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5:2 Cookery Discussion, Tips & Ideas

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What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 11:46
I'm looking for inspiration because I love salad but get a bit stumped occasionally as to what to put into it. I tend to generalise and use lettuce (little gems or romaines), cherry tomatoes, radish, spring onions etc. When I make a salad that I really like, it's usually got cheese or meat in it, in some form. Often both - and that's not neccesarily a good idea when counting the calories on fast or feast days :oops: .

So what do you put into your salads that keep you eating them?
Do you stick to the same food stuffs time and again?
Do you have a favourite low cal salad dressing?
Do you only eat salads on fast days (if at all)?

:?: :?: :?: :?: :grin:
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 12:13
What keeps me eating them is a nice creamy, tasty dressing. I don't worry about low cal on it, the salad it so low cal I'm happy to use up 60-100cals on dressing to make it yummy!

I usually do very similar salads, finely chopped with lettuce, tomato, cucumber & apple. I love apple in a salad! I either use a creamy dressing and a little ham (lean ham is quite low cal) or balsamic & olive oil (just a smidge) with some feta cheese.

My fave dressing at the moment is ranch, though I love a good garlic & herb too.

Salads are summer thing for me, so I ate loads when it was warmer, fast day or not. I have a whopping bowl of salad with dressing & ham or cheese for around 200-250 cals.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 12:24
I love a good salad, in addition to the traditional lettuce, carrot shreds and cabbage I have been adding chia seeds, cacoa nibs, sunflower seeds, blackberries and peppered cheese crumble. I like rasberry vinigrette with a lime squeeze. Yum, it's a fast day might just have a salad today !
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 12:30
Lettuce, tomatoes (from cherry to slices of beefsteak!), cucumber, raw mushrooms, whopper-sized pickled onions and home-pickled beetroot slices. I always eat the same thingin the same quantities as I have it set up as "Jane's basic salad" on MFP so I only have to click on one thing! I never get bored of it either, weirdly. If I am eating iceberg lettuce I sprinkle on Schwartz steak seasoning to detract from any bitterness, but I don't have a dressing as such.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 12:45
I add a tin of tuna, plus a few warm salad potatoes and green beans to the usual salad fare, and then a really tasty dressing of some description. I like the Morrisons herby one best.
What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 12:59
My favorite salad: lettuce, rocket, halves of strawberries, chopped avocado and crumbled feta.
Dressing: 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon olive oil, pepper.
It's delicious!!
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 13:10
Great topic Abbe, yes, like Moogie, I prefer to spend my calories on dressing. On a non fast day I would usually have some tinned tuna or lean ham and a boiled egg or two. I do sometimes add chopped pecans and cranberries. There are some lovely ideas here

http://www.aubonpain.com/menu/food.aspx?s=cafe_salads

I don't want salad so much in the chilly weather but still need something quick. Tesco do a really nice frozen Mediterranean grilled mixed veg with cherry tomatoes that can be stir fried in 10 minutes and I think of it as being a warm salad.

Any other warm salad ideas would be good. Thanks
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 13:30
I like a colorful salad. There are a lot if cool leafy thing to put in salads in Japan. I like shiso for the flavor, but for color I use handama, which is deep green on one side and purple on the other. It's awesome with oil and balsamic.

I like crunch in salads too. Apples, carrots, nuts: anything goes.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 13:36
I used to love the Helmans Warm Chicken Salad pots - a yummy jar of dressing which came with a little jar of paste to cook the chicken in. The Chinese one and Italian ones were amazing, shame I've never found another dressing like the Chinese one. Italian was a bit like a ceasar dressing with a tomato/herb paste.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 13:58
I put everything in my salads! 2 or 3 different kinds of lettuce, spinich, tomato, red onion, cucumber, colorful bell peppers, mushroom, sprinkle of sunflower seeds or some chopped walnuts, maybe sliced apple, or some chunks of orange, or sliced strawberrys, dried cranberries. Lots of color and topped with a little feta and drizzle of Bolthouse vinaigrette or chunky bleu cheese/yogurt dressing.

I make a huge salad for the 2 of us and sometimes my neighbor and it lasts for a couple days. Lots of different tastes and textures, no two bites the same nor two salads the same. lol
Just found a package of chopped veg (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, chicory, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds) that I'll add on occasion.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 14:10
I'm a rabbit and love salad. Here are my no fail salad rules. Think of it like building an ice cream sundae and you will get the hang of it.

Leaves. Use what is in season, eg soft in the summer, bitter in the winter
Herbs
Something with a punch, eg citrus, capers, chillis
Something creamy or alternatively with protein to balance the citrus in the dressing, eg avocado, prawns, chicken, beef
Something crunchy like seeds or nuts.
Something sweet, eg an apple or even dried fruit which pair well will bitter leaves, eg sour cherries go well with radiccio.
Oil
Salt
Play with slicing/grating/mandoline/spiral slicers, but be careful of mutilating yourself on mandolines :shock: Try to make things pretty, and sprinkle things like sprouts, herbs, seeds etc on the top.

Some faves (dress as you like, but I go mostly for lemon, salt and oil and dijon):

*Apple, courgette, red onion, dill, rocket topped with sunflower seeds or hazelnuts.
*Watermelon, tomato, feta, cucumber, parsley, rocket and pumpkin seeds
*Pear, watercress or endive with stilton and walnuts topped with sprouted lentils. Drop the stilton if you are having a fast day and replace walnuts with pumpkin seeds.
*Boiled eggs, onion, capers, parsley, tarragon, asparagus and pine nuts
*Mango, tomato, onion, red chilli and parsley.
*Red grapefruit, avocado and fennel with mint and lime juice
*rare beef, onion, coriander, soy, lime, fish sauce, chillis and peanuts

*Asian slaw is nice with carrots, red and white cabbage, red chilli and onion made with a dressing of fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice (and sesame oil if you can afford the calories).

You can tell its a fast day. I'm fantasising. Sorry. :heart:
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 14:23
Love these foodie threads! I usually like Greek salads an hooked on feta (which is one of the best low far cheeses to have). So I chop cucumber ,rocket, tomatoes, red onion olives with a balsamic or white wine, mustard, olive oil, herb dressing and crumble feta on top . Another thing I add to salads are tins of salad beans in vinaigrette very filing. Sweetcorn also is nice.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 14:33
My absolute favourite salad :heart: is a mix of tomatoes, spring onions, piquante peppers, crumbly goats cheese, chorizo (plus it's drippings) and balsamic (sometimes a dash of EV olive oil). I find it hard to move away from it and try other salads because it hits all the right notes for me.

I LOVE hellmann's balsamic vinaigrette, and honey and mustard dressings. I could make my own but I'm a bit cr@p at it!

You can keep your boiled eggs in salad - I don't eat solid egg white :razz:
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 14:54
I dislike creamy dressings! So mine are usually just dressed with a squeeze of lemon or lime.

Raw spinach, artichokes (from a jar or can), ham, black olives.

One of my favourites to take to parties is supposedly from Meryl Streep - watercress, segments of pink grapfruit or blood orange, avocado, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Re: What goes into your salad?
14 Oct 2013, 14:56
Hi Abbe. If you replace your feta with butter beans in your tomato and chorizo salad, you have a classic spanish dish! Yum!
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