Any good ideas to make salad extra tasty

natabugg

Hey everyone does anyone have any good ideas to make a salad extra tasty? My husband and I usually just have lettuce, carrots and cherry tomatoes. I'm afraid to put anymore stuff in for the fear of gaining calories in the salad.

We're looking for just either side salad or even main dinner salad ideas!

Thanks

natabugg

Hey everyone does anyone have any good ideas to make a salad extra tasty? My husband and I usually just have lettuce, carrots and cherry tomatoes. I'm afraid to put anymore stuff in for the fear of gaining calories in the salad.

We're looking for just either side salad or even main dinner salad ideas!

Thanks

banks1850

Ohhhhooo! I have good stuff for this one.

-Lets see, crasins for sweet,

-other stuff, shredded, skim milk mozzerella cheese
-Pine nuts or sunflower seeds
-mushrooms (I like marinated but you can go with just out of the store mushrooms)
-broccoli
-Snow peas are great
-baby corns
-Bacon bits if you like them
-raddish slices
-beats
-mini onions
-field greens are usually better then straight lettuce because the actually have vitamins in them.
-cucumbers
lets see, what else did I forget
oh, bean sprouts, apples, tangerine slices
There's more but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

jnuttsing

I like rice noodles. You don't have to use many but they give you a little crunch in your salad. Not chow mien noodles...rice noodles. Oriental section.

brendab

1 tbsp of finely chopped onion
2 tbsp sliced salad olives
1/4 cup sliced cucumber
I've even placed 1 oz of leftover grilled chicken breast seasoned with garlic powder
Some other things I like were listed by another.....
Bren:drinker:

SGFlyinHi

Italian Seasoning

mel_istheshit

Green peppers and mushrooms! Yum!

I also like to vary from just the regular side salad and play with different fruit, cheese and nut combos... bonus points for making your own vinagrette

MontanaGirl

Lots of good ideas here! And so many of them are very low calorie. Alfalfa sprouts and radish sprouts are very good for you and contribute 1 calorie per tablespoon. The radish ones are slightly spicy. 1 cup of peeled cucumber has 5 cal, a litle spinich if you like it adds texture and vitamins for 7 cal/cup. Colored bell peppers add about 20 - 25 cal, depending on the variety, per cup. A half cup would be plenty for a single serving of salad. Have fun with it!! The fruit, craisins or raisins and apples are very good too for a little extra punch. A low fat salad dressing is great - but a lot of the vitamins in these veggies are fat soluable - so if you don't have some healthy fat - in the dressing, add avacados or nuts - your body won't be able to absorb them. Enjoy!! :happy:

momathome

This all sounds so yummy it is making me hungrey. I like to put shrimp in my salad. I cook a few up with some garlic and throw on top and it makes it nice and tasty along with peas, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, sometimes cheese.

ali106

Oh one of my favorite salads has the following ingredients

Field Greens
red grapes sliced in half
gorgonzola
pistaschios
grilled chicken

white ziffendel vinegarette

omg sooooo good...

only a tiny bit of gorgonzola goes a long way makes it nice and creamy!

hugs!
Ali

monicakelly21

Definitely use a mesclin mix or mixed greens
almonds...especially good if you are making a meal out of it
apples or pears, trust me its delicious
grapes are awesome too
dried cranberries

As for the dressing, go for homemade. I add 1/4 cup of olive oil, lemon, maple syrup..maybe 2 tbs, and a bit of balsamic vinegar..no more than 1 tsp, its strong stuff.

You could replace the maple syrup with strawberries blended as well.

jessneill

I think I'm going to have a salad tonight! I love salad!

I also like to add some low-fat or fat-free feta to my salad.

natabugg

thanks all I'm off to try some of the suggestions!! If anyone has anymore let me know!

ohthatbambi

sunflower seeds
cashews
feta cheese
homemade italian dressing with balsamic vinegar

catlover

I love cobb salad, with chicken, please. Sometimes my family gets burned out with salad as the side, so I make it the whole dinner. I just use lower fat ingrediants than the traditional restaurant version and serve it with some nice, thick, chewy kind of bread....

mydogmesa2

I love chewy and crunchy in my salad. I always add raisins and asian rice noodles to my salad and sometimes sunflower seeds. Its the best with orange sesame dressing and only 150 calories for 2.5 cups

dmflynt

I always add celery and green peppers....volume, crunch, and flavor with very little calories! Use different types of greens, too (iceberg, romaine, butter lettuce, raw spinach). Cucumbers and mushrooms add volume without many calories, too, but I don't like either one of them.

Be careful with cheeses, eggs, croutons....very calorie-rich!

We have switched to low-fat dressings, as well.......low fat ranch, low fat balsamic vinegrette, low fat Catalina....YUMMY! Reduce the calories even more by keeping the dressing on the side....dip your fork into the dressing before spearing a bite of salad. A little goes a long way!

Cowboy

Sugar snap peas
Jicama
Almost any kind of bean
Kalamata Olives
fresh pears
Radishes
Zucchini

its time for change

My favorite salad is a dinner meal for me, I could eat it twice a week:

1/2 cup black beans
2 grilled chicken breast tenders
2 cups baby spinach
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tsp hot sauce

You can add some portabello mushrooms that you sautee in water and seasoning
cucumber, etc.

It is super filling , low in calories,and it gets my taste buds going with the sour and spicy from the hot sauce, and the creamy from the sour cream.

jessneill

mmm.. I'm having taco salad tonight, made with Turkey meat, salsa, fat free sour cream and then I break up baked tortilla chips on top... so good!

dogwdots

Hearts of Palm
kalmata olives
artichoke hearts
flavored rice vinegars ( you won't need to use oils that way)

leg8

My favorite salad is a dinner meal for me, I could eat it twice a week:

1/2 cup black beans
2 grilled chicken breast tenders
2 cups baby spinach
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tsp hot sauce

You can add some portabello mushrooms that you sautee in water and seasoning
cucumber, etc.

It is super filling , low in calories,and it gets my taste buds going with the sour and spicy from the hot sauce, and the creamy from the sour cream.

THAT SOUNDS DELICIOUS! i will have to try that!

leg8

Also, I love hard boiled eggs on salads!

dulceluva

I love putting this on my salad...

Canned Thai Chile Tuna.... entire can.

OMG. It is the best thing in the world....well my opinion

Nich0le

lucky for me my kids love fruits and veggies so we play with it a lot..

try cut oranges and red onion with toasted sesame seeds and rice vinegarette on spinach or greens

strawberries...mmmmmm
beets, almonds and a little soft goat cheese
apples and asparagus with a blue cheese dressing (I can post the dressing recipe if wanted)
tuna salad with dates....no dressing needed
dried fruit and nuts
garbanzo beans with toasted pine nuts, feta cheese and cherry tomatoes (theres a dressing for this too) (not usually served on greens but could be tasty)
beets with chopped almonds or walnuts, a sprinkle of blue cheese and red wine vinegarette
blueberries / blackberries / raspberries with sweetened red onion and a raspberry vinegarette
jicama is great in salads, kind of sweet
chopped tri color bell peppers with dressing of choice or a spicy ranch
chopped melon with finely chopped mint and a white balsamic dressing

ok, so I guess what I am saying is as far as salads go anything goes!

lotusfromthemud

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/2510-festive-spinach-salad?hl=festive+spinach#posts-15956

This is my favorite salad to bring to "pot luck" occasions, and it always garners rave reviews. I think I'm going to have it today.

ltsoccermom

I like to find anything low cal or no cal to add into my salads. Any spices you like will work and often I make my own dressing to avoid salt but still have a powerful taste.

I will go with grilled chicken for the meat most of the time and if I am in a sweet mood add apples, bananas, nuts, mandrine oranges, tomatoe, etc. Even if your fruit has a little more calorie you still need to get your fruits in for the day. This is a fun way to help the sweet craving. I have a great Rasberry dressing to put over my sweet salad.

Other times I might feel like tuna and put that on top of lettuce, tomatoe, and any other vegie I can find in the fridg. Basalmic Ving. is usually my favorite here.

I have a pan to bake flour tortillas so I can do a taco salad. The meat I use ground beef adding onion jalapeno garlic then when it is browned I add chili powder and a can of pinto beans and about 2 tbs of salsa. Then I add a serving of taco meat to my bed of lettece in my tortilla bowl and add tomatoes, a little cheedar cheese with a salsa dressing.

Almost always I like a little jalapeno dice mixed in.

There are SO MANY variations of fruits, nuts, vegies to make a HUGE salad and very low calorie. I have been filling up one Salads and not tire of them yet.

Stacy

TamTastic

One of my favorite salads ever is a plate of green or romaine lettuce with sliced pears, a few walnuts and a tiny bit of gorgonzola cheese with ff balsamic dressing. The great thing about gorgonzola is that it is crumbly and a little goes a long way as far as flavor goes. Same with walnuts. Just chop up a few and sprinkle them on. It might add a few more calories but will be more filling and be the good kinds of fat your body needs.