"Massive salad"

[Sparklfairy]

I see it here all the time, it's the new mythical mumsnet chicken I think. In the recent lovely (and not so lovely) weather I've been eating a lot of salad, but I really want to know what other people think is a 'massive salad'.

So, AIBU to ask when you make a massive salad what you put in it and how much??

nosy

I put my massive salad in a big glass bowl. Lots of mixed leaves baby plum tomatoes cucumber spring onion fennel and maybe carrot. Usually with 1 or 2 if the following tuna avocado feta halloumi boiled eggs falafel. A big glug of good extra virgin and salt. Yum!

Mixed leaves, tomato, cucumber, avocado, halloumi and bacon.
Barely fits on a dinner plate. LEAF FOR ALL!

Many salads can be way more fattening that a meat and two veg type meal, depending on what’s in it and on it. I’m surprised anyone would think a massive salad is simply lettuce and tomatoes etc and has never actually even seen anything different.

When I used to go to the Harvester I would choose the following

Beetroot
Cucumber
Lettuce
Tomato
Onions
Red and green peppers
pineapple
blue cheese dressing
Coleslaw
Bacon bits
Croutons
Sweetcorn

and a crusty roll

My daughter just had a bowl of pasta and sweetcorn

I always had a terribly upset stomach after eating there too, it became a joke, waiting for me to rush off to the loo afterwards. To be fair I did have IBS but no other restaurant affected me like that

Usually a combination of any of this-
Salad - Spinach/Lettuce/salad leaves
Fruit - (pear/apple/pomegranate/tomatoes)
Cold veg (Sugar snaps/asparagus/broccoli, carrot/Edamame beans/red cabbage/beetroot/ cucumber)
Cheese (Halloumi/blue/goats/manchago)

Extras - nuts/seeds/pine nuts/croutons
Dressing with ingredients from soy sauce to peanut butter.

A Massive Salad is as above, a salad with many components.

I think the main criteria though is how long it takes to chew. A massive salad is a BIG chewing commitment. At least 30 mins.

I eat massive salads. I need to rest in between starting and finishing. I try and put 7 to 8 different stuff on and i load them with full fat cottage cheese and hummus. Im veggie so i chuck on a cauliflower/broccoli bake.

Spring onions, toms, spinach, peppers, cucumber, beetroot, celery, radishes.

One thing as a child I used to love with my salad was lettuce sprinkled with sugar and vinegar...

I love a fancy salad.
The 'boring' (😁) salad stuff, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, baby spinach, beetroot etc plus any combination of things like feta cubes, bacon and onion crispy salad toppers, seeds and seed mixes, peppers, croutons, dressings, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, pomegranate seeds, chicken, salmon, pasta, the list is endless.

By the time I'm done, here's probably fewer calories in a big mac.

(The list is a pick and mix, not a recipe. 😁)

oh and loads of Heinz Salad Cream (not mayo) and branston pickle

Had a salad the other day. Made a green salad with lettuce, cucumber, peppers and red onion tossed in French dressing. Had ham, cambazola and 2 boiled eggs with fruity coleslaw. Some morrocan cous cous baby tomatoes and baby beetroot. It was lovely and felt quite full after. Would never have described it as a massive salad though. What would have made it super special would have been a few chips.

Mixed salad leaves, onion, cucumber, peppers, avocado, peppers, sweetcorn, lots of little on the vine cherry tomatoes, kidney beans, crispy bacon, pine nuts, grapes sometimes, some pasta too.

Bacon can be replaced with chicken or cheese, pref goats cheese and a honey and mustard dressing

The nandos salad with frog for added protein story put me off salads fro a while, never knew if it was a myth or true

My salaad game changers so far this summer hsve been capers and nectarine. Those little blobs of sourness / sweetness keep you going through any amount of leaves.
My proteins of choce are salmon or tuna, but bacon (chopped up) also works.

looks like it may be true

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-35111514

These all sound amazing and far more interesting than mine! I'll have to pinch some ideas because mine are quite simple boring

@Jenasaurus you've reminded me of a guy I was dating. He was 22.5 stone and constantly confused about why he wasn't losing weight. I felt bad that once a week we were going to restaurants and overeating so suggested a Harvester ugh so he could fill up at the salad bar. He happily agreed.

I came back with a bowlful of a mix of everything. He came back with a bowlful of... pasta and noodles. Nothing else. When I laughed (kindly) and said 'that's not salad!' he pulled a face and said he didn't fancy it ... then ate a whole rack of ribs with all the sides and later wanted to go pick up snacks 'because the salad bar didn't fill me up'

I had one in the week where I'd taken the protein in to work, and was finishing off a variety of things I'd accumulated in the fridge at work. There was more than I'd anticipated - genuinely huge, piled on a dinner plate.
Prawns, Labneh dip, Cous Cous, box of M&S 'crunchy salad', courgette, remains of a box of beetroot salad.

One with protein and some kind of carb as well (potato salad, couc cous etc....)

Personally, I go for a small salad and add chips and burger 😄

I generally put in anything I have laying around! It usually involves baby mixed leaves, piccolo tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, strawberries, sweetcorn, kiwi, apple, grated carrots, asparagus, sugar snap peas, onion, Bell pepper, or grapes in some mix. People who say they don't like salads always say they like my salads., although my kids friends are always baffled by the fruit in it.

Even if I ate a tonne of salad for lunch I would still be starving by mid afternoon …

Oh I forgot. Avocado

I've got some small round Sistema tubs - I've discovered they're great for putting a portion of couscous in, topping up with boiling water at work. lid back on, and by the time I've put the rest of the salad together, the couscous is done.

@Sparklfairy

These all sound amazing and far more interesting than mine! I'll have to pinch some ideas because mine are quite simple boring

@Jenasaurus you've reminded me of a guy I was dating. He was 22.5 stone and constantly confused about why he wasn't losing weight. I felt bad that once a week we were going to restaurants and overeating so suggested a Harvester ugh so he could fill up at the salad bar. He happily agreed.

I came back with a bowlful of a mix of everything. He came back with a bowlful of... pasta and noodles. Nothing else. When I laughed (kindly) and said 'that's not salad!' he pulled a face and said he didn't fancy it ... then ate a whole rack of ribs with all the sides and later wanted to go pick up snacks 'because the salad bar didn't fill me up'

I think thats what a lot of people do, especially the greedy ones :)

Mind you I always took 2 rolls and butter there so maybe I am as bad

My massive salads contain:
Half a romaine lettuce
10cm cucumber
3 tinned artichokes
A grated carrot
A whole bag of radishes
A handful of cooked green beans
A whole red pepper
Two sticks of celery
Cornichons
Capers
Beetroot or avocado (optional)
Celeriac remoulade or coleslaw if I CBA to make it
Chickpeas or kidney beans
Hard boiled eggs, tuna, parma ham, goat cheese or smoked fish (choose at least two)
French dressing