Salads, NEED new recipes!

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  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
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    We make our own salad dressing in bulk, and it goes on virtually every salad you can imagine. It's fairly simple to throw together, made with good healthy ingredients, and is super-versitile. We've used it for quinoa salad with dried fruits and nuts, Asian style nut butter rice noodle salad, and every version of lettuce salad you can imagine. There are no limits.

    1C extra virgin olive oil (organic)
    1C canola oil (organic)
    1C rice vinegar
    1/2C honey
    1/4C Knudsen's cherry juice extract
    A few pinches of sea salt

    Stir to combine and mix with anything.
  • jjean905
    jjean905 Posts: 175
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    about once a week, I make salad for dinner for me and my husband and it's very filling and satisfying. I use:
    hearts of romaine
    cucumbers (we love cucumbers. But since you don't, you may try to dice them to see if you like them that way)
    tomatoes
    celery
    green pepper
    cauliflour
    onion on my husbands salad since I hate onions
    grilled chicken or you could use tuna
    fat free feta cheese
    fat free shredded cheddar
    a little bacon bits for crunch
    fat free zesty italian dressing or vinegar and oil

    Oh so good!!
  • chanjee
    chanjee Posts: 1 Member
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    I have a few salads that I love to make at home just based on flavors I like:

    "Fiesta" Style Salad:
    - Green Leaf Lettuce (or whatever green you prefer)
    - Lean Ground Turkey (cooked w/ low sodium taco seasoning)
    - Low-fat/skim shredded mozzarella cheese
    - Sliced red onion
    - [Whatever other veggies you like - bell peppers/corn/tomato/etc.]
    - Salsa - instead of dressing I use salsa b/c its 0 calories and DELICIOUS. This is what lets you have it low cal but keep the cheese!

    "Asian" Style Salad:
    - 1/2 mixed greens + 1/2 arugula
    - fresh cilantro (to flavor, I usually do about 2 sprigs or so of it)
    - squeeze a slice of lemon over the greens and toss (this adds a great flavor and also helps reduce the amount of salad dressing you use)
    - Add sliced tomato, sliced cucumber (leave this out if you don't like it like you indicated), and sliced red onion
    - Toss everything w/ 1 TBS Sesame Miso dressing (I use the brand by Angelo Pietro)
    - Top with protein of your choice. I prefer Karage Chicken, which typically comes in small little breaded bits of chicken and can be purchased from most japanese/asian markets pre-made. I heat it up in the toaster and throw it on top of my salad as the final, delicious, finishing touch! You could also add any other type of protein you want, including soy beans, teriyaki chicken, or just grilled chicken breast.

    Good luck!!
  • Jeanniesb
    Jeanniesb Posts: 14 Member
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    Base is Romaine, butter lettuce, mixed greens, 3-4 leafs of Kale, (fresh) basil, (fresh) oregano, (fresh) colander, (fresh) parsley (curly) zucchini, tomato,carrot, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Gogi Berries, blue berries, 1 celery stalk with leaves, 2 slices of red onion, flax seed oil and white balsamic vinegar, & a pinch of rock salt. Great salad!
  • JanetLM73
    JanetLM73 Posts: 1,277 Member
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    I need to write these down!
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    There is no art or method to salad making. Just throw stuff together. Things I like in my salads:

    -Different types of greens (arugula, spinach, romaine etc) I especially love buying the mixed green salads at the store.
    -mushrooms
    -cucumber
    -tomato
    -onion (green or red are my favorite kinds)
    -hard boiled eggs
    -chickpea or other beans
    -dried or fresh fruit
    -feta cheese (or other cheeses)
    -artichoke heart
    -olives
    -peppers
    -corn
    -celery
    -carrots
    -nuts or seeds
    -herbs like parsley or cilantro
    -meat of your choice (I like sears rosemary chicken)

    I also make my own dressings, which are also easy. Combine oil and vinegar of your choice (I usually use red wine or balsamic). Add seasonings like Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, dijon mustard, etc. If you really like the vinegar, you can skip the oil all together (which I do frequently).

    I also make quinoa/cous cous/bulgar wheat salads a lot, which have very similar ingredients, minus the lettuce usually. I'll usually mixed some lemon or lime juice and salt and pepper for the dressing.
  • byrnet18
    byrnet18 Posts: 230 Member
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    Bump
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    1. Open the refrigerator fresher door.
    2. grab vegetables
    3. throw them in a bowl and mix 'em up

    voila, SALAD... LOL>

    Just a man's perspective... no disrespect intended... LOL>>> BTW, I read the answers.. I love fruit salads actually... Adding fruit to a salad base adds a lot of character to many salads...
  • mom2mozart
    mom2mozart Posts: 307 Member
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    Mixed greens, yellow or orange bell peppers, cooked corn, black olives, salsa, low-fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt, and shredded tortilla chips. (good with grilled chicken, shrimp, or lean ground beef too).

    Spinach, shredded carrots, strawberries, blackberries, toasted almonds. white balsalmic vinegar w/a little water and olive oil.

    Mixed greens, diced turkey or chicken, multi-grain pasta, diced tomatoes, craisins, and lite ranch dressing.

    Mixed greens, grape tomatoes, hearts of palm - sliced, feta cheese, craisins, and balsalmic vinegar w/water and olive oil.

    I love salads with crunch, salt, sweet and a kick (vinegar or heat). I use whatever I have on hand. All cheese tastes good to me in a salad. Most fruits are delicious in a salad too. I like both fresh and dried fruits.

    Chef's salad is yummy once in a while. I buy low or no salt added luncheon meats (Boar's Head - without nitrates). Really yummy with italian. honey mustard, or fat-free catalina dressing.

    Also, BBQ brisket and pulled pork is delicious on a bed of mixed greens w/grape tomatoes, a little light ranch and bar-b-que sauce.
  • OccupyFitness
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    My favorite salad is the Caesar salad. It is a great dinner for entertaining in the summer, too. I cut up tons of nice fresh organic Romain and toss in Caesar dressing (make your own is best) top with some croutons, serve with grilled steak and a bottle of wine and everybody is happy.

    Also I love to have taco salad.

    And I was just talking to a friend of mine the other day about the balance of feeding a family vs feeding yourself for weight loss. She said she makes a huge salad and a family style entree for dinner (think lasagna, or whatever) and she just has a huge salad with the entree as a topping (no dressing). She said almost every dinner is really good this way and cuts back on her calorie intake. I might give that a try.
  • tnqnt
    tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
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    Do you like Arugula ... rocket salad.... its delicious and SUPER healthy ... part of the cabbage family... :)
    I eat it with almost anything but it is GREAT with Italian.
    Then, I make a homemade dressing.... super healthy and low cal.... lemon juice, potassium chloride (or you can use salt), pepper, sundried tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano, and toasted pine nuts... DELICIOUS!
    It is a bit peppery and bitter so you really need to like it to eat it.... :)

    Another salad i LOVE is roasted vegetable salad...
    I roast whatever vegis I have 450 degrees.... butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, garlic, onion, zucchini, parsnips, carrots, you get the idea.... then, I put the roasted vegi's over whatever green you have (I LOVE frissee with spinach and romaine) and then put chunks of cheddar in it with homemade croutons (from ciabatta bread) - DELICIOUS!! :) I also add kidney beans ( I am a vegetarian) ... No need for dressing, as this is good as it is - add avocados, too - this is amazing :):)
  • lovelysummerbabe2012
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    1. Open the refrigerator fresher door.
    2. grab vegetables
    3. throw them in a bowl and mix 'em up

    voila, SALAD... LOL>

    Just a man's perspective... no disrespect intended... LOL>>> BTW, I read the answers.. I love fruit salads actually... Adding fruit to a salad base adds a lot of character to many salads...

    that's usually what I do because I'm lazy LOL
    It's so plain though ):



    These all sound really good! I'm so excited to try all of these!
  • Vespyr
    Vespyr Posts: 111 Member
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    bump for later
  • OccupyFitness
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    I got this recipe off ToneItUp.com---love it. I'm actually eating it tonight!

    Karena's Kale Salad

    Servings: 10 -- big enough for a BBQ! You can divide the portions equally if you want to make less servings. This salad keeps well overnight too! It's actually better tasting the longer it marinates :)

    INGREDIENTS & INSTRUCTIONS--

    5-6 cups kale, washed and cut with kitchen scissors into thin strips.
    1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries.
    1/2 cup pine nuts.
    1/2 cup diced red onions.
    1/2 cup cherry red tomatoes
    1/3 cup feta cheese. We suggest low-fat or non-fat.
    juice of one lemon
    2 fresh diced garlic cloves
    1/4 cup olive oil
    1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
    1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    1/2 teaspoon black pepper

    Mix kale, cranberries, tomatoes, nuts, onions in a glass bowl. In a separate dish, mix lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic to make a dressing. Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat evenly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight 6 hours or more is best! Before serving, toss in feta cheese.

    I made this last night and it was soooo gooood. Thanks for sharing! Next time I will add two bunches of kale, one was not enough.