Optimizing A Salad

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Ive been having salad almost everyday for four months now, and Im wondering how I can improve it... Typically I put the greenest leaves I can find along with some purple onion, black olives, Italian dressing, crouchons, mini-bread sticks, some bacon bits, and sunflower seeds...

I tried using plain vinegar for the dressing, but couldnt stand the flavor...

What do you guys think of this salad combo?
 
put some meat in it somehow, sliced ham or something like that, make sure the dressing is at least lite. umm thats all I can really think of, get the dark green leaves, umm thats all I can think of.
 
I agree add some prot. like chicken,tuna,ham what ever. go lite for the dressing(yeah plain vinegar sucks).and easy on the croutons,bread sticks and bacon bits.lots of veggies they re good for you add them in :)
but if its a side and not the main meal(where you'd already have prot.)then your salad looks pretty good.
 
i like having my dressing on the side ... dip the fork into the dressing before digging into the salad ... you'll find the taste the same, but ur using about 1/10 the dressing.
 
some people don't like this, so if it's not your thing then, well, that's fine. But i like to add some cottage cheese on top of my salad and then forgoe the dressing. That way you get the good dairy - it still has fat with it, but overall i think it will be healthier.

veggies veggies veggies are the way to go. add some tomatoes, carrots, broccoli.. mix it up. salad does get boring if it is the same all the time, so use a different ingredient each day.

oh.. and i totally agree about the dark greens... if there is spinach or anything like that on the salad bar, use it instead of regular lettuce... it has alot more nutrients per bite =)

also... again this may be something you don't like... but chickpeas are often on salad bars. they will add some protein if you don't want to add any other meat. =)
 
i have heard some put almonds in their salad but i personally cant stand them. somebody else i know lays all the veggies out on a cookie sheet and puts them in the oven for a bit. you could also add tuna or cottage cheese and maybe slice up a hard boiled egg.
 
I've been experimenting a lot with salads myself lately and I found that in adding fruit in small amounts can really jazz them up. My usual ingredients include spinach leaves, baked chicken or tuna, tomatoes, green/black olives, small amount of shredded cheese, hard boiled egg, a few croutons and sometimes I thrown in some cran-raisins, apple slices or dried apricots. Don't be afraid of mixing the sweet and salty it can be a pretty good combo! Oh, and using alternate dressings makes a difference. My current favorite is raspberry hazelnut vinaigrette by Wishbone.
 
My favourite salad dressing at the moment is freshly squeezed orange or lime..great with a cottage cheese salad..also no one has mentioned garlic...add that to your vinegar for ultimate flavour and no need for oil then...also agree about adding tuna, chicken or prawns etc. I can't imagine eating the same meal every day for 4 months..you need variety if you are to eat healthily for 'the rest of your life'.
 
Mmmmm, I have been loving salads too! I love sprinkling sunflower seeds over them! I usually have my salad as a main, so I will add a portion of pasta to the mix, or I will eat the salad on rye crackers.

I always cut everything up small, that way when you take a bite you're getting the maximum flavour out of one forkful!

I also love spices in my salads, herbs also, anything to add some more flavour! Oh, and if you're not in a heavy client-facing role with customers... onions and garlic, woohoo!

I really want to try making salad with spinach instead of lettuce to up my nutrient intake. Can you only use baby spinach or is normal spinach ok? Could someone advise as to how they do it?
 
Can you only use baby spinach or is normal spinach ok? Could someone advise as to how they do it?
Click to expand...

baby spinach and normal spinach have much different textures -I prefer normal spinach myself in salads -the baby spinach just reminds me of weeds....

Spinach, mandarin oranges, some slivered almonds maybe some crumbled bacon and hard boiled eggs - with a ginger/soy dressing -it's nice and refreshing
 
Thanks, I will try it soon as I get my hands on some spinach!

Ooooh, just had a tuna and pasta and tomato salad... didn't have too many ingredients left at home... end of the month! But I finished it off with a few generous shakes of a "Garlic, Lemon and Parsley" spice.

Perfect!!
 
the downside to non baby spinach.... unless you can get the triple washed.. is the cleanup required for it... grit and sand get everywhere on the leaves and even triple washed is sometimes still gritty...

Fill a sink with cold water... and dump in the spinach...

then swish it around.. and lift ouot the spinch - the grit will stay int he sink and your leaves will be clean... (dry first so the dressing will stick to it...)
 
I agree with one of the PP's -- add a little bit of fruit, it gives the salad a nice kick. I personally like halved grapes!
 
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