Salad Ingredients Inspiration Needed

[SilentTreatmentKiller]

I'm about to go shopping. I'm on a diet. Salad is the only thing that is shifting the weight so please can anyone help with filling but low calorie/fat salad ingredients. I'm really bored of the standard lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes etc.

Add strawberries, grapes or chunks of melon.

Sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, parmesan, basil, pomegranate seeds, avocado, lime juice, peppers, roasted veg (carrot, courgette, aubergine), marinated chicken, tofu, sliced lean steak, chopped turkey bacon, houmous

We love warm roasted sweet potatoes in cubes with feta and pumpkin seeds in salad.
Roasted red onions pieces with beetroot and goats cheese with leaves is lovely too and a few walnuts.
Hot smoked salmon , avocado and tomatoes with cress
Slow roasted halved peppers stuffed with garlic, tomatoes, basil and anchovies are great with leaves
Smoked mackerel, beetroot and horseradish in a mixed salad
Grated carrots, raisins, almonds in a vinaigrette
Tuna salad nicoise
Salad with everything chopped up very tiny and in layers is very popular here too as somehow it tastes different being chopped so small.

Start with a protein (cheese, HB egg, tuna, chicken etc)
Add some colour (beetroot, berries, mandarins, red grapes etc)
Add some crunch (sunflower or pumpkin seeds, nuts, celery)
Add some leaves
Dressing to suit

I love artichokes, olives, capers

Silver skin pickled onions or gherkins
The dry seasonings from here are good to sprinkle on too https://condimaniac.com and I always add salt and pepper

Thank you so much! I am inspired already..shame about the shopping element to this 😬

How many days will roasted veg last. I usually do a 2/3 day. Would this be about right

Legumes which will fill you up. Beans, chick peas, edamame beans & roast veg to make it interesting.

Standard 5 of lettuce, toms, cucumber, peppers and onions.

Protein; falafels & hummus is one of my favourites, plus the usual options of cheese, eggs, nuts, meat, & fish.

Some fruit, including dried fruit can add flavour & texture - though watch the calories in dried fruit.

Shredded or even better, salad beetroot in jars. Soooo good

Add strawberries, grapes or chunks of melon.

Adding fruit is a great idea. Apple, mango, blackberries and orange also work well in salads.

Crisp Winter Slaw

Citrusy Cabbage Salad with Cumin and Coriander

Jaengban Guksu - Korean Salad

(the last one has cold noodles in it but you could just leave those out.

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Cooked asparagus is a nice addition
Extra Virgin Olive Oil as a dressing, calorie counted if you wish

Pickled lemons!

I make up a batch of mixed salad add ons to keep in the fridge - cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions, peppers, olives, pickled lemons , pumpkin seeds, sweetcorn, sugar snap peas, pickled beetroot, chick peas or some other pulses etc etc etc, and then add this to a base of salad leaves over a few days.

I also whizz up silken tofu to make it smooth, with some spices (harissa mix is nice IMO) and then stir in a dollop of chutney or spicy pickle to use as a dressing, or you can mix spices and pickle into cottage cheese.

sliced peaches, parma ham, mozzarella, balsamic and rocket.

Pomegranate with any salad too, apples and red onion chunks are always lovely

Salad veg chopped up very small, cooked lentils, dress with lemon juice, li

A little oil, pomegranate molasses if you have it is delicious in salads, or flavoured vinegar, balsamic reduction and season.

I like dried cranberries and sunflower kernels in mind. You don't need much of either but give you a nice pop of flavor.

If you want a complete change from lettuce I sometimes make a big tub of salad based on a tin of mixed bean salad. Then add chopped peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onion, tin of sweet corn, radish. Will do me a few days. Add a topping of what ever else I have around, maybe cold chicken or tinned tuna, avocado, low fat feta (waitrose and Tesco both do decent ones). Sometimes pomegranate seeds but they’ve got expensive!

There's a Substack called Department of Salad which is full of ideas. open.substack.com/pub/emilyrnunn?r=62s74&utm_medium=ios

Really worth a look. It does require a subscription to see all the content but some of it is free.

Reduced fat feta always make me happy

Beetroot

Jalapeños!

Add hummus or avocado to a variety of raw or canned veg. Add seeds and fresh herbs too - a couple of sage leaves, basil, thyme, mint, parsley if you have them.