Tell me about your favorite salads you make at home

[DawnM]

and maybe even easy low fat, low cal salad dressings.  

 

 

[regentrude]

Tomato, mozzarella, basil in olive oil+vinegar

 

Cucumber, dill in yoghurt+lemon dressing

 

chick peas, roasted butternut squash, onion, pasrley, in lemon-tahini dressing

 

Tomato,cucumber, peppers, onion in olive oil+vinegar. Good with feta if you like  it.

 

Potatoes and green onions in yoghurt w/garlic

 

Tabuleh: some grain (bulgur wheat, barley or quinoa), lots or parsley, some tomato, lots of lemon juice, some olive oil

Edited July 1, 2017 by regentrude

[SparklyUnicorn]

I do a lot of salads, but nothing you probably haven't done yourself.  Very basic.  But I have also done potato salad using cauliflower instead (I cook the cauliflower).  That's not bad!  It does cut way back on calories too.  If you wanted lower fat you could use low fat mayo.

 

 

[Pawz4me]

For basic veggie salads one of my favorite dressings is salsa.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Another nice one is roasted/grilled vegetables (eggplant, peppers, zucchini) with a basic oil/vinegar dressing.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I plan to try this one this week:

 

http://sweetleaf.com/spring-roll-salad-with-sweet-sugar-free-peanut-dressing/

[tammyw]

For summer parties I always do one with broccoli, purple onion, bacon, sunflower seeds, and raisins, but the dressing isn't low cal or low fat (mayo, vinegar, sugar). So yummy and popular!

[MaryMak07]

I do spring mix, walnuts, feta, and fruit (strawberries and blueberries and pineapple or apples and clementines). A fruity vinegarette

[Frances]

I do spring mix, walnuts, feta, and fruit (strawberries and blueberries and pineapple or apples and clementines). A fruity vinegarette

My go to salad is a similar one with spring mix, walnuts and Gorgonzola with a light raspberry vinaigrette. For guests or special occasions, I will add fruit.

[chiguirre]

We like black beans and mango over radicchio with a dressing of salsa and sour cream (you can sub low fat or plain yoghurt but you don't need much in any case).

[meena]

My family's favorite I make is Cobb salad. But it has bacon, turkey, cheese, and eggs plus homemade ranch dressing. That's great for my growing kids but definitely not low fat or low calorie!

 

A lighter salad I want to try is this Grilled Vegetable Pasta salad: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/06/grilled-vegetable-pasta-salad-2/ 

In the recipe notes, the author says you can leave out the mayo. I think you could also serve it over greens (possibly spinach?) instead of pasta to lighten it up more.

[justasque]

Spring mix or spinach, pecans, turkey or hard boiled egg, strawberries (and perhaps some blackberries), goat cheese crumbles.  
A fruity vinaigrette perhaps, but with ripe strawberries it is moist enough to go without a dressing.

[ktgrok]

I don't. I buy premise bags of chopped salad. They put more veggies in there than I would if I was making it myself. http://www.taylorfarms.com/products/chopped-salad-kits/sweet-kale-chopped-kit/

[Garga]

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, grapes, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, craisins, grilled chicken, sunflower seeds, walnuts. 

 

 

If I have all the ingredients at the same time, I use them all.  But often a couple are missing.  I just like mixing the veggies with the fruit and having some protein mixed in as well (chicken and/or walnuts.)

 

[Farrar]

Our standard salad is...

 

greens (the kids prefer romaine or butter lettuce, but I like spinach)

carrots chopped really fine

sugar snap peas

cucumbers

bell pepper

tomatoes in the summer or apples in the fall (and sometimes dried cranberries in the fall too)

 

And then we add in chopped up chicken - either roast chicken leftovers or fried chicken, various cheeses, pine nuts, bacon, ham... just depends on if it's a side or a main and what we've got on hand.

 

And I top it with a lemon and oil dressing. Honestly, I'm sure we're in a rut, but it's hard with kids sometimes.

[Seasider]

Romaine/spring mix

Goat cheese crumbles

Dried cranberries (craisins)

Pecan pieces

Diced grilled chicken breasts

Balsamic vinaigrette dressing

 

It's a good high protein meal salad (rather than side dish).

 

Pull up the online menus of your favorite restaurants to get some ideas of what you would like and could duplicate at home.

[Carol in Cal.]

A couple that haven't been mentioned so far:

 

The Costco bagged broccoli salad

Arugula with raspberry vinaigrette, goat cheese, and dried cranberries

Arugula with apricot slices, prosciutto, and raw pistachios with a honey/white wine vinegar vinaigrette

Not a salad exactly but saladish--spears of jicama served with citrus wedges (still in the skin) to squeeze the juice onto them.  This is really good, and festive looking if you use limes, lemons, and oranges.

Watermelon, strawberries, and tomatoes in a peppery vinaigrette.  It's surprising how veggie-ish watermelon tastes with salad dressing on it.

[Spy Car]

and maybe even easy low fat, low cal salad dressings.

 

Not to be a putz, but the key to healthful salad dressings IMO is to use healthful fats (like extra virgin olive oil) and to eschew unhealthfully polyunsaturated oils (like soybean, cottonseed, corn, and safflower oils).

 

One dressing I make limits the amount of oil is using a tomato (with a little olive oil, balsamic, clove of garlic, dab of good mustard) and blending it. I use a Ninja bullet-type blender, but I imagine any decent blender would work. It is like a "French" dressing.

 

I make this dressing because I like it. But it is lower in fat than a usual vinaigrette. 

 

Avoid polyunsaturated oils.

 

Bill

[Guinevere]

Grilled chicken

pasta

cherry or grape tomatoes

cucumber

italian dressing

basil to taste

[unsinkable]

Dawn...this thread has non-lettuce salads.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/640461-seeking-suggestionsrecipes-for-non-lettuce-salads/

[DawnM]

Not to be a putz, but the key to healthful salad dressings IMO is to use healthful fats (like extra virgin olive oil) and to eschew unhealthfully polyunsaturated oils (like soybean, cottonseed, corn, and safflower oils).

 

One dressing I make limits the amount of oil is using a tomato (with a little olive oil, balsamic, clove of garlic, dab of good mustard) and blending it. I use a Ninja bullet-type blender, but I imagine any decent blender would work. It is like a "French" dressing.

 

I make this dressing because I like it. But it is lower in fat than a usual vinaigrette. 

 

Avoid polyunsaturated oils.

 

Bill

 

You can be a putz, but I still need to limit my fats, even healthy ones.   And yes, I know what healthy fats are.  

Edited July 1, 2017 by DawnM

[FriedClams]

I do spring mix, walnuts, feta, and fruit (strawberries and blueberries and pineapple or apples and clementines). A fruity vinegarette

This. All the time!!

[Spy Car]

You can be a putz, but I still need to limit my fats, even healthy ones.   And yes, I know what healthy fats are.  

 

Try the tomato based dressing idea I posted up thread. It is pretty good. You can blend it fresh basil to give it a lift (or add other herbs). Sherry vinegar gives a nice (different) flavor, just use more sparingly. You can also add capers or some minced pickle/relish to give the latter a Thousand Island type feel. It also takes well to a dollop of sour cream or yogurt but might be counterproductive to the low-fat mission.

 

You can also spin it in a Mexican direction by adding things like onions, and cilantro, some heat, and lime juice in place of vinegar.

 

Using rice vinegar (which is low in acid) to make Asian-style dressings (miso is a nice "binder" to replace mustard) with a lower amount of olive oil to vinegar works really well. Especially if you add a trace of toasted sesame oil to the dressing. A very small amount of sesame oil provides a lot of flavor and can reduce the amount of oil without reducing the flavor profile.

 

I hope I didn't sound patronizing on the healthy fat issue. Many (all?) store-bought "low-fat" dressings are made with cheap and unhealthful oils. So the cure can be worse than the disease.

 

Cheers,

 

Bill 

[MBM]

Chopped seafood salad is my favorite right now. Usually I buy it because I'm lazy. :)

 

Romaine, chopped

Onions

Bacon, crunchy

Avocado

Boiled eggs

Tomato

Parsley, a bit

Shrimp, crab, smoked trout

Louis dressing, whichever one works for you

[StephanieZ]

Cucumber, carrot, sesame, soy . .. mmmmm

 

Pretty much calorie free, lol.

 

And, delicious. Soooo yummy. 

 

http://www.food.com/recipe/korean-carrot-and-cucumber-salad-226519

 

 

[solascriptura]

I love kale salad with a maple mustard dressing.

[LifeLovePassion]

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/04/crunchy-cashew-thai-quinoa-salad-with-ginger-peanut-dressing/

 

Crunchy Thai cashew quinoa salad. Yum!

[Kareni]

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/04/crunchy-cashew-thai-quinoa-salad-with-ginger-peanut-dressing/

 

Crunchy Thai cashew quinoa salad. Yum!

 

We had this last week.  It's a new favorite here!

 

Regards,

Kareni