What do you throw in your salad?

zyxst

I'm consistent with my daily salad:

-1 romaine heart, ribs removed
-onions, cucumbers, and green peppers, if I have them
-steam cooked fried Asian noodles, 25g
-Kraft mandarin sesame dressing 2T
-Sensations shredded pizza cheese, if my sodium is doing ok

voncilec

does no one use raw broccoli anymore? lol they also sell a pre-shredded broccoli slaw mix at the grocery store that's pretty good in salad. and ofcourse olives.... lots of them. morning star veggie hotwings are pretty good in salad too.

I do not much care for raw broccoli... far too, IDK "raw"? lol It doesnt seem to yield to any type of dressing, maybe "firm" is the word Im looking for...I will look for the slaw mix though! Nice tip

MeganMac17

Had the grilled chicken avocado and mango salad the other day, and it was pretty delish!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/05/california-grilled-chicken-avocado-and.html

lukeout007

How do you "cube" avocados without making a mushy mess?

Cut it in half. Remove the pit. Before scooping you run a knife up and down as if you were cutting it into slices...and then again horizontally which cubes it. Then scoop the cubes.

mzfiyaa

avocado i luv,tomatoes,carrots,cucumbers romaine lettuce sometimes chicken strips ,tomatoes,onions

mcedes02

Not all at one time but these are some things I've thrown in my salads in the past......tuna,raw mushrooms, red onions, corn off the cob,peas, chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, black beans, chic peas, baked talapia, boiled eggs or just the whites, strawberries, peanuts or cashews, mandarin oranges, pasta, lettuce, romaine lettuce, fresh spinach.....

heretoloseit95

Cucumber, tomatoes, shredded carrot, lettuce, rocket leaves, grilled chicken breast, olives, garlic.
spices would be some salt, some lemon juice and apple cider vinegar

longhaul64

I'm a simple man.

Iceburg Lettuce
Tomato
Bleu cheese crumbles
Wishbone Low Cal Italian or Bleu cheese dressing

HypersonicFitNess

I'm probably a little boring b/c I don't like fruit with my veg...

romaine
mixed salad greens
spinach
celery
shredded carrots
tomato
cucumber
orange, yellow or red bell pepper
avocado
flax seed
hemp seed
walnuts
pine nuts
2% shredded cheddar
low fat mozzarella
small amount of feta
fresh shredded Parmesan raggiano
tuna
chicken breast
salmon
Olives - love calamata

occasionally I will put some organic raisins and/or goji berries in

I usually use ken's light caesar (1 tablespoon goes a long way at 35 calories) or lemon juice, apple cider vinegar with either extra virgin olive oil or flax seed oil

HypersonicFitNess

does no one use raw broccoli anymore? lol they also sell a pre-shredded broccoli slaw mix at the grocery store that's pretty good in salad. and ofcourse olives.... lots of them. morning star veggie hotwings are pretty good in salad too.

Yes, the broccoli slaw mix is awesome in a salad!

omgdinosaurs

No dressing? That's a crime for me!
Recently, I've started using baby spinach instead of regular lettuce as it has many nutrients that romaine or iceberg don't. I've always been pretty simplistic when it comes to salads, and I'll only eat them for lunch. But here's some of the things I normally toss in.
Honey roasted chicken breast
Diced ham
Carrots
Green peppers
Cucumbers
Hard boiled eggs

For dressing I use light ranch from hidden valley, but if I'm feeling not so lazy, I'll make my own way less calorie version.
1 cup fat free plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 packet hidden valley ranch dressing mix.
Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. It's about 10 calories for a tablespoon and almost 0 grams of fat! (Only 2 grams of fat for the whole recipe!)

Stephanie_Autry

I don't mix these all together these are just a list of things I would put on my salad. I mix is by what protein I decide to eat with it.

Jumbo Shrimp
Shredded Coconut
World Table Salsa
Wheat Germ or Flaxseed
Lettuce
Chickpeas

Grilled Chicken
Corn
Black Beans
Mission Tortilla Chips (5) Crumbled
Light Sour Cream 1 Tbsp
Red Bell Pepper
Cilantro
Lettuce
Hard boiled Egg or Egg Whites

RealWomenLovePitbulls

lettuce, spinach, mixed greens, tomato, bell pepper, onion, bacon bits, croutons, white cheese, ranch dressing

StevenV84

I am not too adventurous when it comes to my salads. I mainly stick with the typical veggies and maybe throw in some garbanzo, or kidney beans. If you are worried about the dressing, you should look for Hendrickson's dressings. They use little to no oil and the taste amazing.

BlueJean4114

i love all the OP's ideas,
using whatever veggies are in the fridge, too.



as well as bits of FRUITS, like apples, pears, grapes, or RAISINS...............dawg, i love some raisins in the salad. Once you get used to raisins in a salad, you can hardly stand to eat one wihout raisens..............
MMMmmmmMM.
but only a few, they are loaded with calories, (but also lots of iron for the calories)


and i also use stuffing mix for croutons, too,
as those cling to the veggies, instead of just be some too large item in the salad.

another thing i use for croutons,
is,
smashed up uncooked ramen noodles, (no spice packet) Although, this is about 90 calories for 1/4 block of ramen noodles, :noway: but i can sometimes afford to add that in, for crunch.

Occasionally,

I often use Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it, in place of dresssing.
to me, the taste and texture of the greens when dusted with Parmesan
is more appealing than most any dressing i've tried.


Also, do experiment with various types of greens. not just iceberg, but otherwise, the ingredients used by OP sound a lot like mine, too.


FOR VARIETY, I OCCASIONALLY USE ACTUAL 'SALAD RECIPES' !!!!!!!!!

AT FIRST, i thought, "salad recipes? what a dumb idea!":ohwell:
but,
turns out, it can make a nice change up now and then!!


Here are few of the salad recipes i have tried and liked a lot: (juuust to change things up a bit, be unexpected)
Strawberry and Nut Salad, 150 calories per serving:
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/festive-strawberry-nut-salad-64836.aspx

Fresh Asian Salad, 220 calories per serving:
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/fresh-asian-chicken-salad-104845.aspx

Harvest Salad To Go, 270 calories per serving, but sooooooo delish!!
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/harvest-salad-go-94512.aspx

^ some of those recipes sound kinda weird, but, are surprisingly tasty, nice lil change in routine, really. MOst could be trimmed of calories, if you are nearing you calorie limit for the day, too.


tons more SALAD RECIPES on this site, all of them provide the nutritional info.
so you can sort out the lower calorie, lower fat ones.
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/search/SearchResults.aspx?searchtext=salad&u2=salad&start=1&rsort=

athenad121

I will put almost anything in my salad lol. I made a barbecue chicken salad for my lunch tomorrow...romaine, tomato, a bit of sweet corn, light cheddar cheese and a few French's fried onions with a Tbsp light ranch mixed with a little bbq sauce. It's one of my faves!

Tiffanyluvsaaron

Lots of things...hmm

Cashews, apples, pears , grated parmesan cheese , tomatoes , eggs, chicken

Lots of other things. You can always switch a salad up so it doesn't get boring

westcliffeamanda

A few things I love in my salads besides the obvious are

Salad Toppins'
Kidney Beans
Avocado

jadums

I am currently growing mesculin mix and herbs in my garden so that is my salad base. To this I add:

My normal base +

Herbs (any combo of basil, cilantro, parsley, fresh dill, fresh mint, lemon verbena, mint, sorrel - again, in my garden)
Other greens (kale, swiss chard, spinach, beet greens, turnip greens, lambs quarters, dandelion greens)
Tomatoes (Different coloured cherry tomatoes from the garden or whatever I buy at the store)
Sweet peppers (red, orange and or yellow, I'm not a fan of green)
Cucumber (skin on)
Carrots (again, from the garden, purple or orange)


Depending on my feelings I add any (or none) of the following:

Nuts/Seeds (cashews, sliced almonds, walnuts, peanuts, toasted or black sesame seed, sunflower seed, hemp seed, flax seed)
Dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, cherries, currents, raisins)
Fresh fruit (apple, pear, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, grapefruit)
Canned beans (lentils, black beans, kidney beans, mixed beans or chickpeas)
Cheese (feta, cottage cheese, shreeded/diced cheddar, blue cheese chunks, goat cheese chunks)
Fresh green beans
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Canned corn (i like the peaches and cream kind)
Avocado
Hard Boiled egg
Onions/shallots soaked in cold water or vinegar (takes away the astringent bite)

And if I'm making my salad a meal and I haven't already included one of the above proteins then 3-4oz of whatever protein I feel like adding (chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, scallops, salmon, etc.)

Dressings

I normally make an oil & vinegar dressing with salt and pepper. I have found that thnning Tatziki dip/sauce with water or milk makes a great calorie light cream base for a dressing (I often add dried herbs like dill to change the flavour, and sometimes a pinch or two of sugar helps if you find it too tangy). Adding citrus juice or mushed frozen raspberries to a dressing change things up too. I also sometimes use a blender to combine roasted peppers or sun-dried tomatoes with the oil/vinegar bases.

jadums

How do you "cube" avocados without making a mushy mess?

1. Cut the avocado in half and separate
2. Remove the pit by quickly but carefully chopping knife into the seed (knife should be stuck), twist and remove.
3. Score the avocado into cubes while flesh is still in the skin.
4. Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado to get your avocado quares.

There is a great 1:25min video here to show you what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tV9tTZn0sk

MFPBrandy

Chickpeas & feta -- and if I've got the calories to spare (or just don't care), pecans! Lovely with rosemary & a raspberry balsamic. Yum!

1nr15

spring mix
baby spinach
walnuts, almonds, or pecans
strawberries
blueberries
lemon juice
avocado
hard boiled egg whites
grilled chicken

izziebear01

1 cup strawberries
1/2 small avocado
8 leafs spinach
6 oz chicken

dressing:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Worchestire sauce

blytheandbonnie

2 Tbsp UNSEASONED rice vinegar and one packet of stevia makes a good calorie free dressing.

bekkaL85

Spinach...tis lovely.
Cheese is a must, but not the nasty Velveeta. More along feta or blue cheese.
I prefer Romaine, but crisp Ice berg is yummy too.
Also a crunch...right now I'm using a tablespoon of fried onions. yummy
Red onions are a requirement no matter what!

abetterjune

Actually read through every reply.... don't do that, too often, haha! I was half looking for ideas, half wondering if there'd be anything for me to add as it seemed like everything was covered, except....

SPROUTS!!!! Not a single person adds sprouts? OMG I COULD NOT LIVE without broccoli, alfalfa, clover, onion, and/or radish sprouts in my salads. They are like a veggie equivalent of caffeine to me, I feel like I can actually sense the amazing jam packed nutrition and energy entering my blood stream! Hahahaha... possibly, I'm just weird.

My other staples were all mentioned (romaine, spinach, kale, chicken, shrimp, fish, lemon juice, avocado, etc).

Only thing else I'd like to contribute is that I cook my chicken in the crock pot in water with spices and lemon juice on low for 6-8 hours because when you cut it, it kind of just falls apart and I like it that way in my salad so I get a bit of chicken in every bite instead of a huge chunk every 6th bite. haha

arielian

my new favorite base for salads is kale! I like romaine/spinach mix also
artichoke hearts, banana peppers, green peppers, yogurt basil EVOO mix (for dressing--adds protien and calcium), over toasted whole wheat bread thins crumbled, tomatoes, green onion, sauteed onions

yourenotmine

All kinds of greens, olives, avocados, tomatoes, beans of various types, chickpeas, nuts, mushrooms, peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, little boiled potatoes... Basically anything that's not meat, cheese, eggs, or fruit. Or turnips. Yuck to that.

hbrutz

To cube avocadoes, slice the avocado in half lengthwise and remove the pit. take a paring knife and slice about 4-5 leghtwise slices, being careful not to cut through the outer skin. Then do the same crosswise, creating a grid. Take a spoon and scoop out the avocado. It should form cubes.

WendyTerry420

How do you "cube" avocados without making a mushy mess?

I guess I use my avacados before they get to mushy?? I just slice the avacado in half, pop the pit out, "cube" while the meat is still attached to the skin...turn it outwards and slice off.....guess that's not so much chopping..but still manage the cube effect.

I guess that makes sense. I only buy them on rare occasions. I think they are already super ripe when I buy them because it's usually only when they are on sale.