Critique my salad

Goldenwoof

I am so jealous! I am stuck with the most boring salad today!! About how many cals / Protein is that salad? It sounds delicious! I love salads and this is inspiring!

It's got something like 350 calories and 25 grams of protein. And best of all, it fills me up big-time. I'm good to go for the rest of the afternoon after one of these.

christinepatrice

This sounds like a winner. Something I'll definitely try tonight.

bahacca

black olives, beets, artichoke hearts, sprouts, onion, bell peppers, black beans, other cheese
Here are 3 of my fav salads:
Lettuce, spinach, onion, tomato, cucumber--dressing-squirt a lemon half over it, salt pepper and then add dried MINT. It is so refreshing.
For a great summer salad:
Lettuce, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, walnuts and/or almonds, chicken breast and the Gorgonzola Pear dressing from Trader Joes. (You could use a raspberry vinegrette or other slighly sweet dressing)
"Taco" salad
Greens, black beans, black olives, chicken(or ground beef if you have the calories), shredded cheddar cheese, onion, tomato--dressing is a mix of salsa and low or non-fat sour cream all mixed up and poured over it.

psmd

Hiya,

I have salads for lunch most days and am looking for opinions on how healthy they are, and if there's anything else I could/should add to them. I'm always looking for ways to mix things up or improve upon what I've already got.

Here's what's in there now:

Romaine lettuce
Spinach
Cucumbers
Baby tomaters
Carrot sticks
Hard boiled egg
White albacore tuna OR grilled chicken breast
A sprinkle of Feta cheese
A sprinkle of Craisins (which I forgot to bring to worth with me today...DAMMIT!!!)

Topped off with some red wine vinaigrette dressing (when using tuna) or light Italian dressing (when using chicken).

Good stuff, lemme tell ya. I great mix of flavors, which I like, but if there's something I could change/add to make it better...lemme hear ya!

Instead of spinach, for variety, try red cabbage. Things in there that don't need to be are cheese and Craisins. Instead of cheese try avocado. Instead of Craisins add some pumpkin seeds or walnuts. Also would add maybe broccoli for more veggies. If it's too much would take out the cucumbers which are good but have less nutritional value. Can also add some boiled al dente beets which are awesome for you and make a salad sweeter (also instead of the Craisins).

becoming_a_new_me

I like to top my salad with black beans and salsa instead of dressing. Really filling and very tasty!

aregensb

I will do: tomatoes, black beans or chickpeas, chicken breast, cucumbers, deli ham (low sodium), deli cheese (like lowfat swiss or cheddar) or mozzarella cheese, hardboiled (or softboiled) egg.

I often don't even use dressing because of all the flavors that are already in it. Sometimes, I'll put some homemade hummus in it to moisten it up.

When I do dressing, I usually whisk together a 1:1 ratio of EVOO and balsamic or white wine or red wine vinegar. You could add a little bit of mustard to the dressing as well or add some spices (like oregano or basil) to make things more interesting.

It makes for a very filling and delicious salad. It's also quite a bit of protein with a chicken breast, egg, ham, and beans in it.

pangela13

fresh lemon juice and evoo.

kgorman1984

avacado or boiled eggs are awesome chopped green onion good and cheap

gingerb85

Try adding:

sugar snap peas
fresh blueberries
avocado
nuts/seeds (love pumpkin seeds)
zucchini or yellow squash instead of cukes
grilled veggies
mushrooms (raw, marinated, grilled, or sauteed)
artichoke hearts
a crisp, tart apple like a Granny Smith
fresh, raw green beans
broccoli/cauliflower (raw or roasted)
beans
fresh leafy herbs - cilantro, mint, parsley, chervil, whatever else you like
try some different lettuce varieties - endive, green or red curly leaf lettuce, butter/bibb lettuce, mache (my very FAVORITE), radicchio, arugula, chicory
raw grated carrot
raw grated beet
jicama
roasted butternut squash or sweet potato

courtclerkkris

Peas on my salad make me happy!!! I wouldn't put them on there all the time but a nice little switchup. I would use edamame IF I could get it at my podunk grocery store, but I can't.

UsedToBeHusky

I've also done sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. It gives the salad a smoky flavor.

And artichoke hearts... get a jar of those and use the juice as the dressing. (Why isn't there a yummy icon??)

jdbeckers

That sounds so tasty! I think it would be good with some nuts or beans like some of the others have suggested.

One of my favorite salads has a mild goat cheese with walnuts, honey and vinagrette dressing.

GreatGrace

Garbanzo beans, sliced almonds (the ones you would get in the baking section) and sometimes I use lowfat cottage cheese as my dressing. I did just find a yogurt based dressing though yesterday. It was in with the chilled dressings and lettuce. http://bolthouse.com/

saverys_gal

Sounds delish! I love a mix of all kinds of lettuces, hard boiled eggs, green peppers, sunflower seeds (roasted no salt added), pumpkin seeds (super yum!!!) and if I'm feeling wild I'll go for the imitation crab meat instead of chicken. I only use a little since it's higher in the sodium department, but man is it tasty!!

Nana_Booboo

Cutie Clementines!!! Those are the "little bit of sweet" to top off a great salad. PLUS 2 Cutie clementines is almost your full day of vitamin C.

Raw almonds would be great to add too.

MaryD4900

toasted pecans are good with feta and cranberries!

NiciS72

A couple of items we typically add to salad:

Red/yellow/orange bell peppers
Peppadeux peppers (these are hot and sweet)
Cherry/grape tomatoes
Goat cheese crumbles (I like Montchevre basil and onion)

Dressings we like are Hidden Valley Ranch Light 80 calories for a serving or Newman's Own Light Balsamic 45 calories a serving.