Things to have with salad.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Thanks to a combination of depression, steroids for lymphocytic colitis, lockdown and my own inability to turn down any calorie that presents itself, I am the biggest I have ever been, and get breathless walking.

But now the warmer weather is coming (though I live in Scotland, so this is optimistic in the extreme), I am planning to eat lots and lots of salads over the summer, and hopefully lose a few stone - but I need some ideas of things to have as the protein part of the meal.

Things we already have and like include seafood (prawns, hot smoked salmon, smoked mackerel), ham, boiled eggs, cold cooked chicken, cold roast beef - but that isn't enough to allow me to ring the changes over the summer - so I am asking you all for inspiration!

Thanks in advance.

Stilton, chicory, spinach and apple is a divine salad.

With a ‘normal’ salad, we’ll quite often flatten chicken breasts, marinate with Dunn’s River Jerk seasoning and grill.

I make salads using a mix of pretty much any green herb as the salad base (much nicer than plain old salad leaves) and top it with some roasted salmon or veggies. My go to dressing is just balsamic vinegar or French dressing.

Lovely ideas - thank you all!

And I never buy dressing - I either use balsamic or make my own, with oil, ww vinegar, a tiny squirt of honey and a dollop of wholegrain mustard. Adjust to taste - delicious.

Don't just have salad. Also look at soup with lots of veg, vegetable curry, stir fry, fish with veg. All more satisfying than salad, especially if the weather is typically Scottish.

Although I do like tuna with a bit of mayo and spring onions, olives, gherkins, capers and peppers mixed in, with a bit of cheese and lettuce, cucumber, courgette and possibly tomatoes on the side. With a small pitta.

Bolognese
Chilli
Tempeh

Melon fingers wrapped around with proscuttio. Don't eat them from the fridge, let them lose their cold a bit.
There's a recipe by Floyd for Greek mushrooms (I think) - it's got lemon and a small bit of sherry in it and is easy to make. If you cook up loads of that, they're nicer chilled than hot.

I often have a coleslaw - shred up cabbage, carrots, fennel, spring onion, any other veg and have with an oil, vinegar and mustard dressing and have it as a starter or with whatever we are having.

Make with a lime dressing for Indian food...add mint and basil.

Watching with interest as stuck in a meal plan rut but with warmer days hopefully ahead I need to "saladise" things a bit.

Where I struggle is in my head I associate salad as chop up old familiar bits and pop in bowl. Ready in 5 minutes. The lazy me then objects to spending much longer prepping something posher as then what's the point? Salad should be a 5 minute job ... any longeri may as well do a "proper" tea

I realise this is my lazy mind set and I'm going to work through the ideas on this thread. Thanks for starting OP.

@DinosaurDiana

Ooo, I love a thick slice of ham 😋

I too love a nice wedge of ham!

People have covered most of the sensible stuff, but for niceness (maybe instead of a takeaway?):

Baked halibut
Scallops flash fried in whisky and lime juice
Steak

Less expensive:
Salmon steak baked in foil with lemon and dill

Salmon roasted with soy, ginger and honey on a bed of wilted kale and tenderstem broccoli

Herring fillet rollmops or fried in pinhead oatmeal (it's fatty so doesn't need any oil)

Asparagus roasted with cherry tomatoes, black olives and garlic stirred through puy lentils (lentils v healthy and proteiny, no?)

Buy some nice vinegars and make your own dressing that's light on the oil ( or leave it out altogether).

If you're going to do the nuts and seeds thing get yourself a table spoon measure - they're lovely and very rich in nutrients but they pack an incredible calorific punch!

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

Watching with interest as stuck in a meal plan rut but with warmer days hopefully ahead I need to "saladise" things a bit.

Where I struggle is in my head I associate salad as chop up old familiar bits and pop in bowl. Ready in 5 minutes. The lazy me then objects to spending much longer prepping something posher as then what's the point? Salad should be a 5 minute job ... any longeri may as well do a "proper" tea

I realise this is my lazy mind set and I'm going to work through the ideas on this thread. Thanks for starting OP.

I empathise re timings! My current workaround is to spend a bit of time at the start of the week making a selection from the following:

• new potato salad with a bit of EVOO/rosemary/garlic
• hummous
• 7-minute eggs
• homemade pesto
• roasted veg with feta (aubergine, sweet pots etc)
• slow-roasted baby plum tomatoes with garlic cloves and thyme
• pasta salad, lentils or similar

Then I also wash and chop lettuce/rocket, make some dressing and store everything in Tupperware/jars etc. Then when I have to put it together, all I have to do is add dollops of everything to a bowl, add a bit of leftover chicken/slice of cured ham/bit of blue cheese etc and voila!

Repeated disclaimer: we all have different ideas of what salads are...

Love a good salad. If you experiment with pulses and grains that can make them a lot more filling and contribute to the overall protein content of the meal (although worth checking the protein content as not all are the 'super' protein sources some sites would have you believe). They also make a great based for experimenting with herby dressings where you might not with a leafy salad base. My go to ingredients are:

• Cooked and cooled quinoa
• Green lentils (the kind you don't need to soak)
• Tinned chickpeas (the easiest of the lot and great source of protein)
• Bulghur wheat (check out tabbouleh - quick, easy and super tasty)

If I'm just wanting a big plate of salad on the side, I often go for greek style with olives and feta. Obvs feta is higher calorie, but I find you need much less than you might expect for flavour and less dressing than you might put on a salad that's just veggies. Similarly a little bit of grilled halloumi goes a long way.

Grilled or roasted veg are also a great way to keep things interesting and up the veg content.

When I was low carbing I used to fry cubes of halloumi until they were golden on the outside - they make a great sub for croutons.

I think presentation can make or break a salad. I especially like to layer ingredients in patterns so the colours pop...

Obviously it all ends up mixed together, but it makes it look more appealing!

Serving at room temperature makes the veg taste better too IMO .

Shameless place marking some of these sound great

Quiche, new potatoes, pickles, relishes, cheese.
I really like a salad with melon and orange in it! My Australian relatives introduced me to it. Adds some freshness and sweetness to the usual lettuce and cucumber.

This is delicious when it's eaten warm or at room temperature. I like the combination of parsley and mint in the dressing.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/warm-chickpea-salad

This is also good. The dressing is lovely.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spicy-corn-black-bean-feta-salad/amp.

I'll sometimes cook extra protein (chicken/fish) at dinner for lunch the next day. Salmon fillets baked in a honey/wholegrain mustard with a smidge of chilli/sriracha are really nice either hot or cold.

Forgot these two - I use gherkin instead of capers in the tuna/pasta salad.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/storecupboard-pasta-salad.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/beet-spinach-goats-cheese-couscous

Stilton. Just a small amount turns a basic dish of chopped lettuce, cucumber and tomato into the food of the gods.

I prefer my salad raw so don't bother with dressings at all except for the occasional coleslaw.

Lol @DogsSausages saying no goodness in ham. It's a great source of protein and contains iron and B vitamins as well as other minerals particularly selenium. Yes, it's high in sodium and some potential carcinogens, but that just means you don't eat it in large quantities.

There are some brilliant suggestions here - than you all.

I know I have a bit of a tendency to get into a rut, with meal planning and cooking - and I have a bigger repertoire of hot, but reasonably healthy dinners than cold/salad-y ones.

This is my favourite book during the summer www.amazon.co.uk/LEON-Happy-Salads-Leons/dp/1840917180?tag=mumsnetforu03-21 I have made most of the recipes and haven’t had a duff one yet.

when I grew up in aus it was a thing to have cold baked beans, either classic or curried with sultanas, with sliced pineapple or thin slices pf orange
mustard & cress or water cress with or instead of lettuce
olives
or mix in fresh strawberries & other berries & nuts
dried apricots with edam or gouda(lower fat than cheddar)
nice strong pickled onion
& for side dressing yogurt with sliced onion chopped cucumber & toms & mint sauce or sliced onion with cu & toms & gloop of mint sauce

I love a Nicoise with green beans and anchovies or tuna, just be careful with the dressing; enough dressing on a salad and may as well have Mac n cheese!