Salads

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MadamPlum
MadamPlum Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am just discovering the joys of having home-made salads for lunches. Suddenly my lunchtime calories have gone down from 500+ to 100 - 150.

However, to keep it from getting samey and dull, does anyone have any suggestions for good healthy salad ingredients other than the usual (lettuce, cucumber, peppers, etc).

Or indeed any good home-made recipes for healthy salad dressing (NON vinegar - can't stand the stuff! :) ).

Thank you!
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Replies

  • mtruitt01
    mtruitt01 Posts: 370 Member
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    I eat only vegetables I like (most of the time). I make a batch of veggie soup every Sunday: mirepoix, chic or veg stock, baby carrots, tomato paste, spinach and cabbage. Sometimes I add a little chicken. I eat a serving of that, and then a side of sliced jicama, cucumbers, and
    maybe cottage cheese with chopped tomato, herbs and a little balsamic or orange musket champagne vinegar from Trader Joes. Yesterday I had half of a delicious huge salad from California Pizza Kitchen which had arugula, asparagus, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, quinoa, purple onion and pine nuts. Less than 400 calories and much more delicious and satisfying than anything I could make! I know some make the canning jar layered salads. I used to use a Paul Newman sesame-ginger salad dressing that was under 35 calories for 2 Ts. Just search the shelves at your local supermarket. Enjoy your food, and explore. Don't eat anything that is not tasty, is my rule, otherwise I'll go off meal plan to get enjoyment.
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    I like a salad for lunch, too. Things I add are avocado, carrots, radishes, celery, cauliflower (raw), cheese, chopped egg, left-over chicken, beans (kidney, black, etc). The combinations are endless. If there is no lettuce in the salad, you can add the dressing the night before and let the veggies marinate (or marinade the veggies and add the lettuce at lunch).
    I use store-bought dressing. Usually Renee's Sweet Onion or a sesame-ginger one from Costco (can't remember the name right now).
  • maasha81
    maasha81 Posts: 733 Member
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    Different types of beans or pulses , chopped egg, chicken or fish (tuna and salmon are my fave), carrots, water cress, beets, cabbage, parsnip, raw broc or cauliflower ...so many combos. Dressings are usually simple ...vinaigrette I prefer citrus or balsamic, greek yogurt with different seasonings ( instead of ranch ) and sometimes hummus or salsa.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    MadamPlum wrote: »
    I am just discovering the joys of having home-made salads for lunches. Suddenly my lunchtime calories have gone down from 500+ to 100 - 150.

    However, to keep it from getting samey and dull, does anyone have any suggestions for good healthy salad ingredients other than the usual (lettuce, cucumber, peppers, etc).

    Or indeed any good home-made recipes for healthy salad dressing (NON vinegar - can't stand the stuff! :) ).

    Thank you!

    I make a buffalo chicken salad that I absolutely love. I use frozen breaded chicken (I'm a fan of the Tyson chicken tenders, and Perdue Simply Smart brands), and toss it with Frank's Buffalo sauce. I'll throw that on a bed of spring mix greens, and add some cherub tomatoes, cucumber, reduced fat blue cheese crumbles, and some croutons. I'll use the Ken's light buttermilk ranch dressing, which is under 100 calories for two tablespoons. Great salad under 500 calories, and keeps me full until dinner!
  • lowriderjim
    lowriderjim Posts: 18 Member
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    I just finished a salad for lunch. It was the boring lettuce/cucumber/vidalia variety. I dressed with lemon and salt/pepper. For me, once you get past the idea that it was without the sugar laden dressing it was good. The calories for the salad was one/half of the calories of the dressing I would have use previously.

    I find that if you cut out 50-100 calories here and there it makes a difference at the end of the day. Maybe it leaves room for a Klondike no sugar added ice creme bar at 160 calories.
  • Sweets1954
    Sweets1954 Posts: 506 Member
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    I usually buy the premade salads at Safeway. They are all under 300 calories and contain some protein. The veggies fill me up and the protein keeps me feeling full. Since I am the only one in my house that will eat salad I am limited in what I can buy to make my own salads as it goes bad before I can use it up. I have searched the salad dressing shelves at the grocery store to find the lowest calorie dressing, measuring the serving size is important. I can even use ranch if I watch how much I put on. I did find a spray salad dressing one time which is very low in calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Hmmm...I'd have a difficult time calling 150 calories lunch...

    I eat a lot of salads and I put all kinds of stuff on there in order to maximize my nutrition...because there's more to it than just veggies...most of my salads clock in around 500 calories.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    I'm currently obsessed by salads for lunch. But there's no way mine are ever 100-150 calories. Usually it's a mix of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, maybe some grated carrot, sweet corn, sugar snap peas, radish etc. Sometimes with avocado. And a protein element - left-over chicken is a plan for this week, but fish (mackerel or tuna), hard-boiled egg, puy lentils all work. Even a dirt scotch egg now and then ;)

    I put the vegetable bits together the night before, then mid with the protein in the morning. I toss in some sumac, and put together a vinaigrette which goes into a mini jam jar for adding later. I'm not so worried about the fats in the dressing as I find the salad fills me up better when there a good mix of fats and protein. And yes, I'm losing.

    But the best thing I've been finding is that my energy levels are sky high and I feel great. All those nutrients from all the veggies must be doing something!!
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
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    I always have a lettuce mix in the fridge. I will also put carrots in the food processor and then cook them with frozen spinach or kale and curry spices and keep in the fridge all week. I'll make a huge salad with lettuce, warmed carrots/kale, grape tomatoes, and my dressing is giardinara and mustard. Spicy and flavorful and usually only around 110 calories. Sometimes I'll add protein (beans, tofu, leftover chicken).
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
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    I just use salsa/pico de gallo. How are your salads only 100-150 calories? What do you use for protein?
  • lowriderjim
    lowriderjim Posts: 18 Member
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    I should have noted that I had a salmon patty (170 cal) with the salad (150 cal). Fair questions.
    Saving calories for pizza for dinner.

    I have also used pickled beets and and eggs for protein in salads.
  • Toadstool_
    Toadstool_ Posts: 120 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I particularly like tuna and edamane salad - tuna, edamane beans, lettuce, tomatoes & cucumber with some sort of a lemony dressing, or chicken and avocado - I use the tesco sandwich chicken chunks to keep it quick and easy (the barbecue one is really nice) with half an avocado, lettuce and tomatoes with the m&s honey mustard dressing. Throwing things like chickpeas, lentils, quinoa or feta into your salad is nice too. I don't often make my own dressing - usually I use Lidl's fruit balsamic vinegars - the pear one is lush. (Sorry, I know you said no vinegar!) I usually aim for around 250-300 calories in my salads.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    annacsophia wrote: »
    Hate vinegar?? That hurts my heart. My favorite homemade dressing is a French vinaigrette where you boil a few garlic cloves then mash with a fork, add herbs, little Dijon mustard, little red wine vinegar, and whisk in some olive oil. That with some parmesan over romaine and red onion...ugh...


    I don't have red wine vinegar, but do have balsamic....I think I just found a new dressing to experiment with!
  • MadamPlum
    MadamPlum Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks for the suggestions, guys...need to add a bit of substance in there, but yes, having a few less calories at lunch helps out enormously for the evening meal
  • MadamPlum
    MadamPlum Posts: 16 Member
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    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    I just use salsa/pico de gallo. How are your salads only 100-150 calories? What do you use for protein?

    Nothing, it's all about what's easy to put together. Bit of chicken or tuna is a good idea. Salad still bulks the meal out so it's not too many calories.

  • MadamPlum
    MadamPlum Posts: 16 Member
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    brendak76 wrote: »
    I always have a lettuce mix in the fridge. I will also put carrots in the food processor and then cook them with frozen spinach or kale and curry spices and keep in the fridge all week. I'll make a huge salad with lettuce, warmed carrots/kale, grape tomatoes, and my dressing is giardinara and mustard. Spicy and flavorful and usually only around 110 calories. Sometimes I'll add protein (beans, tofu, leftover chicken).

    That sounds like a good idea, love my curry spices too.

  • MadamPlum
    MadamPlum Posts: 16 Member
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    annacsophia wrote: »
    Hate vinegar?? That hurts my heart. My favorite homemade dressing is a French vinaigrette where you boil a few garlic cloves then mash with a fork, add herbs, little Dijon mustard, little red wine vinegar, and whisk in some olive oil. That with some parmesan over romaine and red onion...ugh...

    Ha - yes, I know, I have tried all my life, but it's not going to happen! Maybe some olive oil based ones, or yoghurt based ones are the way to go.

  • LoraBarnes
    LoraBarnes Posts: 5 Member
    edited June 2015
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    One of my favorite Salads is a Fruit and Chicken with Poppyseed Salad. It's around 303 calories per serving. You can also change up your fruit, like Mandarin Oranges and Blueberries instead of Apples and Grapes.
    3.00 oz., Apple
    3.00 ounce, Red Seedless Grapes
    4.00 oz(s), Oscar Mayer Carving Board Rotisserie Chicken Breast
    2.00 tablespoons, Fat Free - Low Sodium Poppyseed Dressing
    3.00 ounce, Strawberry, Single Medium
    4.00 oz(s), Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw
  • Toadstool_
    Toadstool_ Posts: 120 Member
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    Love the sound of orange and poppyseed - will have to see about concocting some sort of a dressing using those!
  • BeginnersBootcamp
    BeginnersBootcamp Posts: 90 Member
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    I start with lettuce and spinach, add whatever veggies are in the fridge, maybe some tuna or ground turkey if i have it, then use salsa and/or mustard for dressing! My coworkers think its odd but mustard is an amazing dressing. Zippy and no cals! Salsa is perfect also

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