I love combining cooked lentils with chopped carrots, celery, scallions, pomegranite seeds, parsley, a few crushed walnuts and about a teaspoon of olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice.  It's crunchy, acidic and slightly sweet all at the same time.  I make a batch of this on Sunday and then eat it with whatever fresh salad greens I have on hand throughout the week.  To make it even easier Trader Joe's sells lentils already cooked and small containers of fresh pomegranite seeds.  In case you're really in a time crunch!

I like this recipe for ranch dressing which is only 77 calories for a whopping 1/4 of a cup
http://caloriecount.about.com/ranch-dressing-vegan-recipe-r6 15935

Then I heat and slice bocca chickn patties, sprinkle with bacco bits and serve on a bed of mixed spring greens with fresh chopped veggies! Yummo!~

I love salads too and even eat them for breakfast especially in the summer.  My favorite is arugula and spinach combination with seared wild sushi tuna slice on top.  I through in fruit such as berries, slice or diced peaches, apples, nectarines.  The sweet taste of the fruit goes nicely with the arugula.  I even will little cook asparagus, broccoli, and slice portabella mushrooms and toss that in.  I make sure to use a serving of avocado or sliced almonds.  I top it with a little raspberry vinegar.  I sometimes make a delicious dressing of tehini, mustard, honey and lemon juice and a little H2o.  Combine according to taste and measure dressing on salad.

I love mixed greens, roasted chicken, walnuts, peaches, Cauliflower, brocolli, tomatoes,   Anything that will fill me up and satasify me.  I like to have a salad for lunch, to save my big meal for dinner.

Excellent article Brittany! Greens are HUGELY important to our health in so many ways - phytochemicals!!!I love this article probably my favorite ever from Calorie Count authors!!! You go girl!!! (I am a nurse practitioner)

I use a low calorie homemade ranch dressing only 25 cals per 2 tablespoons which is the typical serving for any dressing. Compare that to 130 cals per 2 tablespoon of storebought ranch dressing which equals a HUGE difference.......

Fat free cottage cheese, lettuce, pineapple and sesame seeds....YUM YUM...

I actually crave my salads!!! I make a "buffalo" chicken breast with Frank's hot sauce mixed with a little "I can't believe it's not butter" spray. For the dressing, I mix a half a cup of Non-fat Greek yogurt with onion and garlic powders, 1tbls. worcestershire sauce, 1 tbls. soy sauce and 1 triangle of Laughing Cow bleu cheese spread. For the salad part, you can use any of your favorites! Right after I cook the chicken, I put it in the salad while it's still hot and it melts the dressing and wilts the lettuce a little and it tastes so yummy!!! It actually tastes like it's loaded with fat and calories to fool your brain!!

My favorite salad...

spring mix with arugala, fresh peach slices, avocado, grilled asparagus and chicken ... with homemade cilantro-lime dressing !! TO.DIE.FOR ! ! !

lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, spring onions, green peppers,  chopped almonds , walnuts and sunflowerseeds and dressed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil  . I add sometimes multigrain crackers...

spinach, dried cranberries, walnuts, balsamic vinegar.  fast, east, delicious and filling!! 

I'm not a fan of salads because they aren't filling. This article hasn't told me anything I haven't tried except for the one thing that works and makes eating salad more convenient at the same time: Put it all in a pita.

I made this lovely salad last night.   cooked Medium size Shrimp, cubed cucumber, tomato, celery; chopped red onion; cilantro, garlic, lime juice, tabasco and kosher salt.  It was light, zesty and filled me up. 

This article is in tune of my lunch for today (lunch is my strong meal of the day), I'm having this salad:

Romaine, spinach, cubed tomato, carrot strips, green bell pepper strips, about 2 oz of light basket cheese, half of a thick slice of turkey lunch meat, about 1/2 cup of grilled chicken and the white of a small boiled egg. It's so very satisfying and it tastes great.

CC counters says it's about 400 calories and it keeps me full for most of the afternoon!

Great article. Salads are my favourite lunch-time meals.

My fave is baby spinach and arugula, cherry tomatoes, sliced brazil nuts, 1 pear and a tiny bit of goat cheese.  I then shake my salad until the goat cheese mixes with everything, then you don't even need dressing.

Yum!

I use lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt as a dressing.  Tasty!

Baby spinach, chicken sauteed in olive oil, garbanzo beans, chopped hard boiled egg, sunflower seeds, fresh garden tomatoes, low fat bleu cheese dressing.  A tip for cutting back on dressing - do not put it on the salad.  Keep it in a small container on the side and dip your fork into it before grabbing some salad.  You will get enough of the dressing flavor without drowning your salad in dressing and unwanted calories!

I eat salads nearly every day for lunch.  Many of my co-workes comment on how pretty they are.  I use an array of fresh vegetables in every color.  I do not use dressing because I like the taste of the fresh vegetables.  I will add a few slices of pickled beets, though.  I find salads very satisfying.  A little effort in the morning makes for a great lunch.  Like so many others have said, I actually look forward to my salad.

i eat 1 ory fat 2 salads a day. lettuce fresh tomato grilled sqash nd eggplant without any fat or fresh pepper irange yellow my favorite also ther times broccoli or green beans cooked only 3 min without salt or fat. i add 1.oz grilled turkey  breast or chicken no added fat. ler times i add fresh home made soya burgers made with spinach no oil. dressing french mustard

Or todritter to save calories, cut the pita up and put half on top of the salad instead of croutons!  I do this with a salad of romaine, radishes, olives and lemon vinagrette. and sometimes a little grilled chicken.

Try a mexican salad!!!  What ever greens you prefer, add the veggies of your choice.  Then add black beans, avacodo, salsa and sour cream.  Yummmm

I've been eating this salad for lunch and loooving it:

1 can tuna or salmon packed in water

1 small tomato

sauteed peppers & onions, or cucumber, or what have you

25 grams mixed greens

2 tbsp hummus and/or soft goat cheese

1 tsp oil

1/2 tbsp vinegar

herbs & pepper

= 300 to 400 calories

I put it all in a storage container, shake it up, and eat. Sooo good, and the fish keeps me full for many hours. Only takes 5 mins to make.

Let me know if you try it & like it!

-Maddy M

I got this recipe from, I kid you not, the rapper Coolio's hilarious and surprisingly awesome cookbook, "Cooking with Coolio:"

Ghetto crab salad:  spinach, arugula, shredded basil, sliced onions, a can of drained crab meat, salt, pepper, splash of olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.  IT'S AMAZING!!!  I could eat it all day.

sorry guys i must  rewrite my comment. its baddly written

My favorite is strawberries, mixed greens, romaine, fat free feta cheese (usually not a fan of the fat free cheese) cucumber, sweet pepper, chicken (canned makes it easy) with greek dressing.

Original Post by: kidextraordinaire

I got this recipe from, I kid you not, the rapper Coolio's hilarious and surprisingly awesome cookbook, "Cooking with Coolio:"

Ghetto crab salad:  spinach, arugula, shredded basil, sliced onions, a can of drained crab meat, salt, pepper, splash of olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.  IT'S AMAZING!!!  I could eat it all day.

 

 

I am a salad fanatic!  I never like salad growing up because I always tried to top it with dressing.  As an adult I realized I don't really like dressing, so I always just use tomato and avocado to make the salad "moist".

My fall back salad: lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, and a little cheddar.

I did recently come up with another combination that I found great.  It's a hot salad, actually.  I call it a Fajita salad because it's just iceberg lettuce topped with fresh off the grill onions, bell peppers, chicken, and again, a little cheese (my guilty pleasure food!!!). 

I love a warm spinach, mushroom and garlic salad with goat cheese on top.  Hits all my notes.  Cold salads are great, but just not filling in my mind, but stir fry your spinach with some garlic and a drip of olive oil and not only is more like a meal, but you get more spinach since it shrinks down so much!  Toss in garlic, mushrooms, grape tomatoes are great, whatever you like!  Then top with warm goat cheese and a little balsalmic. :)  Mmmmmm....  I love it.

I love spinach, sliced strawberries, blueberries, toasted sunflower seeds, toasted walnuts, feta cheese, and fat free poppy-seed dressing. I may a dinner plate full and my husband will actually eat it as a dinner. I also make a 3 seed whole grain bread to serve with it if you need a little extra food.

Salads done right are amazing.  I've heard it said that the salad should be the main part of every meal, if done with mostly greens (spinach, romaine, arugula, mixed baby greens) then top with cucumbers, tomato, onion, fresh mushroom and even fruit.  It's easy to do...cut up all of your favorite fresh vegetables, then drizzle on a little flavor.  I like mustard with some honey and a tiny bit of olive oil, all blended together.  A lot of folks on here are afraid of fats, but you shouldn't be.  We NEED them to process our food properly, burn fat, the brain,  and it's good for our skin and hair.  The only key is you don't deep fry in the stuff, but you choose a healthy unsaturated (olive oil, flaxseed or walnut) and just use a wee bit of it.  A half tsp of olive oil is just 20 calories...that added to some mustard and honey and a touch of water makes for an easy and tasty salad.

I just hit on a really great combo for salads. 

Romaine or dark green type lettuce, avocado, lean pork, fresh shredded part skim milk parmesan cheese and a really simple, but unfortunately not that great for you dressing of 3 parts mayo w/ one part Emil's horseradish mustard (add about a teaspoon of water to thin it). 

OMG! It's good and you will not be hungry for hours.  So the 4 or 5 hundred calories that it ends up being isn't as bad as it seams.  You won't want an afternoon snack and you won't want to pig out when you get home from work before dinner. 

I only use an eight of a cup of the cheese, one quarter avocado and one tablespoon of the dressing.  It's rich and creamy and so full of flavour.

Lots of great ideas.  Lentils cook very quickly, and keep well in the frig. Garbanzos are available in cans. This article has made me hungry for a salad. I was just going to have a V8, but will now make a salad from my garden lettuce, tomatoes , and onions etc.

I sprout mung beans all summer and add to salads. they are easy to sprout in summer  - soak a cup full of mung beans for 8 hours and drain and put them in a container lined with kitchen towel for another 24-36 hours. make sure they are moist all the time - sprouts are ready. I boil them (e-coli scare !) and store in fridge upto 3 days. 

Thanks for the great tips Brittany.  We like to make a quick and tasty meal by heating up a couple of Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers (Trident Seafood brand--available at Costco) in olive oil (about 10 minutes), chopping up some romaine lettuce, adding whatever fresh veggies we have on hand, adding some beans (garbanzo or other) and topping it all with a balsamic dressing.  The warm salmon burgers are a very nice addition to this salad.

Some great ideas!    I love to grate carrots and beets . Eat this on its own with a little balsamic,  or add to a salad.

That sounds amazing. Will definitely try it.

During the summer, my boys often ask to have "big salad" for dinner. Loads of greens and any leftover are fair game. Good way to clean outh fridge

I like to top my greens with quinoa and sweet corn - so yummy. I also LOVE Whole Foods No-Oil Balsamic dressing, it is so good without the extra calories.

Here is the recipe, in case you aren't near a WF:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2661

I love salads and I eat them all the time. I'll top spinach or spring mix with tons of in season vegetables, and then either have beans, grilled chicken, tofu, or edamame on top, as well as either a light italian dressing, or Hummus as dressing... and sometimes depending on the salad ingredients I'll use Salsa as dressing. Super yummy!

I have the problem of liking only creamy type dressing such as ranch and blue cheese.  I absolutely HATE anything with vinegar the taste and the smell of it has always made me gag; I clean with it more than anything.  In addition I don't like dressings with berry flavors.  My favorite salad is romain, spinach, radishes, avacado, and tomatoes with a Tyson buffalo chicken tender and, of course, blue cheese dressing.  I have made the dressing wth fat free sour cream and soy mayonaise or olive oil mayonaise which actually tastes great.

Cream dressings are okay as long as you choose the lowfat way.  Way to go Katiebeh.  We don't want to deprive ourselves.  We can still eat what we like we just have to make a few changes.  I love thousand Island so I make my own to make it low calorie or low points.

Some great ideas, indeed. Will be trying a lot of these!

Favourite too-easy salad: tomatoes cut into small wedges, 1 tbsp parmesan cheese & balsamic vinegar.

Favourite happened-by-accident salad: chopped cabbage, chopped carrots, red pepper cut into strips and mango cut into pieces. Try it, it's amazing!

My favorite salad ever is romaine topped with cubed chicken breast that has been mixed with some kind of cayenne pepper sauce. Its on the spicy side but I don't need a cream based dressing because its so flavorful with the hot sauce that has 0 calories.

If you like creamy dressings, here's a nice one that uses avocado as the "good fat" and has about 39 calories for a 45 g. serving.

Creamy Avocado-Orange Dressing

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 avocado

1/2 cup orange juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend the avocado first (I use a hand blender) and then add the OJ and onions and then taste to adjust S & P.

I've recently been on a kick of making fresh salads with lots of extras.  My favorite one of late:

3 cups mixed baby greens

1/2 cup of rainbow slaw (packaged julienned broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and red cabbage

1/2 cup fresh halved and pitted bing cherries

2 - 3 oz smoked chicken breast

1/2 oz chevre goat cheese

1 - 2 Tbsp Kraft Reduced Fat Asiago Parmesan Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup chow mein noodles

It's delicious, nutritious and rather filling.  Even my neighbors who aren't counting their calories having been enjoying this fresh summer salad! 

Original Post by: shisa

My favorite salad...

spring mix with arugala, fresh peach slices, avocado, grilled asparagus and chicken ... with homemade cilantro-lime dressing !! TO.DIE.FOR ! ! !

That sounds incredible!! How do you make cilantro lime dressing??

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Creamy salad dressing is AMAZING when you make it with low or no fat Greek yogurt!! I defy anyone that can tell the difference between it, and sour cream. This stuff makes me CRAVE my salads. Fast dinner: 2 cups yogurt mixed with Hidden Ranch salad dressing mix. You will have 4 delicious servings of dressing!! Lowfat,low cal., what else can you ask for?

I eat salads for dinner as often as possible.  Some of my favorite ingredients are romaine lettuce (for crunch factor), shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, broccoli florets, sliced mushrooms, cooked asparagus, small chunks of celery and radishes, scallions and bell peppers.  To that I add about 4 ounces of Trader Joe's pre-cooked chicken chunks or a small can of dark (pole caught) tuna and 3-4 tbls of Newman's Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.   I found some deep clear plastic serving bowls so I can toss the salad thoroughly and eat out of the same bowl.  I change up the veggies to keep it interesting, and never get bored. 

Whoever suggested the greek yogurt instead of mayo for my salad dressing,

 THANKS!!!   That's awesome. 

Only 15 calories for 2 tablespoons and no fat at all, low on sodium, which all other dressing are killer for sodium.  It tastes so good.