To think my salads are shit?

[Acunningruse]

Or at the very least, trapped in the 80s?!

We go on holiday in 30 days and I want to lose a ton bit of weight before we go so am planning on salad for lunch every day. Today I have ham, egg, lettuce, tomato cucumber and a bit of mayo. I think it'll be nice, but also like being transported back to my 80s childhood?!

The shops are full of exotic and tempting looking salads but I seem incapable of recreating anything similar at home. I tried one with chickpeas the other day and it was just chickpeas floating round my plate with a bit of onion and tomato.

What are your top homemade salads? Disclaimer I live in a very non exotic small town and do not have access to fancy delis etc.

Thanks!

Nothing wrong with a good old British salad if the ingredients are fresh and top quality. Those salad staples straight from the garden can be sublime. Chilled and limp from the supermarket, not so much.

Looks lovely but what do you eat for the next mouthful? 😀

Slice fennel really fine, olive oil and salt, rocket and orange/watermelon.

Green/brown lentils with chopped tomatoes/cucumber, loads of lemon, loads of parsley

grated courgette, chopped chillis, Chinese vinegar, chopped sugar snaps

nicoise - new potatoes, green beans, gem lettuce, boiled eggs, anchovies

broccoli fried without oil, green beans/courgettes cover with tahini/yoghurt/lemon juice and sesame/nigella seeds

Agreed.

Granted I'm already a size 10, but if ever I want to trim up bit, I eat full fat Greek yoghurt for breakfast and a nice homemade salad for lunch, always involving cheese - IN SENSIBLE PORTION SIZES!

My favourites are:

• Greek salad: cucumber, tomato, leaves and pepper, topped with olives and feta
• Salade Nicoise: leaves, tomato, cucumber, cooked green beans, black olives, tuna and hard boiled egg
• Italian salad: leaves, tomato (big tomatoes if you can get them), fennel, tinned artichokes, parma ham, mozzarella, green olives
• Tagliata di manzo: strips of sirloin griddled rare, rocket, shaved parmesan, cherry tomatoes and lemon juice to dress
• Vegan salad: leaves, cucumber, grated carrot, hummus, broad beans, tomatoes, radishes, beetroot
• Middle Eastern salad: hummus, baba ganoush, cold ratatouille, rocket, tomatoes, chicken cooked with ras el hanout.

I'm not a purist about what goes in which salad, but I do try to avoid putting everything in every salad so they are different.

Ready made balsamic vinegar dressing is my go to at the moment. You only need a small amount of it, so it's less calorific than a lot of dressing options. If I'm wanting a more substantial option, I make a yogurt dressing from low fat yogurt, a dash of mint sauce and grate in a lots of cucumber (season to taste).

I'm also a fan of rocket and fresh herbs, so normally go for those kinds of salad bags over something like iceberg which can be a bit bland.

Ditch the mayo. Try olive oil with white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar.

I have salads for lunch but I’m very lazy so there’s not much variation. Night before work:

• wash a whole romaine lettuce and chop up and put it in Tupperware bowl
• add cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, red onion, olives, avocado. Salt and pepper.
• in a tiny container, put in extra virgin olive oil, squeeze in juice from half a lemon, add salt and pepper. Shake.
• put tiny container in the Tupperware bowl (embedded in the salad)
• put protein in a separate small container

Different leaves so spinach, water cress, rocket
I always add artichokes, thinly sliced raw courgette is lovely
Sometimes add a grain like pearl barley or quinoa
Roast butternut squash
Dressing makes a difference I love a mustard one!

I like balsamic on my salads. I don't use dressings as my salads aren't mostly leaves. I use about 1 cup leaves then bulk it up with lots of other things.

My go to salad is
baby leaves with grated beetroot and carrot
Fresh mint
Sliced cherry tomatoes
Sliced Cucumber
Sliced Capsicum
Sliced Mushroom
Avocado
Feta
Great with a splash of balsamic

You can add lots to that base salad - fresh mango is amazing, snow pea sprouts, grated carrot. I hate lumpy food, so I always slice, not cube or chunky cut. Texture is very important for good tasting food.

I've also taken quite the liking to coleslaw without the dressing and was quite addicted to kaleslaw. The trick with kale is to cut it before washing as cutting makes it bitter and washing washes the bitter compound off. They're great as the main topping for a baked potato or as a side to grilled chicken.

tuna with spinach & tomatoes and a balsamic vinegar dressing

My favourite salads are when I have lots of bits to use up. Cucumber peppers cherry tomatoes rocket spinach, little gem or romaine lettuce spring onion. Even carrots unless I have stuff in to make coleslaw. I don't like bought salad dressings anyway. But drizzle it with olive oil and pepper and give another good mix.

I also use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo to mix in with coleslaw or tuna or chicken etc. Still tastes as good but healthier.

Tik Tok is your friend here. Loads of people making simple, tasty salads.

Greek salad with a twist(serves 4):
1 Finely-chopped red onion, 2 finely-chopped red and yellow peppers, 1 cucumber (I cut in half lengthwise, then across and remove the seeds, cut each quarter into sticks then dice) 12-16 cherry tomatoes, halved, 1 small head of lettuce, finely shredded, black pitted olives, 1 pack diced and drained feta and chopped coriander to taste. Mix so that everything is evenly blended.
Dressing:
1 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp Greek yogurt, 1 tsp pesto, 2 teaspoons olive oil. Mix and serve 2 tsp with each serving of the salad.
Or use Ranch dressing (2 tsp per serving), or none!

Following l! I'm so bad at salads

tin of Tesco 3 bean salad, well drained.
add well chopped onion, fresh basil, wedges of ripe tomato. salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil. can also add other herbs like thyme and a smidge of tarragon.
serve with ham or cottage cheese or on top of lettuce.
also lovely with something like lamb chops.

another good topper is mushrooms, sliced in half, with the additions as above. you need to leave it for about an hour and the mushrooms basically cook in the lemon and tomato juices

ensure you have stuff that can either be grated or sliced thinly on to salads - carrots, courgette, onions, fresh beet are nice grated. mushrooms, peppers (buy the small ones to use one in one go) thinly sliced. cauliflower or brocolli florets are good too.

If you buy fresh veg but find you can't use it all up before it goes off prep whatever is on the verge of going too limp into nice chunks and pop into a bag to freeze. I keep adding to the bag when I have a bit of something and eventually I have a nice mix of things that can be easily roasted. Add a bit of olive oil on top, some dried herbs and roast at 180 for 25-30 minutes.

Jerk Halloumi, Mango (or pineapple) salad
Ingredients: Mixed leaves, tomato, spring onion, green beans, corn, avocado and mango or pineapple, 1 tsp jerk seasoning or jerk marinade and Halloumi
Dressing: Olive oil and salt
Just pan fry the Halloumi and Jerk marinade and put it on top

Egg, Mango and Chilli noodles salad
Ingredients: Boiled Egg, tomato, spring onion, red onion, carrots, cucumber, radishes, sometimes I add nuts, avocado, mango, Lee Kum Kee Chilli oil, rice noodles
Dressing: Sesame oil, lime, grated ginger, maple syrup
I coat the noodles in the chilli oil and put everything else on top

Oh and if you are taking a bit of dressing for your lunch time salad at work don't pay for a special container for it. Look for those tiddly jam jars that posher hotels have. Tescos etc sell them often 2 for £1 which is much cheaper than what you might pay for systema etc and seal much better.

To lose weight you need salads without mayo, chicken ceaser or any other store dressing. Look for recipes of salads with only olive oil and /or lemon juice

Check out “jennifer aniston friends’ salad”. It has quinoa, chickpeas, feta, cucumber, red onion, mint and parsley and olive oil/lemon juice as dressing

My yesterday's one
Mixed leaves (cress, lettuce)
Tomato
Cucumber
Bell pepper
Caper berry
Capers
Wild cucumber pickle
Pickled turnip
Spring onion
Tuna
Garlic chili
Squeeze of lemon

Day before
Spinach, lettuce, parsley
Tomato
Cucumbers (more than tomato this time)
Bell pepper
Radish
Softish boiled eggs
Capers
Gherkin
Pickled onion
Yogurt Sriracha dressing with lemon and chives

Tomorrow
Chinese cabbage (massaged to soften)
Quik pickle of cucumber and carrot with few flakes of chili (takes between 15 min to hour depends how long one wants to let it sit)
Mangetout beans
Daikon
Spring onion
Pickled shallots
Prawns
Hoison
chopped pickled ginger

Pickles are great because they still provide good stuff while lasting in fridge for ever.
I love chaotic small chop salads!

Beetroot, apple, onion and sour cream was a childhood staple (but especially in winter tbh). Usually eaten with black bread.

if you have crunch, colour (aka variety), at least one protein, acidity and fat your salads will taste amazing IME (you don’t necessarily need all of these, but some of them are a good start).

I really like lollo, fresh spinach (or whatever salad green floats your boat), blue cheese, fresh apple, pan roasted walnuts with a cranberry vinaigrette. the walnuts and blue cheese cubes make it genuinely filling / very satisfying.

My current favs:

Beetroot, watercress, fresh orange, caraway seeds. Lemon & olive oil dressing.

Grated carrot, fresh ginger, sesame oil, raisins. Dressing as above.

Roast courgette with garlic and mint dressing and feta.

Roast butternut squash with halloumi.

Roast fennel with lemon, fresh coriander and black olives

Quinoa with dried apricots, pine nuts, fresh coriander with lemon dressing

These two are my favourites, they are exactly like in the restaurant, but I will warn you they took me ages to make.

Nice for a treat, or if you fancy an hour in the kitchen. Awesome flavours.

Dishoom Chilli Broccoli Salad Recipe | Official Dishoom Recipe
Dishoom's Bhel recipe | delicious. magazine (deliciousmagazine.co.uk)

I got all the ingredients from Morrisons and there's enough to make the salads 10 times over.

Exactly.

https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/food/you-food/283182/spiced-roast-new-potato-salad

I made this version of potato salad and it went down very well, were I to make it again I might use a bit more cumin.