Category Archives: Salads

Chicken, Lunch, Salads

Chicken Cobb Salad

Leave a comment

Cobb Salads are one of my favorites – there are always lots of good substantial ingredients so you get filled up and the bacon flavor always permeates all the other ingredients. The goat cheese is a nice addition that you usually don’t find in a cobb salad.

Chicken Cobb Salad
Chicken Cobb Salad

3 servings
325 calories per serving

4 1/2 c shredded romaine lettuce
1 ¼ c cooked, shredded boneless skinless chicken (Perdue Shortcuts work great here)
2 hard boiled egg (yolks removed and whites chopped up)
1 tomato, chopped
2 T low fat crumbed goat cheese
2 slices turkey bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled
½ avocado, diced
3 T chopped green onions
½ c fat free ranch dressing

Divide the lettuce on plates, arrange an even amount of each of the ingredients onto each plate and drizzle with dressing.

Dinner, Salads, Sides

Couscous Salad

2 Comments

I usually have couscous heated but this salad is served cooled or chilled and it is a new and different flavor experience. Couscous is just a tiny pasta, almost like pastina. And you can find it boxed and usually in with the rices and rice mixes at your grocery store. Give it a try for something different !

(I just noticed that with all my couscous recipes, I photograph it in the same dish…what’s with that? hehehe I guess it’s THE couscous star.)

Couscous Salad
Couscous Salad

4 servings
131 calories per serving

1/2 c whole wheat couscous
1/2 c boiling water
1 c canned diced tomatoes
1/2 c diced English cucumber
1 T fresh oregano, chopped
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T fresh basil, chopped
2 T red wine vinegar
4 t extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper

Combine couscous and water in large mixing bowl and let sit until water is absorbed. Mix together vinegar, salt and pepper and oil. When couscous is cool, fluff with a fork and add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Serve as is or chill for a bit before serving.

Salads, Sides

Mixed Greens with Avocado Dressing

Leave a comment

The avocado is unexpected and that makes it twice as good ! Mixed with the lemon and yogurt, this makes a very light yet creamy dressing.

Mixed Greens with Avocado Dressing
Mixed Greens with Avocado Dressing

4 servings
106 calories per serving

1 avocado, cut into chunks
¼ c plain low fat yogurt
½ t grated lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1 T water
½ t salt
4 c sliced romaine lettuce
4 c watercress or endive

In a blender mix the avocado chunks, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and 1 T water until smooth. Put dressing in a bowl and add greens and mix well.

Salads, Sides, Vegetables

Veggie Salad

Leave a comment

Often times the best thing about a salad is not the lettuce, but all the other stuff ! And this salad agrees 🙂 No lettuce – – just all the good veggies in a great lemony dressing. If you have extra broccoli, throw it in. If you are out of celery, don’t’ sweat it ! Make this salad anything you want 🙂

Veggie Salad
Veggie Salad

4 servings
82 calories per serving

1 yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
1 large cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, shredded or sliced
6 radishes, sliced
1 T chopped parsley
2 T lemon juice
1 T oil
½ t garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss tomato, cucumber, celery, carrots, radishes and parsley. Combine juice, oil, salt, pepper and garlic and mix well and then pour over salad and serve immediately.

Salads, Sides

Kitchen Sink Salad

2 Comments

This is my ‘recipe’ for a salad that contains ‘everything but the kitchen sink’. Sometimes it’s the best unplanned dish of the week.

By the end of the week I have a bunch of bits and pieces of veggies left over – so I use them all in a salad – whatever I have, it gets thrown in. And because the salad is so full of flavor from all the veggies, I use NO OIL. And that makes for one LOW CAL, LOW FAT salad !

Sometimes I even put in bits of other prepared salads I had made – this picture shows a salad where I added in some left over cucumber and radish salad – and even some black beans. Try it – it makes salad eating so much more pleasurable !

Kitchen Sink Salad
Kitchen Sink Salad

1 serving
30-80 calories per serving

2 c field greens or any other leftover lettuce you have
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t oregano flakes
Vinegar (balsamic, red wine, anything)
Citrus juice – up to a tablespoon of lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice – whatever floats your boat
1 c Veggies – cucs, broccoli, carrots, celery, jicama, zucchini
1/4 c Beans – black beans, chick peas, cannellini beans
1/4 c Fresh herbs – parsley, cilantro, basil

Mix it all up and enjoy !

Dinner, Italian, Salads, Sides

Anchovy and Bibb Lettuce

3 Comments

This is sooooo close to my original Caesar Salad dressing and it is just a fraction of the calorie cost due to the reduction in oil and the removal of the egg yolk. This has that biting garlic and anchovy taste that makes a Caesar salad one of the best things on earth !

Anchovy and Bibb Lettuce
Anchovy and Bibb Lettuce

4 servings
45 calories per serving

2 anchovy fillets, mashed
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 ½ t lemon juice
1 T oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head Bibb lettuce (Boston, Romain or Green Leaf will also do nicely)
½ c packed parsley leaves

Whisk lemon juice, garlic and anchovies. Add in oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Tear lettuce and toss with dressing and parsley. To make the dressing preparation go quicker, drop the garlic and anchovies in a small food processor and process until well minced. Then add lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper and process until frothy and well mixed.

Salads, Sides, Summer, Vegetables

Cucumbers and Onions

Leave a comment

Cucumbers done in a white vinegar dressing is a dish in many cultures…they are just meant to be paired. At only 20 calories per serving, this zesty side salad is a definite ‘go-to’ recipe of mine !

Cucumbers and Onions
Cucumbers and Onions

4 servings
20 calories per serving

2 cucumbers
½ onion, sliced thin (try red onions for their mellower flavor)
½ c white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel the cucumbers and then slice in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds (or use English cucumbers which are pretty much seedless) and then slice very thin. Place in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and let marinate in the refrigerator at least one hour.

Salads, Sides, Snacks, Summer, Vegetables

Celery Parsley Salad

Leave a comment

A simple dish with a simple combination of flavors that can be paired with anything. And at only 18 calories per serving, it is insanely low in calories. I always wondered if celery really was a negative calorie food..hmmmm???

Celery Parsley Salad
Celery Parsley Salad

4 servings
18 calories per serving

4 celery stalks sliced thin
¼ c packed parsley leaves
1 ½ t sherry vinegar
1 t oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in a bowl and mix well.

Salads, Sides, Vegetables

Zucchini and Tomato Salad

Leave a comment

Most don’t think to use zucchini in its raw state – but it is marvelously crunchy and mellow and a great addition to salads. This salad is mainly zucchini and it’s really tasty.

Zucchini and Tomato Salad
Zucchini and Tomato Salad

5 servings
117 calories per serving

1 garlic clove, minced
2 T red vinegar
1 T fresh chopped parsley
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 c oil
2 1/4 c thinly sliced zucchini
1 1/2 c grape tomatoes, halved
1 T fresh chopped basil

Combine garlic, vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper. Add oil and whisk well. Add zucchini and tomatoes and toss gently. Sprinkle with basil just before serving.

Related Posts with Thumbnails