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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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:
SatsumaDog · 03/10/2025 05:25

Sounds fairly reasonable to me. Personally I would half the avocado purely to keep the calories more reasonable, but I often eat something quite similar.

Bjorkdidit · 03/10/2025 05:18

Why do you ask OP?

I voted YANBU as it's a decent sized meal, as well as sounding healthy and delicious.

Is this about a DH who can't get past 'salad' not being a 'proper evening meal' even though it's as substantial as a similar meal of roast chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables? Plus there's the feta and avocado that add substance as well as the chicken and potatoes.

But it really depends. It could well be plenty/too large, if you've had a decent lunch and breakfast and sounds like the sort of food that the 'I only ever eat salad so don't understand why I can't lose weight' crowd eat because they're oblivious to the fact that it has more calories than a Big Mac and fries.

But I can see that an active and/or large person who's not eaten a lot earlier in the day might still be hungry after they've eaten all that.

ParmaVioletTea · 03/10/2025 05:09

Looks fine to me. I’d only have half an avocado and no onion or potatoes. I’d probably have more chicken and go very easy on the dressing. It’s probably around 500 calories which is ok if it’s one of 3 meals at around 500 calories each.

Annoyedmillennial · 03/10/2025 04:47

Mandylovescandy · 02/10/2025 21:26

The whole cucumber? Overall maybe, depends how much exercise I have done that day I think

I mean it’s water effectively at 45 calories so think ok

Charel2girl5 · 03/10/2025 04:21

FreyjaOfTheNorth · 02/10/2025 21:29

Pure gluttony. One lettuce leaf is enough for me for a month.

You have made me giggle in the midst of my sleeplessness! Thank you. OP I could eat three times that no problem but I am a salad fiend! 🥗

Mumtobabyhavoc · 03/10/2025 04:06

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 03/10/2025 01:29

You ate salad after going out drinking? What’s wrong with super noodles on toast ?

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Or greasy pizza by the slice at the late night take away?

WiddlinDiddlin · 03/10/2025 04:03

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.

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A small chicken breast is perhaps 120g, a really big bugger 340g if you're very lucky..

So it really depends on the size of the chicken breast as to whether the OP is a greedy piglet, or you're starving three adults on a pinch of chicken per person!

Morrisons pack of three is 630g, so 210g each. Ocado do a 1kg pack, thats usually 5 chicken breasts.

I think you need to have a look at the packaging again, possibly with your specs on.

Mumtobabyhavoc · 03/10/2025 04:01

RampantIvy · 02/10/2025 22:01

No it isn't. That is a lot of food.

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Oh, gawd, what you'd say about my typical salad... 😂🫣

Bleachedjeans · 03/10/2025 03:38

Take off the whole avocado and it’s fine. The avocado pushes it into the too much category.

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/10/2025 02:37

@Flomingho yeah I just re read and think that a whole avocado is over kill with everything else.

Flomingho · 03/10/2025 02:35

Sounds lovely. I would probably have either the avocado or the potatoes though as both together would be very filling

DinnerPartyDrama · 03/10/2025 02:29

Titasaducksarse · 02/10/2025 21:33

Ooo you greedy cow....one rocket leaf suffices

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You don’t actually need to eat it, a sniff or lick is quite enough.

OP, I don’t eat meat but it sounds fairly normal to me. Mumsnet is known for a lot of disordered eating though, so you will get skewed replies.

OuijaBoard · 03/10/2025 02:00

It's not out of the ordinary for an adult, but for an AIBU context matters. For example, if you ate this for dinner, someone told you it was an insufficient amount of food and urged you to eat more and you declined, then YANBU. If you made this for each of your family members and someone ate theirs and was still hungry and you're flabbergasted by this and insulted that they ate something else in addition, then YABU.

LivingTheLife1 · 03/10/2025 01:58

wandawaves · 03/10/2025 01:57

Are you in Australia? Ours are like that. Huge bloody chickens.

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Yes. :-)

wandawaves · 03/10/2025 01:57

LivingTheLife1 · 03/10/2025 01:51

Not one in the UK. And They're about 300-350 each.

I don't actually get my meat from the supermarket normally, I was just using it as a reference point because I know the weights there. I only get meat from there when I'm disorganised. Either way, if I buy it pre-diced, I get the 500g pack, so that's the volume I'm aiming for (though I'd do the same size pack if it was 4 people).

I'm making Mediterranean Mozzarella Chicken for our next meal, and aiming for 125g of chicken breast for myself.

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Are you in Australia? Ours are like that. Huge bloody chickens.

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/10/2025 01:57

DD and I both find breast meat really dense and filling so we usually share one sliced up and sometimes dont eat all of it. So I do get the suggestion that a whole chicken breast would be too much for one person, especially with all the other food.

BauhausOfEliott · 03/10/2025 01:51

Sounds like a decent main meal to me.

LivingTheLife1 · 03/10/2025 01:51

SocksAndTheCity · 03/10/2025 01:27

Which supermarket is this? I regularly buy packs of two chicken breasts from either Waitrose or Sainsbury's; the former is 380g and the latter 320g.

How big are these chickens that have a kilo of breast meat each? Confused

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Not one in the UK. And They're about 300-350 each.

I don't actually get my meat from the supermarket normally, I was just using it as a reference point because I know the weights there. I only get meat from there when I'm disorganised. Either way, if I buy it pre-diced, I get the 500g pack, so that's the volume I'm aiming for (though I'd do the same size pack if it was 4 people).

I'm making Mediterranean Mozzarella Chicken for our next meal, and aiming for 125g of chicken breast for myself.

OriginalUsername2 · 03/10/2025 01:49

It looks about 300 calories but it’s actually about 900! Depending on the amounts of oil and cheese. The Avocado is 240 cals. This would be a great high fat OMAD (one meal a day) dinner though. With a healthy afters. Yum.

coxesorangepippin · 03/10/2025 01:36

Well yes it's fine

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 03/10/2025 01:29

Complet · 02/10/2025 23:11

Sounds like something I’d eat as a student when I had drunk too much beer and raided the fridge and just stuck everything on my plate! It was definitely enough for me, so much so that my after a few months of doing that I had to spend some of my meagre loan buying bigger jeans!

You ate salad after going out drinking? What’s wrong with super noodles on toast ?

SocksAndTheCity · 03/10/2025 01:27

LivingTheLife1 · 03/10/2025 00:51

If I buy a pack of two at my supermarket, the whole pack is about 600-700g. I'll use either one breast (if it's extra large) or 500g of it. The rest gets poached for the dogs. If I buy it ready diced, I buy the 500g pack.

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Which supermarket is this? I regularly buy packs of two chicken breasts from either Waitrose or Sainsbury's; the former is 380g and the latter 320g.

How big are these chickens that have a kilo of breast meat each? Confused

zazazaaar · 03/10/2025 01:21

Thepeopleversuswork · 02/10/2025 21:27

Oh yippee, another performative undereating thread.

I'm a bit of a fat.greedy fucker and that seems like a.lot of food!

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 03/10/2025 01:20

pumpkinscake · 02/10/2025 21:46

Honestly can't see how this could be excessive

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Excessive as it’s too much insubstantial wet stuff. And it’s all so cold. Needs a few chips with it.

glittereyelash · 03/10/2025 01:16

ChickpeaCauliflowerSalad · 03/10/2025 01:07

Did you make it in the bath?

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Not this time. Standard pasta bowl 😀