interesting salads?

Does anyone have an interesting salad idea? It seems I just eat chopped salads all the time and I'm bored with them...that or the mandarine orange-dried cranberry-walnut things that are so popular right now.

I'm not picky, so odd combinations are ok by me!

Thanks!

Imitation crab, or shrimp on your salad is yuuummy! I use frozen mini-shrimp, but I actually prefer fresh boiled shrimp.

Have you ever made your own croutons? That can be fun. Just toast some bread, this season it how ever, and put it under the broiler.

Umm... that's all I've got :p

I use a small can of chicken , add low fat miracle whip and salt free dill add that to my salad with a tiny bit of sweet vidalia onion dressing (or I use small can Tuna or salmon with lemon pepper to change things up a bit)

i love tomatos with either green pepper or cucumber (or both!) with a little newman's own lighten up balsamic vinagrette... it is um to die for lol (i also put in some onion and garlic).  you can also just use any sort of vinegar or vinegar and olive oil.  very healthy very yummy and a great salad, one that is even better after sitting for a while.

i also like cucumbers with vinegar and sour cream or yogurt. (cut up cucumber in thin slices, salt it and let it sit for a hour or so till softened and the water excreted, rinse THOROUGHLY, then put in about a tbsp of vinegar and sour cream/yogurt to taste)  it has more fat than the above but tastes decadent and if you use low fat or are careful with how much of the creamy stuff you use, it can still be lower cal.  (i also put in a little garlic or garlic salt, my mom adds a pinch of sugar but i dont).

pineapple and cottage cheese on bib or romaine lettuce is good (or with tomatos or really any other slightly sweet veggie).  i sometimes enjoy using coleslaw mix (cabbage and carrots) and putting some light sesame/asian dressing on it, again tastes decadent but very good for you.

enjoy LOL!

We like to do a Meditteranean Style Salad, my boyfriend ate it all the time when he lived in Israel... 

Dice up half a cup each of tomato, onion, and cucumber.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon extra vigin olive oil over the mix, and squeeze the juice from one lemon over it.  Mix and let marinate for 15 minutes in the fridge.
It's got a really delicious, clean flavor to it.  We had some tonight.  It goes GREAT with grilled chicken.

Thanks for the ideas!

I got some of the meats at the store yesterday that were suggested above and am going to try those for lunch this week. Sounds like they will be filling without a lot of calories (salads are so great for that!). I also got the Newman's own and had that today---it's terrific!

I've forgotten about cottage cheese and fruits/veggies. I used to eat that all the time as a kid and loved it!

The mediterranean salad sounds fabulous, too, and it's on the "menu: for the week.

thanks!

Here are a couple I'm liking right now:

Finely diced cucumber, tomato, fresh mint and fresh parsley with a little olive oil and apple cider vinegar, and you could add some mild cheese if you wanted to.

Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, bell peppers, cucumber, pineapple, blueberries, and nuts.

Roasted veggies (I use zucchini, yellow summersquash, carrots, and red onion, roasted in the oven with just a drizzle of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar) on a bed of baby spinach.

Here's three of my current favorites:
1. Curried chicken salad on romaine leaves with a simple balsamic dressing. Here's a recipe you could start with:
http://www.calorie-count.com/recipe/1964.html The fat content looks high but you could leave out the tsp of mayo and just use all yogurt if desired. It's great with a few homemade ciabatta croutons.

2. Take a bowl of romaine leaves, toss on 1/2 cup of chick peas, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, some carrot strips, a few small cubes of cheddar or feta cheese, and a few rings off vidalia onion. Dress it with some olive oil mixed with garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice or cider vinegar, a tiny bit of dijon mustard and a dash of worcestershire (sort of a quick ceasar dressing)

3. Take mixed field greens and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles, sliced apple, toasted pine nuts, and purple onion slices. Dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and homemade croutons.

Waldorf Salad - diced apples, celery and walnuts with a creamy dressing.  I suggest Miracle Whip light, just enough to coat, with a squeeze of lemon juice for zip.  You can add diced chicken to this for a complete meal.

I make a chopped salad with chicken breast or deli meat and then dress it with a little light ranch and Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce. 
OR
chicken, grapes, tomatoes, romaine, bleu cheese, a little light ranch and pear infused white balsamic vinegar. 

when heirloom tomatoes are in season (like now!) we love this lettuce-less mix:

• heirloom tomatoes
• diced cucumber
• diced celery
• thinly sliced red onion
• crumbled feta (I prefer cow feta, less pungent, sacrilege I know!)
  
• basil, chiffonade (rolled into cigar shape, thinly sliced)
• drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• splash of balsamic vinegar

and we routinely have chicken guacamole salad for dinner once a week.  Layer in a large salad bowl in order:

• good sized base of baby romaine lettuce or a mix of romaine and spinach
• 1 can vegetarian refried beans, warm (wilts the lettuce just a bit, yummy)
• guacamole (2-3 cloves garlic, pinch salt, one avocado, 1/4 red onion diced, drizzle of olive oil, juice of 1/2 lime, 1 jalapeno - seeds removed if you don't like it hot)
• sliced red (or yellow or orange or green) pepper
• optional: chicken breast, cold or warm.  I either bake an extra one earlier in the week and shred it over the top, or saute one up and cut into thin slices.  Optional, but makes it more of a dinner than a side dish.
• cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
• hubby adds black olives (eeyuck in my opinion but he loves 'em)

I like black bean, roasted corn, roma tomatos, red onions, chilis, and fresh cilantro salad. 

I also like red potato salad, with celery and onions, egg whites, and lf or ff mayo, a tiny bit of either cider vinegar or dijon mustard, and spices. 

Yum.  Now, I'm hungry.  :D

Tomato, Pepper and Cucumber Salad

Peel, seed and dice ripe tomatoes (or dice them as is), catching the juices in a big bowl.  Add diced green bell pepper and diced cucumber to the tomato.  Sprinkle with salt and add a dash of olive oil and vinegar and stir it up.  Refrigerate an hour before serving.  Garnish with lots of minced fresh parsley and basil.  The juice from the tomatoes dresses the salad.

I love throwing pasta in my salads. Pasta, Grilled Chicken and cooked squash is my fav salad. With Balsamic Ranch dressing. MMMM

I just posted this recipe - the calories are understated by 10 calories because the form couldn't find one of the ingredients (I got a count of 83 cals per 1 cup serving by analyzing it myself).  Let me know if you like it!

http://www.calorie-count.com/recipe/4742.html

Oh bethaevans, that looks great.  I tagged your recipe so I can try it later.  Thanks.

Buffalo Chicken- the healthy way

Take some chicken breasts and chop them up.  cook them in a little olive oil.  After they are cooked add any kind of buffalo sauce you want, I like Red's.  For the salad part I use romaine and spinach, green onions, corn, cilantro, diced hard boiled eggs, low-fat cheese.  Add a low-cal/lo-fat ranch, toss and top with the chicken.  So Yummy! so much protein.  It is estimated to be about 300 calories, depending on what cheese & dressing you use.

My basic formula for salads tends to be: green leafy thing + fruit + cheese + nut or other crunchy thing + vinaigrette.  It's produced some great standards, among them:

- Spinach, apples, tomatoes, rosemary-toasted walnuts, a little grated aged gouda (the hard, nutty-tasting stuff), and a simple vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, and apple juice.  A lot of people like sweet onions on this one, too; I'm not really an onion person.

- Mixed field greens, strawberries, fat-free feta, slivered almonds, Annie's raspberry vinaigrette.

- Mixed field greens, sliced peaches, blackberries, goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, Annie's raspberry vinaigrette.

- Mixed field greens, pears, red seedless grapes, blue cheese of choice, pistachios, sherry vinaigrette.


(I'm always the one who brings salads to potlucks, so I can vouch for the crowd-pleasingness of all of the above.  *smile*)

Making salad into an equation is really helpful---it's kind of how I think!

Those salads sound amazing!

How do you make rosemary-toasted walnuts?

I put dried cranraisins and roasted almonds on my salad plus tomatoes, red onion, cucs and a littel shredded cheese and toss it with Ken's Rasberry Walnut Salad Dressing-Lite!!! It is Awesome!!!!

Here's one that can be a whole meal - protein and vegetables

http://www.calorie-count.com/recipe/1519.html