How do you learn to like salads??

This may seem like a stupid question but I've never really been exposed to salads. Growing up we didn't have them unless at a restaurant and I generally chose the soup option instead. As an adult I've just never felt the need to eat them.

I've tried some side salads at restaraunts but found most to be very bland and un-interesting. Any suggestions on what to try differently? My husband WON'T eat salads so it's just me.

 

Is it just salads? or is it all vegetables in general? If a regular lettuce salad is boring, try mixing it up with things you do like. A salad of raspberries, baby greens, walnuts, blue cheese and a raspberry vinaigarette sounds wonderful to me right now....

Make them with different fruits and veggeis until you like them.  You can add just about anything to a salad.  Chopped apples make a really bright addition, I usually rinse them with lemon juice first so they don't brown. 

Try richer combinations than just iceberg lettuce + tomato, as is often substituted for a proper salad.  Try spinach, hearts of romaine, mushrooms, bell pepper, apples, and a few walnuts mixed in with a light raspberry vinaigrette?  A piece of toast with garlic salt and a sprinkle of olive oil cut into little pieces could also help make a salad a little more flavourful, without the processed-ness of boxed crutons.

Good luck with your salads. :]

Here's an older thread with great ideas:

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/558 68.html

There are a couple of salads that I love. first off you can always go to California Pizza kitchen (if you have one near you) and eat their Chinese Chicken salad. I am pretty sure that salad is not good for you but it is damn amazing. I honestly would call it my favorite food. But in eating that salad it gives you a great idea as to what you can put in a more healthy salad.

For instance. For lunch today I have 3 and one half cups of salad that consists of romain and iceberg. Spinach, Kayle and other salads are better but Romain is super tasty. Anyway, I have 1 chicken breast that is grilled and choped up. I have 10 almonds that I sliced/crushed. I also have sesame ginger salad dressing. Newman's own makes one that is pretty good and only has 40 calories per 2 tablespoons. Keep in mind that the dressing is the whole key because if you get the wrong stuff you end up making the salad bad for you. So I mix up all the above items and eat a super tasty salad. Sesame, or sesame ginger dressing is really yummy. also be carefull because adding in croutons or those little crunchy asian noodles add carbs and cals that are not needed if you add Almonds. Add more almonds (not salted or dry roasted just raw) if you want more crunch. My lunch today had under 400 calories and will fill me up proper

Also my wife and I eat salad with black beans and corn in it. You can get southwestern dressing or any dressing or even salsa if you want. Also getting some super lean ground turkey and putting taco salad seasoning in it makes for a fantastic taco salad. Also I really like eating the black beans in the salad because it adds fiber and helps with the weight loss.

Safeway ( or what ever that specific company is called in your area) makes pretty good salads in the deli. If you use half the dressing provided ( which is plenty) and stay away from non almond or nut crunchy items you will get some pretty good ideas on other salads as well.

Oh yea don't forget about the walnut pear salad. Just find some good low cal balasamic salad dressing and add with some pear slices and walnuts and you have a super good salad. Some people really like a little feta cheese crumbles on it as well. Also a balsamic reduction mixes very nicely with the pears.

jpm_jess - when I think it through you are right. I guess I'm stuck in a rut of just the most basic of vegetables and no salads. Wow. Time to go to the produce section and start investigating I guess.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions - I'm off to try!

 

I never had to learn because I love salads naturally. My suggestion is to make it colorful and add the vegetables that you love. The dressing is also very important. I am right now addicted to the spray dressings, especially wishbone's balsamic breeze. I love to put chicken, salmon and egg whites in salads. Not all at the same time of course.

I don't like lettuce-based salads at all. They're like eating air and do not satisfy me at all. The salads I truly like are pasta salads and rice salads- not exactly diet material

Another type of salad I really like is a tomato salad with bell pepper, onion, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil, salt and pepper. It's a Mediterranean salad my Italian mother makes.

I don't care too much for lettuce based salads myself. I like crunchy things.   I make a dinner of  a couple slices of cucumber,  2 or 3 queen olives diced, a small stalk of celery, cubanelle and green peppers, and some chopped red onion.   For protein, you can dice up a thin slice of deli ham or bacon or chicken etc (or mix and match if you need the cals) top with some coarse ground pepper and shredded mexican mix cheese or your favorite and low fat dressing - zesty french for me. Yummy!   You can use pretty much any veggie you like and dice 'em up together.

i dont think i could ever give up my salads i am convinced i am thin because of them,. i ususally eat some type of big salad for lunch and dinner with something small carb, dairy and protien on the side.  i do this almost every day and now i am that thin girl at the cafe having a large cappachino and piece of nice cake. and really enjoying it and knowing its not going to break my diet because i will be back on my salads next time.  i think once you see how great sads are for you its easy to make the switch, 

Also roast veggies,  you dont even need oil,  i love roasted carrots, peppers everything

I like to mix all sorts of things into salads. I have a lot of different types of lettuce - most supermarkets (here in the UK anyway) do a variety. I love adding cucumber, red onions (or is it purple), olives, whatever I like really. Recently I've been adding these tiny pickled onions and tiny gherkins. I sometimes add radishes and mushrooms, spinach etc. Just experiment until you like a combination.

As I love my home food (indian) I've been replacing the rice with salad instead. So often I'm having my curry with mainly salad. The best thing about salad - 100g of lettuce only has 14 calories and it fills you up nicely. I still have a little bit of rice but its no more then a handful (far less then a cup full) - before I used to have a couple of platefuls :)

So don't be afraid mix it up and try a variety. Salad dressings are lovely and do make the difference as some of the others have stated. The thing is most of them scare me due to the calorie content. However a small amount is not a problem. I tend to add some chilli's - such as scotch bonnet - to spice things up. Just watch out, they can be really spicy :)

My suggestion - make your own salad dressing with healthy ingredients.

I think that salads and soups are essentials when dieting. Just remember variety is the spice of life - don't be too boring. I certainly am going to continue with both even after I'm done with my current diet.

Try adding veggies that you normally think of as a cooked food - squash, zuchini, mushrooms.  When the produce starts coming in around here we eat well all the time and I eat 2 salads a day.  I start with 3 oz of lettuce (or bagged salad) and just add whatever floats my boat at the moment.  The lettuce is high fiber so it's good for you and only 15 cals for 3 oz.  My 2 year old has to have his own bowl every night now with his dinner, too.  It's an excellent way to get your veggies and fiber without adding calories.

Even if salad dressing is high calorie- and your eating one for lunch... so technically do you have to worry about it... i mean a packte of salda dressing is 220 calories, and with even a 7 ounce salad... thats only 300 calories... for lunch. I think thats pretty good. So if the salad is too boring, do add some dressing.... Im kind of the same way... I love salad, but Ill admit I use too much dressing.... 

 

 

eh, i'm not a salad fan either.... in the summer a little more, but otherwise....

i think you just need to mix them up!  basically you can throw anything you want together and call it a salad!  i personally use spinach instead of lettuce (just to be healthier) and then go from there.... i recently made: spinach, tomatos, zucchini, strawberries, oranges, long wild rice, a little fat free italian dressing, beans and it was really really good! my bf surprisingly loved it... i think because it was so "zingy" (not a word i know lol) and great on a warm day!

 

I'm 32 and I just had my first salad last night.  It was a chore to eat in the beginning but got better as the meal went on.  I've never been a big fan of the greens and such but I needed to slap myself into reality and realize that what I've been doing over the past 5 years hasn't really worked for me so I should try something new.

The raspberry and baby greens sounds quite good... I should try that one out.

Good luck to all!

Im not a big salad fan.  I buy lettuce (romaine) each week and a variety of veggies, fruits and nuts to put in but I rarely end up using the lettuce.  I really seem to prefer just lots of cut up veggies and try to add some to most meals.  I serve with lunch and dinner and for snacks as well.  also fruit and nuts as well.  How much nutrition can I be missing in the lettuce?  Also, no loss for the dressings, I just don't bother.

I'm the same way, we were never taught to eat anything healthy in my home growing up. Salad does not fill me up unless it has chicken in it(grilled of course). But it makes for a yummy appetizer so I don't eat to much dinner. I put salsa and lemon juice in lieu of dressing. I actually discovered this accidently, when at a mexican restaurant I grabbed the salsa instead of French dressing and squirted it all over my salad. I just pretended I meant to do it and bravely started eating it. And guess what? It's pretty delicious! Try it, its good. Also good, if your salad is your meal, a handful of walnuts to fill you up.

Hmm, I guess I'm weird in that my family never had salads, so I started eating them as a young adult. I thought that the dressings looked gross, so I would eat them with no dressing. I got to like them that way. After several years I started trying dressings, and I like them, but I still try not to use much because of the calories. Usually I use Japanese ponzu sauce on salads because it has almost no calories.

But the thing that works for me is putting plenty of stuff in them - nice fresh lettuce, some finely sliced bell pepper, shredded carrot, sliced cucumbers, broccoli or cauliflower, maybe a bit of tuna or chicken.

I can't say I'm always SATISFIED by salads, but I do like them. Most other things I eat are cooked, so I feel like salads are my chance to eat a food that is fresh and colorful and still full of life. YUM!