One of the most over and underrated meal options I see are salads. I see so many people eating them in an attempt to “eat more healthy” or lose weight or cut calories, but usually the ones they choose look so bland and boring. On the flipside, I think if utilized in a smarter way, salads can be an awesome meal choice that can be designed to hit any macro count.
When a lot of people think of salads, they picture a small plate filled with mostly iceberg lettuce, a few cherry tomatoes or 1 tomato wedge, a couple of cucumber slices, some onion slices, and if your lucky a few croutons sprinkled on top. Not only does it look bland and boring, it is usually accompanied by a huge side of dressing to smother it in. This is totally fine and what I would expect when I go to my local greasy spoon to get a gyro sandwich and bowl of soup, but outside of that, I think that it is a gross misrepresentation of what a salad should be.
Whenever I make a salad for before dinner or even as my dinner, it looks so colorful, vibrant, and full that even people that aren’t keen on vegetables can at least admit that it looks appeasing to eat. The way that I make my salads allows me to tailor them to fit my current fitness goals. I can create one with that is very low calorie, all the way up to one that is super high in calories.
How to go about constructing one:
I start with a very light base of either spinach, spring mix, or romaine. These have a lot more nutrients and flavor when compared to iceberg lettuce. I also do not load up a ton of it. I throw in just a little bit to act as a nice base, a lot of times it may not even be enough to constitute a full serving. Next I will start adding vegetables. I enjoy typical ones like tomatoes and cucumbers, but I will also like to add colored peppers (mostly red/yellow, but also green), fresh mushrooms, beets, olives. I will sometimes add so many vegetables that you won’t even be able to see the lettuce underneath.
Between the type of base and vegetables you pick, this itself can be enough for pre-meal salad that will add a couple of servings of vegetables to your diet and help fill you up if you are need a low calorie option. By choosing a better base and adding more vegetables, it creates a colorful and flavorful plate.
If you need to add more protein into your diet or have a lot more calories you can utilize, here is where you can start to construct some delicious options.
A lot of people have a hard time getting enough protein in their diet, so an easy way to help get more in is by adding protein options to your salad. I like to use a few different options, sometimes I will choose just one, or there have been times when I utilized all of them at once. In no particular order, the first option is lowfat cottage cheese. Rather than put it on top of my salad, I will eat a serving or two on the side of it. It is mostly just protein being added which means there aren’t that many calories being tacked on. So not only does cottage cheese usually pair well with a salad, but it also is a low calorie option to get some extra protein in your diet. Next, a lot of people like to add shredded cheese or cheese cubes to their salad. Unlike lowfat cottage cheese that is lower in calories, normal cheese has a little higher calorie count due to the fact it is usually a little high in fat. But it does add a decent amount of protein depending on how much and what type you add. Due to your calorie goals, you may not always be able to add it, but I love adding some shredded cheese to my salads. Along with adding cheese on top, chopped up boiled egg is another popular option. I don’t do this one as much because I usually forget, but I like it because if you can’t afford the extra calories from the yolk, you can just toss it out. Then you’re left with just the egg white to add pure protein. Lastly is the addition of meat. The most common is probably chicken, but depending on the type of salad you’re making, steak, ground beef/turkey, or anything you prefer works great. Depending on the type of meat you choose it may be low or higher calorie. Chicken breast is a straight protein source where steak has additional calories coming from the fat in it. The same principle applies when you’re comparing ground beef to ground turkey, where ground beef is going to have more fat which leads to a higher calorie count. Just something to keep in mind when choosing your meat source. Since I usually choose chicken I also wanted to note I don’t always use grilled chicken. If I have enough calories, I will splurge and use popcorn chicken/chicken tenders. The breading adds even more flavor and can act as a replacement for croutons.
So now that we have our base, core vegetables, and decided if we want to add a protein source, we can see if we have additional calories to add some extra pizazz. The first thing I will add if I have extra calories is vegetables with a higher calorie count. Some of these include avocado, corn, beans, and peas. Outside of vegetables, meat, and cheese like we have already covered, I really enjoy adding some crispy ingredients. The most common one that I add is French onions, but I also really enjoy crunchy jalapeno strips, wonton crisps, or even just normal croutons. I typically don’t add any, but I have seen many people also add certain fruit and nuts to their salads. The only thing out of those two I have been known to add is mandarin oranges.
Your topping selection doesn’t have to stop with the ones I have mentioned either. As I was going the list of ones I could think of, I almost totally forgot about bacon bits. I don’t always add them to mine, but there are a few salads I make that have them. If there is other toppings you would like to add, it doesn’t hurt to try them out. Maybe you will find your favorite concoction.
Last but not least, we have one final decision to make… our dressing. Building a salad this way adds enough flavor, that if you are low calorie and can’t afford the extra ones in dressing, your salad will still taste great. If you are low calorie but can’t get past not putting dressing on your salad, there are plenty of low calorie options. My favorite is a light Italian vinaigrette. My all-time favorite dressing though is poppy seed by Marzetti. If I am out of that and can afford the calories, I will then opt for ranch or western. But don’t be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to dressing. For a southwest chicken salad I like to make, I start with a swirl of ranch but then do a swirl of sweet baby ray’s barbeque sauce. The combination of the two creates an awesome and unique flavor.
This may seem like a lot of effort to create a salad like this on a regular basis, but with a little bit of prep, you can make them all throughout the week with ease. The first thing I do is pre-wash my lettuce. Once it’s washed, it makes it ready to grab and use. Then for vegetables I commonly use, I will pre wash and chop them, but I do not combine them, I store them separately. I find that if I combine all my vegetables together, they don’t always hold as well. By having the core of the salad ready, all you have to do is grab n go. Also if you don’t want to take the time to pre-cook meat, there are plenty of ready to eat options. I will sometimes buy frozen pre-cooked chicken that only takes a minute or two in the microwave to warm up. Then a lot of other toppings are usually ready to go. Shredded cheese, French onions, bacon bits, and things of that nature come in their own packages where you can just grab some to sprinkle on top.
Once you start eating these types of vibrant salads, it will be hard to ever get a bland side salad at a restaurant ever again. Not only are they full of nutrients, they allow you to get in a good amount of vegetables servings, and can fit into any nutrition goals.
Summary:
Step 1 – Choose base
I like to use spinach, spring mix, or romaine. Any you choose is fine, you don’t even need to add any if you don’t want. I also only like to use a small amount rather than have it be the bulk of the salad.
Step 2 – Add in core vegetables
To start out I will add vegetables that are low in calorie and go from there. I try to pick a wide variety to add lot of flavor and color.
Step 3 – Decide on protein
If you want to add some protein in your salad there are tons of choices. Lowfat cottage on the side or popcorn chicken are my two favorites. Cheese, boiled eggs, and other types of meat are great additions as well.
Step 4 – Extra toppings
If you have extra calories to spare you can start adding on more indulgent toppings. I often choose to add avocado and French onions to start. For extra toppings, the options are endless.
Step 5 – Picking a dressing
Even though I usually do, there are sometimes when I forego putting a dressing on. When I pick a dressing, my choice is determined by my current calorie goals. If I don’t have a lot of calories to spare, I opt for a low calorie option. But if I do have some to spare, I go for a more indulgent one.