Anyway to make salads more appetizing??

I use to be the same way. My wife use to make me a salad everyday for lunch (and still does) and after a while I started throwing most of it away cause I just didn't feel like eating ANOTHER salad. But after focusing on my transformation, I decided to change the old dull lettuce mix and went with a Kale/Beet Top/Spinach mixture that I found at Walmart. It was different and quite tasty. I also put a lot of time into finding a salad dressing I really liked. Wishbone has a really tasty low cal low fat spicy French dressing I really like. Also, I like make sure I have plenty of red bell pepper and red onion in it also. A few grape tomato's and some cucumbers and I am good to go.

I also think that my frame of mind at the time of consumption is key. I have made sure to take my 2.2 mile walk before I sit down to eat. That way it doesn't matter what I am eating, cause I BE HUNGRY!

IF all else fails....add bacon!

CK

One of the best ways to succeed at weight loss is to not force yourself to eat anything you don't like. The idea is to make the process as easy and pain-free as possible.

pomegranate seeds or corn cooked with a little bbq or steak sauce

If you don't like salads, then don't eat salad.

But, if you really want, get creative and experiment w/flavors. Think about what you do like, and get creative with how you could put it on top of some sort of vegetable mixture.

Some of my faves :

-baby spinach or spring mix, strawberries, sliced almonds, crumbled blue cheese, grilled chicken, blush wine vinaigrette - comes in at about 250 calories

-baby spinach, celery, carrots, grilled chicken or turkey, franks red wing sauce, bolthouse farms yogurt ranch dressing - under 200 calories

-shredded iceburg, ground turkey taco meat, onion, peppers, celery, salsa, nonfat greek yogurt, lowfat shredded cheese - about 300 calories (closer to 200 if I skip the cheese)

Great flavors and filling, doesn't feel at all like diet food.
But again, if you just don't like it, don't eat it.

ETA - I make my salads in a large Tupperware container, put the lid on, and shake. Gets all the yummy (and more caloric) ingredients mixed up throughout the salad. This allows me to keep the portions size low on the higher calorie items and load up on the veggies, and still get good flavor.

Whole foods sells a variety of "No Oil" salad dressings in the produce section that are low in calories by high in flavor. Also, I add a whole avocado to every salad which for me makes it awesome!

My favorite dressing to make is just olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, grated or finely minced garlic, salt and pepper. Low in calories, healthy fats from the EVOO, super tangy and delicious on just about anything: salads, veggies, as a dipping oil for bread, etc.

Instead of dressing I drizzle a very high quality aged balsamic vinegar on salads.... That's it. No oil- nothing else. You must pay over $25 a bottle for a really good one, but well worth it. You can even get some flavoured ones if you wish.

Sometimes I make a huge plate of cucumbers, tomato, chopped fresh basil and balsamic vinegar.... practically no calories.

Other great salads I make are mixed lettuce greens ( of course) covered with sautéed warm pear slices and onions.... REALLY tasty with a bit of goat cheese if you don't mind the calories from the cheese.

Also I will often sauté asparagus, sprinkle a bit of parmesan on it and top that on a salad. Adds the bit of veggie nutrition you need and makes a salad look and taste beautiful.

Salads can become your favourite food... they have mine.

Good Luck.

Bump for later

I add fresh herbs to the salad-- my favourite being cilantro. I will also add goat's cheese. I am a firm believer that cheese makes anything better.

I haven't been eating salads much for the last couple months as I've been favoring more warm, comforting foods, such as soups. However, I recently discovered my love for salad by trying some new varieties! Put things you love in the salad and there'd be no reason not to like it. Make sure you're including healthy fats in your salad, in the form of oil, avocado, or nuts; while it will increase calories, your salad will be more satisfying and you will be able to absorb more nutrients.

Some of my favorite salads:

My go-to side salad is a spring mix/baby spinach blend with diced baby carrots, cucumber slices, and bell pepper slices with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

At the whole foods salad bar, I get baby spinach with shredded beets, shredded carrots, cucumber slices, sliced almonds, chicken breast, and no-oil pomegranate vinaigrette.

My favorite salad recipe is spring mix with blanched sugar snap peas, sliced strawberries, blueberries, diced kiwi, banana slices, pine nuts, and Trader Joe's low-calorie raspberry vinaigrette.

I also love eating grilled tilapia, seasoned only with salt and pepper, on a bed of spring mix, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

1) I would say the same as others if lettuce is the problem. Healthy/Salad does not necessarily mean lettuce or even leafy green. Or raw. Just mix up any veggies and healthy protein companions you like.

2) Also, cooled roasted veggies. Like roasted beets, red peppers, zucchini or eggplant. I love 'em. No lettuce needed.

3) If it is the texture try a different chop. You can buy a lot of pre-chopped items. Shredded carrots. Broccoli slaw (has no dressing. It just refers to the chop) Try julienne cut veggies. Even the leafy greens can be julienne. Julienne works really well on cabbages, such as red cabbage or napa cabbage, brussel sprouts or even endives.

4) Try herb based salads. These need little more then an acid to flavor like lemon juice, lime juice, rice vinegar or red wine vinegar. Think Tabouleh. Use Cilantro, Parsley or Mint as the leafy base. Add flavorful grains bulgur, Quinoa. Add chopped flavorful veggies and Fruit like tomatoes, cucumbers, mango, pineapple, jicama, Asian pear, apple...

Hope that helps

salad is so much better when you have fresh ingredients. there are some salads i absolutely refuse to eat (ie anything with lettuce).

my favorite salad is a mix i make at home that contains

fresh kale, baby spinach, shredded purple cabbage, cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, avocado, chicken * trader joes asian peanut dressing

I can't be much of a help, because I love salads. But try with lemon juice? It's really healthy. The only thing I add is or lemon juice or salt.

I like salads if they have very minimal lettuce, lots of bacon oh and some grape tomatoes... yea that's pretty much my salads.. throw in some tuna and that's one of my typical lunches.

OP if you don't enjoy salads you don't have to eat them.

I just put hot sauce on it, no dressing.