Substantial salads

[MrsKippling]

Like many people, I have overindulged over the festive season and am feeling so bloated and ugh! Craving some lovely healthy food.

I have loads of lovely healthy soups I'm planning to load the freezer with but my salads are never very exciting. I wish I was one of those people who could be full on a small portion of protein and some leaves, but unfortunately I have a huge appetite so am after some lovely healthy filling salad recipes. I don't eat fish other than tuna and am not keen on cheese but feel free to share any recipes as it may inspire others 😊.

My fav salad is a Greek pasta salad. Cooked pasta, feta, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and olive oil, garlic and wine vinegar dressing.
I'm looking for inspiration so I hope others add their ideas!

I tend to make my salads for work with a bed of spinach, then cucumber, tomato, peppers and lettuce cut into small pieces, with humus and chicken. I do like the sandwich filler pots and mix those into my salad. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing some more salad ideas 😄

If I've got time a big salad with all the usual (tomatoes, cuc, salad leaves etc) chopped really small with diced mango and coriander with some lime juice is delicious.

Also a couscous salad (veg stock) with toasted red peppers, cuc&tom, parsley and lemon juice is good.

Chicken with either of the above will boost the protein.

Also pop 'salad' into an instagram search - that always gives me loads of inspiration.

It's old fashioned (and possibly about as calorific as a Bargain Bucket 😂), but I am partial to a Cobb salad with blue cheese dressing

I picked up the Leon Happy Salad book from a charity shop the other day. It is really good with loads of ideas and interesting dressings.

I love oven baked / air fried breaded spicy chicken on mixed greens, red onion and sliced avocado. Drizzle a bit of blue cheese sauce or any spicy mayo based sauce. I prefer making mine with fat free Greek yoghurt to make it a bit healthier.

This miso and peanut butter salad from Ottolenghi is delicious. I serve it with he chickpeas still warm, partly as I'm impatient and partly as I enjoy the temperature contrast.

My fave at the moment is a chicken Kiev. Cook it in the oven on a slice of bread. Then put leaves, pepper, cucumber, sweetcorn, tomat (whatever) put the bread and Kiev in top and then cut it up and the garlicy butter works as a dressing and the bread as croutons. Yummy.

I quite like to air fry cubes of butternut squash, beetroot and some red onion with chilli and garlic oil. Then cool and keep in Tupperware in the fridge.

Salad is then usually mixed leaves, cucumber, celery, cherry tomato, pepper, feta, raw red onion, then a handful of the air fryer stuff and topped with pomegranate seeds.

Feta, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and hazelnuts vinegarette dressing.

Cobb salad

Noodle, pea, mangetout, red pepper cooked onion and peanuts.

Brie, melon, heritage tomatoes and caramelized onion chutney.

Winter coleslaw with baked potato

Couscous with cooked red pepper and onion.

Cold salad is miserable in winter! Savebut for the summer. Go for roast veg/stews in winter. I just do some kind of med veg plus basil.

I like this one:

shredded chicken, feta, crushed walnuts, baby leaves, chives, mint, basil. Griddled peach halves on top. Olive oil, vinegar and lemon dressing.

Herbs are the thing that make salads interesting to me.

My current favourite is beetroot roasted with red onion for 45 mins then mixed with a few chopped satsuma pieces and whatever leaves you like, and sprinkled with crumbled feta and pumpkin seeds, walnuts or pecans. The oil from the roasted beets means you don't need a dressing: just squeeze some of the satsuma over it and mix before you add the seeds. Really filling and delicious.

This is my favourite www.travelsfrommykitchen.com/post/moro-chickpea-salad

My fav is roasted butternut squash, green lentils, shallots, feta and rocket with a vinaigrette.

But generally, a base of leaves plus a theme works well: tomato, avocado, corn, chillis and chicken (Mexican): pasta, mozzarella, pesto dressing and tomatoes (Italian); feta or halloumi, olives, tomato, rice (Greek); citrus, pomegranate, lamb, herbs (Middle Eastern).

Generally try a variety of textures - soft, crunchy and roasted veg, grains/pasta/rice, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, seeds, leaves, protein - and a range of dressings

This one has fantastic flavours and is quite substantial:

nadialim.com/thai-beef-salad-with-roast-pumpkin-kaffir-lime-and-peanuts/

Ive had a tin of chick peas in my cupboard for donkeys. Never used them - how can I learn to love them? I have an air fryer - should I cook them?

I haven't air fried them before but I used to roast them so I'm sure it will have the same effect.

Drain and rinse, then toss in oil, garlic, chilli and a little salt and pepper. I then spread out on a tray and roast for about 30 minutes. I would guess at air fry for maybe 15-20 mins but keep checking them.

Oh I am definitely trying this one!

Following

I am an absolute carbs fiend normally but i've trained myself to enjoy a salad.

Generic base:
Spinach or rocket bed
Red onion
Sweetcorn
Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Cheddar or stilton cubes
Hard boiled egg chopped

My 'main' is either a marinated chicken breast, chunky ham, shallow fried halloumi

Then I use either good quality coleslaw or mayonnaise.

Following , to have a read through tomorrow

Chick peas are really nice with cous cous. I do the following as a side:

Soak the cous cous with a chicken or veg stock cube and something spicy like curry or chilli powder.

Fry up some onions, peppers, tomatoes (whatever veg you like really) and the chickpeas with garlic, and the spices used above.

Tip the cous cous in the frying pan to combine, then serve.

A friend of mine made a divine salad with lamb's lettuce, roasted butternut squash, pear, toasted walnuts and burrata cheese, in a pesto dressing. It might have had garlic crouons too. You say you don't like cheese so you could skip that, or add sliced grilled chicken breast.cheese.