I can easily get in a salad rut, but looking through the salad section of restaurant menu’s helps get my creative juices going. Any of these creative salads can be made from the same salad mix: romaine lettuce and shredded carrots. When I have them I add spinach, home grown sprouts, and other chopped veggies like broccoli, red cabbage, mini bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and radishes. A few craisins and sunflower seeds add a splash of color and a punch of flavor and texture. Without dressing or the craisins and sunflower seeds, the salad is a zero or negative calorie food, meaning it has more calorie reducing fiber in it, than calories.
A large bowl of salad will keep up to 2 weeks when stored properly in the refrigerator. Adding soft veggies like cucumber or tomatoes will shorten this life a lot, so I put them on the table separately.
By adding a low-fat, high protein food (like grilled shrimp, boiled egg slices, or chicken breast) to the salad, you have a super filling, very low calorie and very satisfying meal. I avoid adding cheese, except for an occasional pinch of parmesan, to my salads, saving the extra calories for a later snack. And I weigh and count my protein out carefully making sure to get 3 oz or 15-20 grams of protein. Just enough and not too much to encourage a heathy body composition. Measuring the dressing is another must and even better if you can enjoy the pure taste of the veggies without it.
Try these salad combinations:
Ceasar: Romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, and low fat ceasar dressing with a pinch of parmesan cheese. (Fresh Tomatoes are gorgeous with this!)
Taco: Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, green onions, tomatoes, grilled southwest chicken (sprinkle the chicken with chili powder, garlic and cumin while cooking), salsa, and a dollap of plain yogurt or low-fat ranch dressing.
Asian: Romaine Lettuce, mung bean sprouts, snow peas, shredded carrots, and grilled shrimp with low-fat Asian Sesame dressing.
Lettuce Free Salads
Depending on where you live, lettuce can get expensive in the winter months. You can make lettuce free salads with home grown sprouts as a base! Or try these twists on traditional “meat” salads:
Tuna Salad: 3 oz tuna, 1-2 Tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper, 1 teaspoon pickle relish
Chicken salad: 3 oz chopped chicken breast, 1-2 Tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt, 1 chopped red baby bell pepper, 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt, 4 chopped almonds
Egg Salad: 2 chopped eggs, 1-2 Tablespoons plain non-fat yogurt, 1 teaspoon mustard, salt and pepper to taste
Croutons?
I love croutons, but have you ever read how many calories in a small serving? Traditional croutons are made by soaking bread in butter and herbs and baking to crisp, golden perfection.
To avoid all that fat, try baking a loaf of crouton bread with 100% whole grain flours, by mixing your herbs right into the bread, then you don’t need all the butter to make the herbs stick. When it has cooled, slice and cube and spread in one layer on a non-stick cookie sheet. Spritz lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt, then bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden. They will crisp up even more after cooling. You will still need to measure your croutons, but can enjoy a sprinkling without all the guilt.
Salad Dressings
There are lots of low-fat salad dressings available on the market, but if all the MSG and preservatives make your skin crawl, you can make your own varieties. Try replacing mayo or sour cream with skim milk plain yogurt and using stevia in the place of sugar or honey. It will take some tweaking to get the mixture just right, but you can do it! I have some recipes to share with you when I have more time.
