Salad Ideas

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Eve_Eati02
Eve_Eati02 Posts: 23
in Food and Nutrition
Hello,

I have been trying to find some new ideas for my lunches. I tend to eat a lot of caesar salads (light dressing and no croutons), and soup.... mostly tomato soup. Does anyone have any super yummy/ nutritious lunch ideas? I like things that don't take a ton of preparation but I am willing to take some time to make my foods. I am not a fan of fruits or fruity vinaigrettes in my salads... I tend to like things with garlic, tomatoes, and herbs. Another thing I want to add in is that I live in a gluten free home... so gluten free suggestions would be great! If you don't eat gluten free, I'd still love suggestions (I can make substitutions for wheat free stuff). Thanks!

Replies

  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
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    I like to load up my salads with all kinds of different things. Spinach is my favorite base but I'll do kale, leaf lettuce, or mixed greens. I'll use whatever fresh veggies I have, garbanzo or other beans, chopped boiled egg, cheese, avocado and some kind of nut or seed. I usually do a simple oil and vinegar dressing. I top it eith crumbled bacon, or chopped meat or tempeh. Sometimes I'll use up leftovers like roasted sweet potatoes and grilled vegetables. It's easy to alter the salad toppings to meet your calorie or macro goals.
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
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    I don't like fruity vinaigrettes either have you tried different kinds of regular? Mine is Kraft Light Parmesan Asiago but I will use regular as well. I know you can make them as well but I haven't tried that myself. I usually have a meat (grilled chicken or turkey), black olives, avocado, italian blend shredded cheese, tomatos and sometimes croutons or wonton strips. If I want a different salad I go with ranch dressing and boiled eggs, cucumbers and bacon (for some reason I don't like these with the vin kind of dressings).
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
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    Savory salads for the win!

    My favorites are:
    Feta/Spinach/Chicken: basic salad veggies, a bit of lean chicken, baby spinach, feta cheese, & a bacon mustard vinaigrette.

    Fajita Salad: Fry up <meat of your choice>, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, & onions. Dump over a bed of salad greens. Salsa for dressing and if you need more calories, 75% sour cream/25% milk mixed (to thin it). Some friends add a quick pico de gallo or guacamole (which im not fond of.)

    Grecian Salad: Add feta, kalamata olives, made with romaine lettuce. For dressing, olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil, and lemon juice (or buy one.)

    Biggest suggestion I can make though is... MIX UP YOUR GREENS! Try Kale, Spinach, Romaine, Iceberg, Arugula, Butterhead, Dandelion, Radicchio, Endive, and Watercress. They all have different flavors and textures and its fun to experiment to find new combinations :)
  • fuzzieme
    fuzzieme Posts: 454 Member
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    Gazpacho!
  • alwaysgreen17
    alwaysgreen17 Posts: 85 Member
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    I like Kraft's Caesar Vinagrette dressing. It is lighter than regular caesar with a slight tangy-ness to it. You might like it, too....I general don't like fruity dressings, either.

    I like a variety of things in my salad. Carrots, cucumber, hard boiled egg, feta or parmesan, bacon bits occasionally, sweet mini peppers are delicious! Sugar snap peas, garbanzo beans, red onions, etc....
  • SalsaDeva
    SalsaDeva Posts: 1
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    These are my favorite salads:

    Mixed greens, strawberries, crumble some goat cheese over it with some chopped almonds. dash of balsamic vinegar or some raspberry vinagrette

    Kale rolled up and cut in a fine chiffonade, boiled beats marinated in a little balsamic vineger, sliced, chopped almonds and a tahini dressing.This salad will last for a couple days

    Watermelon balled or cubed, fresh mint rolled up finely cut (chiffonade), feta cheese, balsamic glaze (reduction of balsamic vinegar)

    Baby spinach, sliced orange, chopped almonds or walnuts, carrot ribbons. If the oranges are really juicy you can skip the dressing.

    As a vegetarian I often add a hard-boiled egg to my lunch to add to the salad.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
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    I just had a pretty good one for dinner -- black beans, tuna, pickled beets, red onion, all mixed together and plopped on a bed of greens. (Had it fit into my calories I would have also added cubed avocado and tomato.) I dressed it with a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of dill. Awesome, super filling, high-protein salad.
  • gabbylab
    gabbylab Posts: 146
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    I love my salads, and almost anything goes into them. My favorite salad dressings are Bolthouse brand. Yogurt based, rich flavors for very low calories per serving. You can find them usually with the refrigerated dressings.
  • nmeeks81
    nmeeks81 Posts: 9
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    i work in an asian nail shop and when i go to there house i request that they make me the salad. it reminds me of a slaw. julained cabagge, carrots , onions and lean meat chicken , pork etc. they dress it with a mix of rice vinagar , fish sauce, sugar, lemon juice. everything is really chopped fine and lite. the dressing is really wet and mixed to taste so there no meassuring .when i make this salad i use shrimp , musturd green or collard green and spinach . this salad lasts 2 to 3 days so eat it fast .sorry for spelling errors.
  • vivian1616
    vivian1616 Posts: 27 Member
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    I don't have any original salad ideas, but I found a great light dressing that doesn't taste like one...Ken's Lite Northern Italian w/ Basil and Romano. It's 45 cals for a 2T serving (I usually only need about 1T or less). Very flavorful and a great alternative to regular dressings if you don't want to make your own or use a fruity vinaigrette.
  • nmeeks81
    nmeeks81 Posts: 9
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    are you can go to the food network website

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