What do you put in your salads?

I'm bored, so i thought I'd ask this lol.

I put a lot of different stuff in mine, depends on my mood.

Varies from raisins, lunch meat, almonds, walnuts, pecans, carrots, celery, SOMETIMES a little shredded cheese, and salad dressing (Ken's light Vidalia)

What about you guys?
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Replies

  • butterflylover527
    butterflylover527 Posts: 940 Member
    Depends.. Hard boiled eggs, chicken, cucumbers, cheese, grape/cherry tomatoes, nuts, (sometimes even a few croutons if I have some calories to spare.)

    Mmmm I think I'm going to have to steal the hard boiled eggs idea!!
  • I like everything in salad, the usual eggs, cheese, sometimes lunch meat or cold chicken breast but my secret ingredient if I ever don't feel like salad is Frenchs crispy fried onions!!!! Well worth the 40 cal for a tablespoon of delicous!
  • I use lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, green pepper, mushroom, broccoli, califlower, radish, and then I sprinkle with Tastefully Simple All Natural garden Veggie dip Mix - no fat to my salad - less than 80 calories total - HUGE and I do mean a HUGE salad and it really tastes good - If y'll have not been to a Tastefully Simple Party you need to find one - if you live in the Tucson area I'm going to have a male/female party in November but you really need to hook up with some of the products before that - I found it by mistake - just like this is a dip mix - it is great spinkled on salads and sandwiches gives them flavors and becauce you don't use enough to matter it don't count - Good Luck -
  • Impy84
    Impy84 Posts: 430
    raisins, orange wedges, strawberries, grapes ( i like fruit lol), tuna, cucumbers, bell peppers, broccoli. those steamable veggie bags.
    basically whatever i want lol
  • butterflylover527
    butterflylover527 Posts: 940 Member
    I like everything in salad, the usual eggs, cheese, sometimes lunch meat or cold chicken breast but my secret ingredient if I ever don't feel like salad is Frenchs crispy fried onions!!!! Well worth the 40 cal for a tablespoon of delicous!

    Oh yumm!! I use to eat a whole can of the fried onions :ohwell:
  • LaPati
    LaPati Posts: 41 Member
    I like everything in salad, the usual eggs, cheese, sometimes lunch meat or cold chicken breast but my secret ingredient if I ever don't feel like salad is Frenchs crispy fried onions!!!! Well worth the 40 cal for a tablespoon of delicous!

    French onions, what a great idea! I will have to try!

    I have looked for crispy little tortilla strips for my salad, like El Pollo Loco puts on the loco side salad but haven't been able to find them, does anyone know where I might find these?

    And for my salad I like putting garbanzo and kidney beans, cucumbers, broccoli and a little bit of cheese.
  • spngebobmyhero
    spngebobmyhero Posts: 823 Member
    my usual salad:

    spring greens
    grape tomatoes
    cucumbers
    1 can of oil packed tuna
    balsamic vinegar
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    I got a few goto salad recipes I use

    Poor mans salad:
    small red onion
    tomato
    cucumber

    use quantity as you like, chop them up nice and tiny and then add some lemon juice. Viola! Its pretty good salad if you're eating it with rice and curry or rice in general

    Fatoush:
    romaine lettuce
    tomato
    pita chips
    cucumber
    red onion

    chop em up nice and chunky except for the cucumber and red onion which should be chopped tiny. Add them up together. Mix in some "Summac" (An arabic spice) with some lemon juice and then drizzle some extra vigin olive oil on top
  • tammietifanie
    tammietifanie Posts: 1,496 Member
    My fav is :

    Baby Spinach leaves
    Hard Boil egg
    Kidney beans
    Tomato
    Chopped up cooked Turkey bacon
    and Drizzle Olive oil over it with a dash of pepper
  • bhankiii
    bhankiii Posts: 217 Member
    For me the question is what do I put ON my salads. I love Indian food more than life itself, but I'm avoiding the white rice carbs, so when I go to the Indian buffet, I load up my plate with salad instead of rice and put my saag paneer and lamb korma on top. Similarly, leftover spaghetti goes on a plate of baby spinach. Because I'm not really a fan of salads.
  • my favorite salad
    cucumber
    apple
    red grapes
    lemon juice
    S&P
    red pepper flakes
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    My salads always start with baby spinach. I don't even remember what lettuce tastes like, lol.

    I eat a lot of the same stuff that others have said, but at least once a week when I want something a bit different I eat:

    2 cups spinach
    1 sliced hard boiled egg
    grated carrot
    grated zuchinni
    60 g tuna
    3 spicy pickled beans

    Renee's Asian sesame dressing

    So yummy! Bean sprouts in this would be good too, altho i never have those in the house :)
  • i like to put quinoa and wholemeal couscous in my salads, avocado and pineapple is another 2 favourites.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    we eat salads for all kinds of meals, sometimes as a side, but mostly as the meal itself, so it depends on what kind of salad we're talking about.

    for my regular lunch salad, I'll use whatever I have but almost always some of the following:

    a mix of crisp and leafy greens
    shredded carrots
    feta cheese
    1/2 hard boiled egg
    red onions
    green onions
    pepperoncini
    jalapenos
    black or green olives
    pickles

    homemade dressing (made from balsamic vinegarl, spices & homemade mayonnaise (oil, egg, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar & some spices)

    and seasonally

    1/2 tart apple (i adore the combination of apples & onions)
    tomato
    avocado
    snap peas
    chopped cauliflower
    chopped broccoli (not much, because I'm not a big fan of broccoli)


    and occasionally

    sunflower seeds
    homemade croutons (though since I've basically cut bread from my diet, this is extremely rare. I used to make croutons with stale bread. I don't think I've ever bought them at the store)

    if it helps much, you can look at my diary around may 15th to about june 5th. I had a salad for lunch almost every day and it had to sustain me from noon to about 6 with a small snack in between. I also bicycle commute to work & back, so it had to give me enough energy to get home (though, home is more downhill than up, thankfully)
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    I got a few goto salad recipes I use

    Poor mans salad:
    small red onion
    tomato
    cucumber

    use quantity as you like, chop them up nice and tiny and then add some lemon juice. Viola! Its pretty good salad if you're eating it with rice and curry or rice in general

    Fatoush:
    romaine lettuce
    tomato
    pita chips
    cucumber
    red onion

    chop em up nice and chunky except for the cucumber and red onion which should be chopped tiny. Add them up together. Mix in some "Summac" (An arabic spice) with some lemon juice and then drizzle some extra vigin olive oil on top


    I love love love fatoush! It's a 'party' salad to me, I also add minced radish, and I use green onion instead of red. Also I buy pita bread, cut it in pieces and fry it before adding to the salad- not healthy but so tasty!
  • Diced avocado. Higher in calories than other veggies, but fantastic super food with good fat. If you dice up a quarter of the avocado, you'll find you need less dressing - so win win!
  • Josette89
    Josette89 Posts: 244
    My favorite salad ever is a Greek Salad. With Spinach. I love Feta cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette. :) Oh Oh! And Red onions. But if I were to have any other kind of salad it would have Bell Peppers, onions, Croutons, and a hint of shaved Parmesan cheese. Maybe with a light Caesar Dressing. I really prefer fresh made Caesar, with real Anchovies, but I haven't had much time to make stuff like that in a while. :) yummm... It is kinda crazy how much I love food, hahaha. But that's why I'm a cook and not to mention the reason why I am on MFP.
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
    Lately it's been:

    lettuce
    chick peas
    red bell pepper
    cherry tomatoes
    a few croutons
    and light ranch dressing or caesar dressing

    I would put hard boiled eggs in there, but for some reason i'm really nervous to make hard boiled eggs...
  • butterflylover527
    butterflylover527 Posts: 940 Member

    I would put hard boiled eggs in there, but for some reason i'm really nervous to make hard boiled eggs...

    Yeah I know what you mean!
  • Acliff510
    Acliff510 Posts: 122 Member
    I love sunflower seeds in mine. & I agree about the tastefully simple ... I used there vidalia dressing and LOVE it!!! :)

    I wish I could copy Applebees Oriental chicken salad for 1/2 the calories!!! I love that thing!!! (had it last night before going to see magic mike as a matter of fact!!)
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Halloumi light, pomegranate seeds, humous, cucumber, pumpkin seed oil (yummy), various leaves, sorrel is amazing in salads.
  • raeleek
    raeleek Posts: 414 Member
    I LOVE this salad. I'm not burnt out on it yet lol...

    Herb mix greens
    1/4 cup lo mein noodles
    green onion
    tomatoes
    cucumber
    fresh cracked pepper
    spicy ms dash
    1/2 tblsp of olive oil
    rice vinegar
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member

    I would put hard boiled eggs in there, but for some reason i'm really nervous to make hard boiled eggs...

    Yeah I know what you mean!

    easy as ever.

    put eggs in cold water
    bring water to a boil.
    turn stove off, cover pot.
    wait about 15 minutes, 20 if you're worried.
    lift eggs out with a slotted spoon into an ice bath
    put in fridge.

    tada!
  • douglasmobbs
    douglasmobbs Posts: 563 Member
    bacon it is the answer to so many problems
  • jlcl119
    jlcl119 Posts: 51
    Whatever I have on hand really. If I'm making it a meal I like to add an egg, some avocado, and sunflower seeds.

    Yesterday I had a salad of baby greens, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, feta, and nectarines. I topped it off with a quick dressing of evoo, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of honey.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I like soft boil eggs (I like a little runny yoke) and bacon. I also like pine nuts and dried fruit. Oh, marinated mozzarella! Or left over chili!
  • teacupowl
    teacupowl Posts: 104
    It depends on what I have in the fridge that day. Avocado is one of my absolute favorites, but I cannot possibly have a salad without cucumbers in it!

    I also regularly use cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, a smidge of shredded cheese, buffalo chicken, ham cubes, olives, etc.

    One thing I love is that if we go out to dinner and I'll get some sort of grilled flavorful chicken, I'll save half and cut it up cold for a salad the next day. Had lemon pepper chicken the other day with fresh strawberries and mozzarella chunks and it was amaaazing.
  • MissCheese
    MissCheese Posts: 195 Member
    Mixed salad (spinach, rocket, various dark green lettuce etc)
    Salad onions
    Cucumber
    Bell Peppers
    Grapes
    Capers
    Soft Boiled Egg (quatered)
    Boiled baby Potatoes
    Blanched & cooled French Beans
    Blanched & cooled Asparagus
    Tuna (fresh or canned)

    As a dressing my favourite is 0.5 tblspoon Olive Oil in 2 tblspoons Aged Malt Vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic clove crushed and a 1/4 teaspoon English Mustard.

    I also add Apple, cubes of mature Cheese, Red Onion........I could go on and on. Salads are so versatile, filling and good for you.
  • dnunny
    dnunny Posts: 125
    When I eat salads, I like to have a variety of texture and color.

    Today I had

    romaine
    bean sprouts
    red, orange, yellow baby bell pepper (about 1/4 of each type-diced)
    plum tomato (from my garden)
    cucumber (from my garden)
    3 oz diced ham
    Fat Free Sundried Tomatoe dressing

    I am cutting back on sodium, so I skip the cheese; only cheese I'll use now is swiss. I like chick peas, kidney beans and beets, olives, eggs-just didn't have any on hand.
  • becabean
    becabean Posts: 49 Member
    i love bacon cooked till crispy with hard boiled eggs still warm and slightly runny yoke with my salad!

    some great ideas on here that i will defiantly try out thx everyone :D