Salad, Again

[Georgiana Daniels]

Since it appears as though my weight-loss program will never end, I need salad suggestions!

 

Please help. I need variety! I've fallen into a salad rut--in fact, rut might not be a strong enough word.

 

What are your favorite salad fixings, dressings, etc., that are at least somewhat low-carb?

 

SOS!

[momto2Cs]

My Go-To Salad

 

Salad mix (Earthbound has a great organic mix with herbs in it - yummy!)

Various veggies: I choose from cherry tomatoes, cucumber, raw zucchini cut into matchsticks, bell pepper, lightly steamed cauliflower/broccoli, fruit, roasted & chilled veggies like eggplant and onions, etc.

Protein: roasted chicken or salmon; garbanzo beans/chickpeas; black beans

Fats: Avocado, nuts, feta, a good salad dressing (I love Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette or Cilantro dressings)

 

So today's salad has: salad mix, tomato, cucumber, strawberries, chickpeas, roasted chicken, a sprinkling of slivered almonds, and cilantro dressing. YUM!

[justasque]

I am not a big salad eater.

 

Have you thought about fitting your veggies in another way, for a change?

 

~Stuff a sandwich with baby spinach, roasted red peppers, thinly sliced cucumbers, fat slices of tomato?

 

~Saute garlic, onion, red pepper, zucchini, and a can of petite cut tomatoes, then add cooked pasta and your choice of protein (tofu, shrimp, salmon, turkey)?

 

~Do a chicken pot pie, but make it chock full of root veggies like onion, carrot, turnip, parsnip, and put mashed potatoes on top rather than using a pie crust?(Go easy on the potatoes - use a bit of chicken broth rather than high-calorie additives - and make your sauce from fat-free broth.)

 

~Do a batch of burrito meat, but add a ton of onions, peppers, garlic, carrots, corn, and beans?

 

I find if I cram a ton of veggies into regular dishes, it decreases my portion size of the non-veggie part and gives me lots of fiber to make me satisfied with less in general.

[woolybear]

dried cranberries

chopped walnuts

sliced turkey

bits of cheese (love goat cheese)

change up the dressing if you use it--ginger dressing: yum!

chunks of apple, grapes, pears

[Ferdie]

My favorite is romaine lettuce topped with taco lentils or turkey meat. For dressing I mix FF salsa with Walden Farms Bacon Ranch dressing, (0 pt). Total salad is 3 WW points for the turkey or lentils. Here is the lentil recipe I use. Make a huge batch and freeze in 1/2 cup portions:

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tasty-lentil-tacos/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=taco%20lentils&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

 

I also eat a lot of broccoli slaw as a side dish for lunch. I get the broccoli slaw prepacked, ready to eat. For dressing I mix 1 T Marie Calendars coleslaw, (in produce fridge section). with 2 T Walden Farms Coleslaw dressing, (0 calories, but not so tasty by itself). I add a lean piece of protein on the side like salmon, grilled chicken, grilled beef or shrimp.

 

How about trying something besides salad. I love the frozen, stir-fry veggies. Saute with garlic and add Hoisin sauce, (2 T for a huge skillet full). Add lean protein. I love this with tofu. I get the extra firm and cut into bite size pieces. Let in marinade in a T of hoisin sauce for a few hours before adding to stir fry. Yum!

 

Also have you tried the low-carb wraps? I eat them with Walden Farms Bacon Ranch Dressing, 3oz lean protein and load with lettuce and tomato. Yum!

Edited March 1, 2012 by Ferdie

[shalom22]

I eat a lot of salads, but I really like salads. :D I like to put everything in my salad: green lettuce, spinach, cilantro, purple cabbage, cucumber, carrots, celery, radishes, jicama, green olives, little bit of pepperjack cheese, boiled egg, bacon, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, salad peppers. I don't eat tomato or bell peppers anymore but I used to include them as well.

[freeindeed]

I eat low carb. For variety, I use spinach leaves as my salad base. Then I top it with egg salad or chicken salad. Sometimes I also have Caesar salad-minus the croutons, of course.

[freeindeed]

Here is a really good low carb salad recipe: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/broccoli_salad.html

[Momof3littles]

We eat a lot of main dish salads. Here are a few we do regularly:

 

Taco salad. Can add some salsa or cumin to ranch to make it more compatible with taco salad. Sometimes we add guac, sour cream, etc. instead of dressing.

 

Greek salad-our version is tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, thinly sliced red onion, pepperocini, olives. We occasionally roast a leg of lamb, and thinly sliced lamb is nice with this combo too. Sometimes we use tsatziki sauce as dressing. Or we make a red wine vinaigrette.

 

BLT salad-avocado, bacon, tomatoes.

 

Cobb salad

 

Big Mac or Whopper in a Bowl from this site: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/salad_recipes.html (my kids love these)

 

Salmon salad, egg, or chicken salad over greens

 

Wilted spinach salad (I rarely make but it can be yummy).

 

Hardboiled eggs and spinach with red onion and ranch

 

Subbing other veggies in for greens-we like broccoli slaw (broccoli shredded up-I buy the prebagged-ranch dressing, cheddar cheese if you want, green onions if you want, and toasted sliced almonds).

 

If you can do small amounts of fruit, pear or apple and goat cheese or blue cheese. I eat LC but can handle 1/3 or a 1/2 of a pear or apple from time to time.

[Georgiana Daniels]

Thanks so much, everyone! Great ideas. And I even have some of the toppings mentioned on hand.

 

Getting recharged to try again!

[alisoncooks]

My fave lunch salads (but they don't have many veggies... :tongue_smilie:):

 

BEAT salad: bacon (I use turkey), egg (hardboiled), avocado, tomato. Roughly chop/crumble. Top with salt & pepper, dash of lemon juice. YUM! (Might would be good over salad greens??)

 

 

Tuna/bean salad: tuna (drained) mixed with white beans (navy/white kidney), salt/pepper, dash of lemon juice + whatever you want (tomatoes, chopped cucumber, spinach, feta)

[NanceXToo]

My Go-To Salad

 

Salad mix (Earthbound has a great organic mix with herbs in it - yummy!)

Various veggies: I choose from cherry tomatoes, cucumber, raw zucchini cut into matchsticks, bell pepper, lightly steamed cauliflower/broccoli, fruit, roasted & chilled veggies like eggplant and onions, etc.

Protein: roasted chicken or salmon; garbanzo beans/chickpeas; black beans

Fats: Avocado, nuts, feta, a good salad dressing (I love Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette or Cilantro dressings)

 

So today's salad has: salad mix, tomato, cucumber, strawberries, chickpeas, roasted chicken, a sprinkling of slivered almonds, and cilantro dressing. YUM!

 

I just looked up that cilantro salad dressing and it sounds SOOOO good! Too bad I don't have a Trader Joe's anywhere near me! About to run out to take my daughter to Girl Scouts but I'll have to check into whether I can order that online!

 

Here is a really good low carb salad recipe: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/broccoli_salad.html

 

Oh, yum! I love broccoli salad, I just printed that recipe!

 

We eat a lot of main dish salads. Here are a few we do regularly:

 

Taco salad. Can add some salsa or cumin to ranch to make it more compatible with taco salad. Sometimes we add guac, sour cream, etc. instead of dressing.

 

Greek salad-our version is tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, thinly sliced red onion, pepperocini, olives. We occasionally roast a leg of lamb, and thinly sliced lamb is nice with this combo too. Sometimes we use tsatziki sauce as dressing. Or we make a red wine vinaigrette.

 

BLT salad-avocado, bacon, tomatoes.

 

Cobb salad

 

Big Mac or Whopper in a Bowl from this site: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/salad_recipes.html (my kids love these)

 

Salmon salad, egg, or chicken salad over greens

 

Wilted spinach salad (I rarely make but it can be yummy).

 

Hardboiled eggs and spinach with red onion and ranch

 

Subbing other veggies in for greens-we like broccoli slaw (broccoli shredded up-I buy the prebagged-ranch dressing, cheddar cheese if you want, green onions if you want, and toasted sliced almonds).

 

If you can do small amounts of fruit, pear or apple and goat cheese or blue cheese. I eat LC but can handle 1/3 or a 1/2 of a pear or apple from time to time.

 

I just bookmarked that site, thanks for posting those ideas and linking to that site!

[Georgiana Daniels]

LOL, I bookmarked too. Big Mac salad sounds delish (bad for my cholesterol, but a nice treat once a week!)

 

I did switch it up tonight and had a Mediterranean veggie blend with a few pine nuts added in. Not great for low carb, but a nice change.

 

Tomorrow I believe cranberries and turkey are in order.

[NanceXToo]

Sigh. Apparently, Trader Joe's does not sell their products online, and the closest one to me is 58 miles away. I don't think I'm destined to taste that cilantro salad dressing anytime soon. It sounded so good, too!

 

I've been eating a Ken's Steakhouse lite Caesar salad dressing on most of my salads but I'm starting to run low and I think I need a change from that or the oil and vinegar thing!

[Geo]

You'd be surprised how great just a little olive oil (1-2 tsp) and fresh squeezed lemon juice (with a twist of the salt grinder) with/without fresh garlic is. I started using it with greek salad, but the dressing has followed me. Substitute fresh lime juice and it takes a southwestern or asian turn for the better.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Geo

[Joyofsixreboot]

Warm weather I eat salad. Cold weather I eat vegetarian vegetable soup. I, too, am in a very deep rut.

[Georgiana Daniels]

Food ruts are SO hard to get out of!

 

Today I'll probably hit the grocery store for some of these. (We don't have a Trader Joe's though:glare:)

[jennsmile]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?pagewanted=all

[Georgiana Daniels]

Great link. Thanks!

[mom2hunangirls]

I haven't read the replies yet but I've been doing lots of lettuce wraps lately. I make chicken breasts and add seasonings put in other veggies and wrap with iceberg lettuce. Even my kids request those. I prefer the crispness of iceberg but there are lots of other "greener" lettuce that would work.

[Joanne]

I'm going to make wedge salads for lunch at work next week. I may make them with romaine instead, for more nutrition.

 

Add a hunk of meat or proein salad, and you'll have a meal.

[milovany]

I haven't had salad for awhile, but did the last two nights. My favorite: Greens/spinach with chopped almonds and dried cranberries on it. Then Brianna's honey mustard dressing on top. It's really good.

 

Another favorite: Greens with carrots, green onion and sprouts on top. Chop up some chicken tenders from the deli and add that. Brianna's poppyseed dressing over all. Yum.