Salad Anyone?

Ladies, I'm a low-fat way of life gal, and I love my salads! I'm hoping there are some fresh fruit and veggie lovers among you, who will share their favorite salad concoctions. Here's my contribution:

Kiwi-Walnut Salad

2 tablespoons toasted walnuts

1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1/3 cup fat-free lemon yogurt

1 tablespon honey

2 cups fresh pineapple, cubed, or one 15 1/2 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained

2 medium pears and/or apples, cored and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup halved seedless red grapes

2 kiwifruits, peeled, halved and sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

Flowering kale or lettuce leaves

In a small skillet, toast the walnuts over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool.

Stir the mayonnaise honey and yogurt together in a small bowl.

Toss the pineapple, apples/pears, celery, grapes, and kiwifruits together in a large bowl.

Gently fold the dressing into the fruit mixture, and chill thoroughly. Before serving, stir in the toasted walnuts, and serve the salad mixture on the flowering kale or lettuce leaves.

http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com

My latest favorite:

romaine lettuce
pears
walnuts
feta cheese
craisins
balsalmic vinagrette dressing

Simply delish!

[ March 03, 2006, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: Dotsie ]

This is my kind of thread...I love salads and usually have two a day. Sometimes just one, however I LOVE them! I don't use anything canned though because of the sugar content, and no mayo. Mine are pretty boring compared to yours which had me slobbering all over the keyboard. Yum!

I use ONLY Romaine lettuce
Sugar snap peas (raw)
Sunflower seeds
Sweet onion
Tommy toes
Radishes
Cucumbers (price of these have shot straight up!)
grapes (seedless)

Some times I use NO dressing, but most days I choose one of Ken's Steakhouse Low Carb Dressings like their Raspberry-Walnut Vingerette, or his Sweet Vadalia Onion, or his Italian.

Someeeeetimes I even put stir-fried chicken strips on top.

Oh and when I make Tunafish, I use the Sweet V. Onion dressing instead of Mayo...and I add grapes and nuts.

JJ

I could write a recipe book for just salads I have so many different ones. I hope you don't mind Jeannine but after I try yours I may add it to my collection...sounds delish!! I always feel lighter and just better when eating lots of salads and I bet you do too JJ....

[ March 01, 2006, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Hubby and I have discovered really good salads from the WalMart deli. They have different ones like Chicken Ceasar and Oriental and Chef and Cobb -- they can take 20-30 min for me to finish one and fill us up for the evening.

Since they are made fresh daily, hubby just picks them up when he gets off work. Think that's why I like them so much ??? (I dont have to cook)

Are there downsides of eating just salads in the evening ???? If they have chicken in them -- does that provide enough protein ???

This is great! I'm printing out the above salads and fixings. Thanks gals!

Lionspaaw, I have a Publix supermarket about five minutes from me, and they too have some really good pre-done salads offered. And you know, when you think about it, it does take some time, preparing even a salad, for the evening meal. The rinsing, the chopping, slicing, mincing, dicing, egg-boiling, maybe broiling or grilling chicken breast or other need-to-cook ingredient. When you can have a good salad, pre-done, why the heck not! A downside to eating only salad in the evening? It's my evening meal, almost every night. I eat very little meat, but will have hard cooked eggs, and a bit of cheese with my salads. Sometimes I top a veggie salad with a small, seasoned, grilled or broiled chicken breast fillet, cut in strips. Or I cut into strips a portion of a small, lean, seasoned strip steak, stir fry it in a bit of olive oil, to serve over my salad bed.

Jawjaw, oh girl! You ARE a fellow salad lover, I can tell! I agree with you about preferring fresh over canned, anything. Sometimes though, it's hard to find certain seasonal fruits or veggies, and I'll use the canned. I look for ones packed in natural juices, with no sugar added. My preferred salad dressings are: 1. Good old extra virgin olive oil. I jazz it up, according to my salad's ingredients...Basically, I like a bit of crushed garlic, dash of salt, and freshly ground black pepper, for most of my veggie salads. I sometimes add a bit of other spices, or herbs. You can't help but love a bit of basil with tomatoes. A bit of lemon juice, and/or orange juice, or lime juice, with my olive oil, for many of the fruit salads. 2. Low-fat yogurt, fruit flavored ones, or plain, flavored with fruit juices. And nuts for topping! Slivered almonds, walnuts, unsalted cashews, peanuts, pecans, are so good. I have a pretty simple approach to salad, all in all, but that's what I like, simple eating.

Chattylady, you have it right...Lighter eating, such as dining on salad, never gives you that filled-up, just-let-me-sit, feeling. We dine rather late in the evenings, and the lighter I eat, the better I'm able to sleep.

Simple Greek Salad

About 1/2 green pepper sliced in rings

About 1/4 of a red onion, finely sliced

About 1/2 medium cucumber, sliced

1 large ripe tomato cut in thin wedges

About a handful of ripe black olives, pitted

Feta cheese, an amount to your liking, cubed or crumbled

1/2 of a fresh lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh oregano or thyme leaves (Dried works too. I like to either rub these between my palms a bit, or pinch/rub them between my fingers, to help release flavor.)

Salt and pepper

On a plate combine sliced vegtables with olives and tomato wedges. Place feta on top and drizzle with olive oil, squeeze lemon juice all over and sprinkle with oregano or thyme and salt and pepper.

http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com

I FORGOT THAT I ALSO USE CRAISINS in my salad. I added it to the post but wanted you to see this in case you had already printed this page.

Simple Italian Tomato and Cucumber Salad

5 ripe Roma tomatoes, sliced

1 sliced cucumber

1 thinly sliced red onion

1/2 tsp. oregano

2-3 tbsp. red wine vinegar

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. minced parsley

1/4 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. salt

Pepper to taste


Combine tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Mix together remaining ingredients, and pour over salad. Chill thoroughly. Just simply good!

http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com

This is similar to something my mom taught me to make, but w/o the onion and parsley. We just eat it w/o putting it on the salad.

All the salad recipes look great. I love salads too, especially in the warmer weather which is just around the corner.
One Question....Jawjaw, what is Tommy Toes?

Yeah,

Crispy, cold salad crunchies!!! These all sound so good - can't wait to start a new garden !!! (til I get sick of it at 80* as JJ knows) and yeah, TVC15, what's Tommy Toes, JJ?

Anybody tried the dried cherries too? Love those craisins, and don't generally like really sweet cherries , but the dried ones aren't so sweet and are great in salads, on cereal, anywhere you would use craisins.....and if any of you are feeling a little feisty, coat some chicken breasts in crushed cashews and fry up in some olive oil for your salad - o boy!!! (you don't have to buy much, it doesn't take very much crushed).

A tomato lovin' gal, I can answer that Tommy Toes are a variety of small cherry type tomatoes.

Yes Searcher, I've had the dried cherries in my salads, and I like them very much. Not too sweet, and I like the taste and texture.


Tomato with Mint and Spring Onions

2 firm, ripe red tomatoes
1 Spring Onion (scallion)
About ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
1 Teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
1/2 Teaspoon sugar
A dash of chili powder, optional

Cut tomatoes into thin wedges. Fine-slice the scallion, and chop the mint leaves. Combine these. Mix together remaining ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Add mixture to tomatoes, scallion and mint leaves. Mix gently. Cover and chill salad thoroughly.

http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com

so sorry gals, didn't see the question. Thank you Jeannine for filling these city slickers in on TToes.

JJ

That's ok Jawjaw, I forgot to look for the answer....Heehee!
Another one of those menopause moments, I guess...Anyway,Thanks Jeannine!

You're welcome ladies. Like I always say, nothing like a diced Lemon Boy and a handful of Tommy Toes, to satisfy a tomato craving!

Apple Carrot Salad

1/4 lb. (About 1 and 1/2) carrots, peeled and shredded

1/2 large tart apple, peeled and shredded

2 Tbs. raisins

1-1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1-1/2 tsp. honey

1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt

Combine carrots, apples and raisins. Whisk together the lemon juice, honey, vanilla and yogurt. Pour over apple mixture and chill.

http://www.intouchwithjeannine.com

Boy do I ever love salads and this one sounds soooo good. Thanks girls for all your recipes.