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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Is this a reasonable amount of salad for one person for their evening meal?

371 replies

Saveusename · 02/10/2025 21:23

Two celery stalks
One chicken breast
Five baby potatoes
Half a red onion
Cucumber
Four small beetroot balls
One medium avocado
Watercress, rocket and spinach leaves
Chopped feta

With a dressing of anchovies, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and honey.

YANBU - That’s definitely enough. On the large side, even.
YABU - That’s not enough.

OP posts:
PraisebetoGod · 03/10/2025 21:15

It's a fucking salad. Does it matter?

Bubblesintheair · 03/10/2025 21:14

Hulabalu · 02/10/2025 21:32

It is too much for anyone . Feta, anchovies & half the avo not needed in addition to a chicken breast. Quarter onion is enough

Wouldn't be too much for me. I'd need a large amount of bread to fill me up

ForJollyLemonZebra · 03/10/2025 20:42

Wouldn't say alot.chicken piece.. few pots and salad.. I'd struggle with all.that salad.but sounds lovely
Personal choice.. don't really know why your asking.. your life..your choice

TheLovelinessOfDemons · 03/10/2025 20:16

I would need more chicken and more potatoes.

Alliod40 · 03/10/2025 20:10

What is wrong with you,besides the chicken breast and 5 baby potatoes the rest is hardly anything only salad bits which you would put with any meal such as lasagne and garlic bread so what's all the fuss about..what are you living on bird seed

Blondeshavemorefun · 03/10/2025 19:48

Think we needed to see the size of bowl

food threads will Always be the wow that’s massive I’m stuffed v that would touch the sides

so a chicken breast and 5 small pots and a bit of salad. Wouldn’t keep me full tbh

Mumtobabyhavoc · 03/10/2025 19:08

Floatlikeafeather2 · 03/10/2025 08:37

No it isn't. The "very definition" of a salad is salted vegetables. Your interpretation is very loose.

Since we're being a bit pedantic, Oxford says:
"a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients."

Before you continue to Google Search

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=d66c091d59b5f448&hl=en-ca&sxsrf=AE3TifPKnmbew3W6mDM9stplzUpCvg5nVw:1759514806691&q=mixtures&si=AMgyJEtTt81ZwKfSOowD-Pgs8NXgtA2fJkwMwLsJslO0YjjV_e2n0KHsUFIF_OZVAeQ3xt-L8JUk_y8Ezea0Hopb7jGgWKkJzyfymdJTR96hmHMaC-QBPcI%3D&expnd=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjCqJ64z4iQAxUWIDQIHb2eHGUQyecJegQIGRAR

JMSA · 03/10/2025 18:27

clipboardz · 02/10/2025 21:26

I'd eat that over a week

😂

ChristmasFluff · 03/10/2025 16:43

The only thing that should guide on whether it is a 'reasonable amount' is your hunger. Eat mindfully, and when you feel you are approaching fullness, take a pause, have a drink of water, then see if you feel like continuing.

That's what I do - as someone who previously starved and binged.

MN is full of competitive under-eaters, so not the best place to ask at all.

If you are uncertain on average portion sizes, ask at your GP surgery and they will have loads of info for you. But these are a guide - if I've eaten nothing all day (due to my physical work), I could eat the veggie bits of that and have some pizza too. If I've been at home and had breakfast and lunch, I'd probably have half that, if anything (I often skip a meal due to not feeling hungry).

Whichhandbag · 03/10/2025 16:42

It's the whole avocado that really tips it over the edge. I would say what you've outlined would serve two really well for lunch.

You only need to glance around you to see that more people should really engage in some competitive undereating.

nomas · 03/10/2025 16:16

90% of that is water so it's absolutely fine.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 03/10/2025 16:15

Clockface222 · 03/10/2025 16:00

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea I am still harvesting lots of leaves from my garden. There are even strawberries still ripening!

Fair enough. But I still reckon that most supermarket salads have been flown in from elsewhere.

InimitablePeggy · 03/10/2025 16:00

Some of these responses are weird. Yes it a balanced salad with protein, healthy fats and a mix of veg. Lots of nutrition in there.

Clockface222 · 03/10/2025 16:00

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea I am still harvesting lots of leaves from my garden. There are even strawberries still ripening!

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 03/10/2025 15:54

I do think that eating salad in October isn’t a sensible or sustainable way to eat. In July you may be picking tasty homegrown leaves from your own allotment, or have a smaller appetite due to the heat so the water content of the cucumber, radish, lettuce etc is helpful.

In October your salad is more than likely flown in from abroad, so to make your leaves tastier you are adding extra ingredients and a dressing which some posters above has suggested means your ‘salad’ contains 900 calories.

Far better to accompany the chicken* and potatoes with a selection of steamed green veg and gravy, or serve as a tray bake with root veg and squash. That’s much more seasonal eating, you’d drop your calorie content by a good third and your meal would feel more warming and satisfying.

(* veggie alternatives are available)

SnowFrogJelly · 03/10/2025 15:16

It’s a massive salad..

DiscoBob · 03/10/2025 15:15

IHopeYouStepOnALegPiece · 03/10/2025 11:40

Dinnertime sounds fucking miserable in your house 😂

Haha, I promise it's not. I think I was going a bit far with the six. But two/three I stand by that.

I admit I'm not a big eater. If I had gym fanatics or six foot mountaineering enthusiasts I would definitely feed them more.

I barely move so don't need that much. Plus I need to save some of my allocated energy for wine! 🤣

Floundering66 · 03/10/2025 14:23

I think it’s completely dependent on the person, their appetite and what they had already eaten that day?

Mauvehoodie · 03/10/2025 14:12

Absolutely fine for an evening meal. I definitely wouldn't say it was not enough. If you were actively trying to lose weight, it could push your calories a bit high but would depend on how much feta was added and how big the avocado, how much had been eaten the rest of the day etc. But for an average person not trying to lose, it sounds an idea dinner full of nutrients.

ToffeePennie · 03/10/2025 13:54

Doesn’t it depend on what else you have eaten?
So if I was having a salad, I’d probably have a jacket potato with it, but no lunch and probably only a bowl of weetabix for breakfast.
Or if I had a salad exactly like yours it would be with a massive lunch and breakfast to tide me over.I really think portion sizes and amounts of food have to depend on the other things you have eaten.
Im fat, by the way; but fighting against my medical issues that make me put on weight.

Winter2020 · 03/10/2025 13:49

It sounds like about 600cals depending on the amount of Feta cheese.

3 x 600 calorie meals each day would be 1800 cals

plus a couple of snacks would give the approximate 2000 cals for an average woman.

There is no context to your OP,

Is this one meal as part of a healthy balanced diet (as above (OK),
Is this one meal as part of a "one meal a day" diet (not enough)
Is it a meal for a recovering anorexic (great well done)
Is it a meal as part of a weight loss diet (great but count the calories particularly the avocado and Fet and add up other calories over the day to ensure you are in a deficit for the day)
Edit also add the calories for the drizzle as it contains oil etc

HangingOver · 03/10/2025 13:38

Needs crusty bread 😊

WiddlinDiddlin · 03/10/2025 13:38

HoppingPavlova · 03/10/2025 06:58

As someone else pointed out above, the chicken breasts in Australia are huge, just like I said. I'd love to get 120g chicken breasts. That would be perfect for making individual portions easily

Arrhhh, yes. I answered half a chicken breast as I was agog at a whole one, but I did so on the basis of a chicken breast being approx 250g. I’m in Australia and this is standard. We allow 4 breasts to feed 8 but that’s working on the basis 4 breasts are approx 1kg so gives everyone 125g a serve.

Don't want to derail thread, but cant be arsed starting a new one. Why are the chickens in the UK so small? I only buy truly free range (not what they claim passes for free range, which I don’t believe does), but I notice here, there is no difference in size between free range and the unfortunate intensively farmed ones, so our Aus vs UK size difference can’t be due to that, so what is it?

ETA - I’m now sitting here imagining your chickens being the size of our pigeons 🤣

Edited

I think UK chicken breasts are trimmed much smaller, cut differently, its certainly not ALL of the meat you could cut off the front end of a chicken... Unless aussie chickens are just much bigger than our UK ones?

shortieshortie · 03/10/2025 13:22

incognitomouse · 03/10/2025 13:20

You must be fun at parties @shortieshortie 😅 Get a grip.

In case you need help understanding it.

salad
noun
sal·ad ˈsa-ləd

Synonyms of salad
1
: any of various usually cold dishes: such as
a
: raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing
b
: small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin

Always a shame when someone can't admit defeat on a topic, eh?

😂

MsTamborineMan · 03/10/2025 13:21

LivingTheLife1 · 03/10/2025 00:14

Look at how much they weigh. A serving is about 125g. A chicken breast is typically more than that. I would use one whole breast to make a curry or something for three adults - two of them hungry men.

Edited

If they are full on 1/3 chicken breast they aren't hungry men. A UK chicken breast is 150-160g. 50g of chicken is not satisfying any 7ft tall strapping rugby player (as all the men on MN being fed are)

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