Calling all Salad fans!!

I hear you. My favorite dressing is blue cheese, and it's loaded with fat...

I have switched to a light raspberry vinaigrette and I eat it with grilled chicken/steak, romaine lettuce, blue cheese crumbles and fresh strawberries. It's delicious....

I also just found a recipe for a dressing made from tea. Haven't tried it, but it sounds great:

3 Lemon Zinger tea bags (steeped for 10 minutes in 1/2 cup of white vinegar, then squeeze out tea bags into the vinegar to get all the flavor)
1 cup of olive oil
1/2 tsp of dill weed

This is my favorite salad. You can tweak it to your liking as well.

spinach
grilled chicken (if you have it)
any dried fruit you like
any nuts you like
croutons if you want
shredded cheddar cheese (adds fat and cals though and not necessary)
berries, apples, mandarin oranges (to your liking)
sesame ginger dressing or Asian dressing or raspberry viniagrette...my fave is Newman's Own Light Sesame Ginger


You can use what you like and what you have the calorie allowance for.

My favorite has always been Ranch but I have been avoiding it at all costs. I now use a fat free Caesar that's only 20 calories :P

Try mixing wholegrain mustard with a bit of light mayo - about 20 calories and try with a spicy chicken salad yum!

I lernt to love salads with no dressings. try and enjoy the natural taste by adding different flavoured and textured foods.

chargrill some asparagas
bake some pumpkin
steam some beetroot
grate some carrot
use different kinds of lettuce greens or cabbages
top with some sprouted grains
add some seeds - flax,sunflower,pumpkin,poppy,seasame
add a tbls spoon of unsweetened sundried fruits i.e cranberries,currents,raisns,blueberries
add a tin of tuna with a squeeze of lemmon and mustard seeds
put fresh fruits, like apple,pear,grapes,figs ... grate,chop,slice
add cheese if you like dairy... cottage,ricotta,feta or some hard cheeses.
add fresh herbs, corriander,mint,dill etc

I am Vegitarian/vegan ... and follow mostly a raw food diet.... but my husband likes the following ...

add cheese if you like dairy... cottage,ricotta,feta or some hard cheeses.

my husbands fav salad i make him is rocket,fennel,blue cheese and grapes... he does add a tiny drizzle of balsamic sometimes too this.

make some fresh homus or tatziki ad add a small dolop with some poached chicken....


add a tin of tuna with a squeeze of lemmon and mustard seeds

If you want to make something other than a green salad you could make

basmati rice salad ( basmati is low GI)

Cous cous salad

Quinoa salad

buckweat salad

barley salad

chickpea salad

lenitl salad

I have recipe's for all of the above if you would like some. just let me know
hope this is helped!!!

I love salad too!! I make my own salad dressings. I developed 3 recipes that are low fat, low calorie & low sodium but high in flavor. They are basically a vinaigrette thickened with caramelized onion & sugar free jam which adds body & sweetness with out adding sugar & fat. The flavors are Apricot Poppyseed, Raspberry Balsamic & Ginger Miso.

I eat two salads a day. They have the same base but the toppings are different to satisfy flavor and texture combos. The quick run down is...
Lunch: 3.5 cups romaine, .5 tomato, .5 cup peeled & diced cucumber, .5 avocado, .5 oz unsalted dry roasted almonds, a serving of croutons & 1 tbl. of dressing.
Dinner: 3.5 cups romaine, 10 grape tomatoes, .5 cup diced english cucumber, 2 tbl. crasins, 2 tbl. unsalted dry roasted almonds, 1 oz fat free feta, small pinch of tamari pumpkin seeds, serving of crouton & 1 tbl. dressing.

I will add or subtract almonds to account for calorie overages or shortcomings and I rotate the dressings so I don't get burned out. I also toss my salads to distribute the dressing evenly which is how I can get away with so much lettuce & a tiny bit of dressing.

I hope I was somewhat helpful!

i just made this salad tonight and it was awesome!

Mixed lettuce
Mandrin oranges (drain juice)
apple
blue cheese (to your liking)
light raspberry vinaigrette
strawberry granola ( it said pecans but i switched it up)

depending on the amount of cheese and dressing i calculate 140 cals for a dinner size portion !

i also only use to eat ranch, i found that slowly switching to different dressings helped. i now like olive oil and vinger with a little salt and some pepper!

The other day I was out of ranch dressing to give the kiddos for carrot dip, but I did have a ranch dressing dry packet and some nonfat plain Greek yogurt. They LOVED it! You might make it more of a salad dressing by adding a bit of skim milk??

2 cups fresh spinach, 1/4 cup chopped cucumber, 1/2 cup mandarin oranges, 3 pecan halves, 2 tablespoon fat free balsamic vinaigrette ....., yumyumyum