lewber Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I am trying to do the 5:2 diet and have found a great low cal salad option, but I'm looking for other suggestions. Right now I'm doing a huge bowl of lettuce, with green peppers, onions and cucumbers. But when I add 1/4 cup feta, Greek spices and red wine vinegar it tastes great and I actually look forward to eating it. The spices and red vinegar add a lot of flavor for zero calories. Any other ideas like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 First, make sure your salad greens are working for you. Choose arugula, baby kale, or spinach over iceberg. Fresh veggies in any amount have essentially no calories but are filling. Cukes and onions are yummy, but not doing much for you nutritionally. Grated carrots, leftover sweet potatoes from dinner, grated red cabbage, etc will gives you more bang for your caloric buck. Red cabbage slaw or salsa make awesome toppers--fewer calories than oil based dressing and give you a nutritional boost as well. Cheese and nuts add up wicked fast, I'm afraid. :( I love a salad of greens, veggies, hard boiled egg and ruby kraut. Or greens, roasted sweet potatoes, veggies and Trader Joes Cowboy Caviar salsa. Yum. Now I'm hungry. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I sometimes do a bowl of broth with veggies simmered in it when I'm in the mood for something hot on a fast day. I like green onion, mushroom, and cabbage. Usually on fast day I have coffee with milk, a half serving of nuts with a small salad, and then a nice dinner with a lean protein and veggies. I usually come in under 500 calories. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I ditto the better greens. If it has to be lettuce, go with romaine.I'd load up on more coleslaw type salad. 1 tbs of vegan bacon bits is 30 cal. (just an aside but many 'bacon' bits in the grocery aisle are vegan btw...)low cal dressings can be very tasty & give you way less cals than the feta.fwiw, I tend to do green smoothies because I find eating salads a chore lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Look up oil free salad dressings, you can get a lot more flavor for fewer calories. https://www.pinterest.com/ecliff519/oil-free-salad-dressings/ You can roast chickpeas in the oven sans oil and mix in any number of spices along with it. Protein, crunchy, and tasty! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenC Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 What about carrots, broccoli, red onion, green onion, hard boiled egg, yellow or red peppers, chick peas, or cauliflower? I prefer romaine lettuce. Iceberg lettuce has no flavor to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Lemon juice and salt spritzed over in place of any dressing. Love it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewber Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Thank you for the great ideas. By lettuce I meant romaine and spring greens or spinach. I never eat iceberg. I do kale mix in my smoothies. Feta is my favorite, and 1/4 cup is only 70 calories. I think that's pretty good for the flavor. I have found I need a lot of flavor to feel satisfied. I like to eat and I am trying to make these salads as large as possible, Today I ate the entire bag of romaine - 7 1/2 cups and still wasn't full! That's not a good sign I guess. :huh: I love chickpeas - but again I can eat the whole can. I eat a lot of beans, it's just this 500 calorie day where I am trying to get the most possible food for the 500 calories. I probably should just go hungry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 How long have been following 5:2? I found it took a few fast days before I adjusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewber Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 How long have been following 5:2? I found it took a few fast days before I adjusted. This is just my second day this go around. I did it before and made it a few weeks. I don't have much willpower, and have figured out I eat when I'm bored. Mindless. I eat well for my meals, but I snack way too much. This makes me pay attention a few days a week at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Lemon juice and salt spritzed over in place of any dressing. Love it. Olive oil, lemon juice and coarse salt is my favorite dressing. I imagine it would still be good without the olive oil. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewber Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Lemon juice and salt spritzed over in place of any dressing. Love it. This is a good idea. Might even get my son to eat salads! He loves both of these ingredients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 for a low calorie salad dressing I like a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a dash of freshly ground pepper. It's the oil that adds the calories. I don't think oil and cheese are 'bad' for you or to be avoided, but when every calorie counts those are the easy places to trim. I also like a sprinkle of low sodium soy sauce, a drop (literally a drop) of toasted sesame oil and a squirt of sriracha hot sauce. Toasted sesame oil is great to use because it is so flavourful that you only need a drop to make its presence known. The sesame oil mixed with the spice of the sriracha makes for a lot of flavour. Good luck with the 5:2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewber Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 for a low calorie salad dressing I like a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a dash of freshly ground pepper. It's the oil that adds the calories. I don't think oil and cheese are 'bad' for you or to be avoided, but when every calorie counts those are the easy places to trim. I also like a sprinkle of low sodium soy sauce, a drop (literally a drop) of toasted sesame oil and a squirt of sriracha hot sauce. Toasted sesame oil is great to use because it is so flavourful that you only need a drop to make its presence known. The sesame oil mixed with the spice of the sriracha makes for a lot of flavour. Good luck with the 5:2. Thank you. These are good ideas. Flavor is very satisfying to me. I think there are several ideas that sound like they will spruce up my next extra large salad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I like to top salads with salsa instead of dressing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelAR05 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Olive oil, lemon juice and coarse salt is my favorite dressing. I imagine it would still be good without the olive oil. Mine too! Even a half teaspoon of olive oil goes a long way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I like to top salads with salsa instead of dressing. That is an excellent idea! and 1/4 cup of salsa counts as a serving of vegetable, so it is win-win! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 This is just my second day this go around. I did it before and made it a few weeks. I don't have much willpower, and have figured out I eat when I'm bored. Mindless. I eat well for my meals, but I snack way too much. This makes me pay attention a few days a week at least. Hang in there, it gets easier. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I found a recipe somewhere for low-cal chipotle ranch dressing and I really like to use that for fast day dinner salads. Ah, here it is: http://www.skinnymom.com/2014/08/01/recipe-light-chipotle-ranch-dressing/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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