5 servings @ 211calories/serving.

Hope y'all like these as much as I do. Thank you Podleski Sisters. I love you ladies!
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