I need to eat more veggies. I want to start making new and different salads for dinner during the week. I thought some of you could help me brainstorm.
I like/have made:
‘Original’ Salad - iceburg, tomato, cucumber with ranch dressing
Greek Salad - feta, olives, tomato, cucumber with lemon juice dressing
Mexican Salad - black beans, corn, avocado with salsa dressing
Caesar Salad - croutons and parmesan and (vegetarian) caesar dressing
BC Salad - with blue cheese crumbles and dressing, hazel nuts and cranberries
There must be dozens of salad ‘themes’ that I am missing? Or maybe you can just recommend some ingredients that I haven’t thought of that I can mix and match? I’m getting hungry and trying to plan for tonight. What are your favorites?
A favorite salad of mine growing up was Seven Layer Salad.
It contains:
Iceburg Lettuce
celery (chopped)
onions (chopped)
about 4 hard boiled eggs (sliced or crumbled)
peas (raw, frozen works well)
bacon bits
mayo (a bit of sugar added is really good! Like a tablespoon or so)
cheese (shredded cheddar or taco cheese works really well)
Put all of those ingredients in order in layers and serve!
Going from memory, it’s brocolli, feta, raisins and onion with a sauce made of yogurt, a little sugar and a couple other things. Not completely healthy, but really good.
110g/4oz mixed salad leaves
2 tins of tuna in oil
110g/4oz French beans, cooked until just done
4 tomatoes, each cut into 8
4 hard boiled eggs, quartered
10-12 cooked new potatoes, cut into quarters
handful black olives
small tin anchovies in oi
For the dressing:
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
I’ve been enjoying variations on a theme with spinach salads in the past six months or so, with the following ingredients:
spinach
bacon
vinaigrette (preferably a balsalmic vinaigrette or a bacon-infused one)
tomato*
goat cheese/mild blue cheese crumbles
mushrooms*
onions*
*lightly sauteed and then plated over raw spinach makes it really delicious
You could also try out adding seared tuna, kidney beans and haricots verts (skinny green beans) and do a variation on a tuna salad nicoise.
8 oz. rice noodles (rice sticks)
6 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. canned chicken broth
1/4 c. tamari soy sauce
1/4 c. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. chili paste, available at Oriental Markets
1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 lb. pork loin, cut julienne
1 med. onion, cut julienne
2 med. carrots, peeled and cut julienne
8 celery stalks, cut
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 sm. bunch cilantro, minced
Cook noodles until tender but firm. Do not overcook. Drain and toss with 3 tbsp. oil; set aside.
Mix stock, soy sauce, vinegar, chili paste and sugar in small bowl. Stir fry pork in wok. Add onion, set aside.
Stir fry the rest of the vegetables but cabbage. Combine pork and onions, vegetables, cabbage, cilantro and the sauce. Mix well. Can be served hot or cold.
My standard dinner for the last year or so (I have an amazing capacity to eat the same thing day after day after day…):
Romaine lettuce
1/2 cuke, peeled and sliced
1/2 grilled chicken breast, sliced
[1/2 avocado, sliced]*
Tablespoon or so of crumbled Gorgonzola
Italian dressing
*when avocados are on sale
I had a great one on the weekend served with marinated grilled Portuguese chicken breasts. I only helped by doing the oranges but it seemed to be:
A bag of salad leaves and a bag of baby spinach leaves
A large can of whole beetroot drained and the large ones cut up to the size of the smallest ones
2 avocados cut into chunks the same size
2 large juicy oranges peeled and segmented. Halve the segments.
Dress with macadamia oil, lemon juice and honet to taste and toss together
Mandarin orange sections (the kind that come in cans) go great on spinach salads. I usually never have them on hand, but I often add raisins to my salads for a sweet taste. Sliced strawberries are wonderful on salads too, especially with balsamic vinegar.
I got this from Allrecipes and it’s pretty much my staple salad recipe:
4 cups rocket (arugula) leaves, rinsed and dried
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
In a large plastic bowl with a lid, combine rocket (arugula), cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, oil, vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and shake to mix.
Divide salad onto plates, and top with slices of avocado.
You can make rice or pasta salads and then add whatever yummies you like.
I’ve done celery and peas and red pepper - really nice.
Last night, I had a celery of sliced cooked beet, celery, walnuts, and a hard-boiled egg with a roasted cherry & onion dressing.
You can put pretty much anything into salads.
Here’s some ingredients to try
grated carrot
chickpeas
nuts
sundried tomatoes
celery (good old Waldorf salad is fun)
peppers
sweet onion
oranges
apples (nice with spinach and walnuts and a yogurt dressing)
avocado
spinach
mushrooms
dried fruit
feta
shaved parmesan
shaved asiago
cauliflower (good in a salad with spinach and avocado with a dijon dressing and toasted almonds)
broccoli (try red onion and raisins and you can add bacon or leave it out)
cabbage - different kinds of coleslaws, cabbage & apple salad
potatoes (potato salad is yum)
tomatoes of course; tomato and avocado with Italian dressing is great
citrus slices
baby corn
For something a little heartier, you could try one with an Italian theme:
Romaine
Radicchio
Shredded fresh basil
Tomatoes
Cooked cheese tortellinis, room temp
mozzarella chunks or parmesan
black olives
topped with Italian dressing or vinaigrette
Something else I like:
Romaine
Frisee (the curly stuff)
Sectioned grapefruit, cut into bits
slivered brie
crostini
top with full on Caesar dressing (anchovy paste included).
A nice snack or appetizer:
Mix wasabi powder (or paste - no soy sauce!) into fat free cream cheese and pipe onto endive leaves, split carrots, blanched snow peas and celery.
a bed of iceberg lettuce, cold and crisp, with roasted pumpkin (cut into small pieces before roasting the bejesus out of it :D) with crumbled low fat fetta and a splash of balsamic vinegar over it
my next favourite is:
shredded iceberg lettuce
blanched broccoli
shredded snowpeas
roasted kumera pieces
spanish onion
low fat fetta
blanched asparagus pieces
avocado (about a 1/2)
a very small amount of shaved parmesan
drizzle the sides of a bowl in an olive oil/garlic mix and add the ingredients.
Shred/cut into mathsticks cabbage, carrots, onion, tomato and hot green chilis. Add minced garlic and shredded ginger. Top with salt, pepper, vinigar and mustard seeds. Excellent with peppery crepes- would be awesome with some deep fried light tofu.
Cut tomatoes into slices. Add matchsticked carrots and scallions. Add salt, grated ginger, a the juice of a couple limes. Simple. Good.
Every time I read Jean de Florette, which I’m doing right now, I get hungry for a “fine salad of chick-peas and onions”. I add a few more goodies to it:
1 drained can of chick peas
1/2 of a sweet red or maui onion, slivered
12 kalamata onions, roughly chopped
handful of Italian parsley, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
sprinkle of salt
lots of freshly cracked pepper
Toss it all together thoroughly. Serve it on lettuce leaves, if desired. Otherwise, keep it in a container in the fridge, and eat by standing in front of the fridge with a spoon.
