I miss TASTY salads!!

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2

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  • kelseydaniels
    kelseydaniels Posts: 2
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    I love your post! I have had a staple salad for a few weeks now: spinach and Morningstar's Faux Chicken patties (DELICIOUS!!!). I cut up the patty after it being microwaved 2-3 minutes and it's perfect. I'm not a dressing fan so I looked at Realsimple.com's recipes and just purchased chickpeas, red and yellow peppers, and a few different veggies to cut up for some crunch. Don't use corn. Good luck!
  • ssdivot
    ssdivot Posts: 193
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    I like Hidden Valley Ranch lite dressing but it does have 80 calories in two TBSP. I yesterday tried a recipe that uses 1 pack of the dry Hidden Valley Ranch mix, two cups of greek yogurt ( I use the 2 percent Fage), and 1/3 cup of 1 percent buttermilk. Its pretty good and only about 25 calories for the two tablespoon serving. I also use croutons on my salad but I weigh out the 7 gram serving. I use sugar free bread and butter pickles and onion and sometimes red bell peppers. And 1 tbsp of Feta cheese which I think has like 20 calories. I recently discovered the Feta and a little bit packs a big punch! And chicken I grill in my Foreman grill. I have a this big salad usually once a day and I love it!
  • mommygirl81
    mommygirl81 Posts: 37
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    My salads consist of spinach, romaine lettuce, 1 tbsp of bacon bits, carrots, cucumbers, turkey meat, raspberries and kraft low fat raspberry vinigarette. It's delicious! You can add any veggies you want and the raspberries add an amazing flavor. The total calorie count is under 200 too.
  • Jewels211
    Jewels211 Posts: 184 Member
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    I try to use all the veggies I love on my salad--romaine, baby spinach, red bell pepper, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli (stems more than "treetops"), then use just a tblesp or two of finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese so that a little bit spreads a lot of flavor throughout, sometimes a boiled egg, then top with my choice of meat. I use Hidden Valley Ranch, regular, not reduced anything, but watch the amount I use. A little goes a long way with all the other strong flavors going on. You can also get the dressing sprays that add only a couple of calories, but they don't come in many flavors.

    Or taco salad! Use either very lean ground beef or ground turkey, make it extra spicy, maybe throw in some red or kidney beans, and top your greens, onions, tomatoes (if you can find some that don't taste like plastic sawdust) and a bit of cheese, and you don't need dressing at all.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    I love real, home made full fat mayo.

    Home made ceasar dressing is also incredibly health, with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, garlic, anchovies. Everything there is very nutrient dense and delicious.

    Yep, 1 tablespoon of it has about 100 a calories, but if you make it with real extra virgin olive oil, its gonna dress about 4 cups of romaine. Way more nutrient dense and lower calorie then 2 slices of whole grain bread.

    Its all relative to your diet strategy. Never seen a "fat free" dressing that substituted fat with something healthy from nature. Usually they give you sugar, or starch.

    This is me too..........

    But I eat a very high fat eating plan so I love my full fat and full flavor dressings. Especially home made ones with no crap in them.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    The refrigerated dressings you find in the salad section are good. Light House is made out of canola oil, no preservatives (that's why they are in the fridge), "good fats". Salsa is good too. Cheese! Nuts, Meat (left over steak is great on salads), mushrooms, red peppers, grated carrots, onions.

    Canola oil is not a good fat. Just sayin'........................
  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    Salsa is good too.

    I use Frontera salsa (2 Tbsp is 10 calories!) on my salads, esp when I have a quarter cup of black beans in there. Yum!
  • KokomoJoe
    KokomoJoe Posts: 435
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    There are many ways to add flavour.

    Creamy lemon dresson

    4 oz silken tofu drained
    1 TBS fresh lemon juice
    1 tsp lemon zest
    1/2 TBS rice vinegar
    1 TBS EVOO
    sea salt and pepper to taste
    1tsp chives

    Blend tofu with lemon juice, zest, vinegar and oil scraping sides as necessary until smooth

    Transfer to a small serving bowl and stir in salt, pepper and chives

    poppy seed ( I love this one)

    1 cup oil (hemp, flax, udos)
    2 tbs of avocado oil (the one I use is infused with chili and bell peppers)
    2 large limes juiced
    1 lemon juiced
    1 pks of stevia
    1 oz ground flax seed
    1/4 cup raw pine nuts (optional)
    ground pepper (to taste)
    sea salt to taste
    1 oz poppy seeds

    Put first 7 ingredients in your blender and blend until flaxseed is well mixed and begins to thicken. With unit running add pepper and salt then add poppy seeds and pulse a few times to mix. Chill in refrigerator before serving.
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
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    Really good balsamic vinegar with a touch of extra virgin olive oil makes any salad better:bigsmile:

    Yup.
  • stephaniej05
    stephaniej05 Posts: 40
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    Try the gluten free section of your grocery store! I found some pretty tasty low cal, low sugar options there
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Try making your own dressings. It just takes a couple of minutes. Mustard, vinegar and olive oil are a great starting point. Add herbs, seasonings and/or a little parmesan cheese for flavor. Try different mustard and vinegar combinations, or add hot sauce for variety.
  • caveats
    caveats Posts: 493 Member
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    Try making your own dressings. It just takes a couple of minutes. Mustard, vinegar and olive oil are a great starting point. Add herbs, seasonings and/or a little parmesan cheese for flavor. Try different mustard and vinegar combinations, or add hot sauce for variety.

    I agree, forget about buying bottled. A simple vinaigrette with a really good flavored vinegar (balsamic, red wine, pomegranate infused white, whatever) plus some EVOO, salt and pepper, maybe herbs, maybe mustard (I like using stone ground -- but whatever you do, do NOT use plain yellow, that'll be unhealthy and taste gross :) ). Mix it all up and drizzle over your salad, voila!

    For ranch/creamy type dressings, start with a buttermilk base and add either sour cream (better) or mayo (could try using light or fat-free -- I have the "olive oil" mayo on hand). Add herbs and spices as necessary, and there's a hundred different types of dressings you can make. My favorite go-to is a creamy cilantro tomatillo dressing (soooo good and flavorful, even with just romaine), but I have made basil ranch too (when I had extra home-grown basil on hand and was tired of Thai curries!)

    The best part of it is you can either make a batch ahead of time and keep it in your fridge/on the countertop (the EVOO has a tendency to solidify in your fridge, so I keep mine on a cool shelf), or you can mix a serving up as you go and get fresh dressing all the time. With the creamy dressings, probably best to make a batch at a time. I keep mine in a Tupperware container in the fridge and it lasts a couple of weeks, at least.
  • skinnnyxoxo
    skinnnyxoxo Posts: 210 Member
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    See my diary for today, without the ranch dressing.
    I was going to add chicken also but I didn't feel like making it.
    You can also replace the iceberg with spinach, swiss chard, and romaine but I didn't have any on hand.
    Oh and I forgot to add carrots!
  • MayGetsHealthy
    MayGetsHealthy Posts: 28
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    What i usually do is have a small container of what ever dressing I'm in the mood for and and dip the fork in it before i stick it in the salad. I usually end up using less than a table spoon for the entire salad and i don't lose any of the taste.
  • ssdivot
    ssdivot Posts: 193
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    Sweet Balsamic Dressing

    1/8 cup olive oil
    1/4 cup balsamic
    1 TBLS Splenda
    1/4 tsp salt & pepper...

    Pasofan thanks for posting that recipe! I always thought I only liked creamy salad dressings (I think cause of never liking bottled "italian" types). I just made some of this recipe that you posted and used in on my salad and am blown away! I added some crushed garlic and a little mustard. Wow I'm in love! New favorite for sure. Was practically licking the bowl :laugh:
  • Hoppymom
    Hoppymom Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I love just a drizzle of Girard's Raspberry salad dressing. I don't even use a tablespoon. It's great on spinach.
  • Tamstar1985
    Tamstar1985 Posts: 334 Member
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    here's a vegan caesar salad recipe for you!

    ~

    for the caesar dressing:
    1/3 c slivered or sliced blanched almonds
    3 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
    3/4 pound silken tofu (the fresher the better)
    1/4 olive oil
    3 tblsp fresh lemon juice
    1 heaping tblsp capers
    4 tsp caper brine
    1 tsp sugar
    1/2 tsp mustard powder
    salt to taste

    for the salad:
    1 large head romaince lettuce
    freshly cracked black pepper
    handful or two of spinach and arugula, torn into bite-size pieces
    croutons

    method:
    prepare the dressing - first pulse the almonds in a food processor or blender until crumbly. empty the ground almonds into an airtight container that you'll be using the store the finished dressing. blend the garlic, tofy, and oil in the food processor until creamy. add the lemon juice, capers, caper brine, sugar, and mustard powder, and pulse until blended. adjust the lemon juice and salt to taste. pour into the container with the ground almonds and whisk to combine. cover and allow the dressing to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum 30 mins, optimally 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

    to assemble the salad, place in a large bowl 2 or 3 cups of lettuce/greens per individual serving. ladle on 1/3 c of dressing (or more or less to taste) and use kitchen tongs to toss the creens and coat them with dressing. add the croutons, toss again, and transfer to a serving dish. sprinkle with a little freshly cracked pepper. enjoy!

    ~

    on a side note here, i usually add a LOT less oil... like 1 tblsp at the most. next time i make it, i will try foregoing the oil completely and see if it's still yummers :)

    if you want more recipes, send me a message and i will see what i can dig up :D
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    For me, this thread title is a classic oxymoron...
  • joolzsd
    joolzsd Posts: 51
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    Salsa is a fantastic low-cal salad dressing. I an craving taco salad now! A serving of taco meat (beef or chicken/turkey), some avocado, tomatoes, lettuce of course and even sour cream, and a couple crumbled tortilla chips. Mmm.

    I love putting feta cheese on my salads (need to start doing that again). Balsamic vinegar is fantastic too!
  • melhayes1115
    melhayes1115 Posts: 187 Member
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    I love Ken's Steakhouse Lite Asain Sesame Dressing with ginger and soy. A little bit goes a long way and it's so tasty for a light dressing.

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