Every Day Habits: Big Green Salad

Nearly every day at dinnertime, I begin my meal with a big green salad. It’s similar in concept to the Big Bowl of Fruit: it fills you up with lots of foods that have low calorie density prior to eating your main course.

Eating green salads to help you with your weight loss endeavors and improve your diet and overall health is not a new idea. We’ve all heard that adding lots of fresh vegetables to our daily intake is a good step to a healthy lifestyle. But not all salads are created equal. They can be very high calorie and can get boring when they’re on repeat.

I’ve got 12 ways to liven up a green salad and make this healthy addition to your diet more appealing – all without blowing your calorie budget.

1.  Sliced red cabbage

Red cabbage not only adds a little flavor and crunch but it helps to beef up the volume of your salad. I like to mix it in to my salad regularly. It helps my lettuce inventory last a little longer.

2.  Beans

I love garbanzo and kidney beans on my salads. They add fiber, protein and healthy fats to your salad and they’re filling. A quarter cup – 2 ounces – of canned garbanzo beans has 80 calories, 3.5 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.

3.  Dried fruit

Dried fruit is wonderful with a tangy vinaigrette. It complements the acidic flavors of the dressing. I like to use dried cherries, cranberries and raisins but dried apples and other fruits would be lovely too. Two tablespoons of raisins contain about 65 calories.

4.  Nuts

I love pecans and walnuts on my salad and they have some wonderful nutrients in them including good fats. Nuts are high in calories so I make sure I measure them before adding to my salad. Two tablespoons of chopped walnuts logs in around 100 calories and that same amount of pecans is about 70.

5.  Different types of lettuce

I always buy red leaf lettuce but that can get boring after awhile. Sometimes I make a salad with arugula or mix arugula with my red leaf. Other options are watercress, Boston, Little Gem, kale, micro greens, romaine, green leaf, Bibb, spinach and frisee. I even added nasturtium flowers to a salad once. They made an ordinary salad a beautiful and memorable experience.

6.  Parmesan cheese

I like to take a wedge of parmesan and a veggie peeler and peel some parmesan into several thin strips. The parmesan adds an umami flavor and the thinness of the parm keeps the calories low.

7.  Fresh fruit

Just like dried fruits, fresh fruit can add another sweet dimension to your salad. Try berries, apple chunks, melon and of course tomatoes and avocado are considered fruits too.

8.  Leftover veggies

I seem to always have some leftover cooked veggies in the fridge these days like roasted cauliflower, grilled zucchini, and steamed green beans. I put them on top of a salad, chilled, and treat them just like the rest of the veggies.

9.  Add an egg 

Full disclosure: I can’t stand eggs. But I wish I liked them because they check all the boxes – satiety, protein, convenience, availability, and extra flavor. One medium hard-boiled egg has about 70 calories.

10. Crumbly cheeses

Feta, goat cheese, blue cheese…they are all full of delicious flavor. Calories vary from 20 calories for 2 tablespoons Athenos fat free feta to 100 for 2 tablespoons of most blue cheese crumbles.

11. Lean meats 

When we have grilled chicken, I always try to grill enough breasts for more than just one meal. I can add a few ounces to my salad and make it more of a main course than a first course. And of course, beef, turkey, pork, seafood and vegan meats work too. 

12. Canned and jarred vegetables 

Olives, marinated red peppers, pickled onions, cornichons, artichokes can be delicious and flavorful additions to your salad. 

So what do you add to your salads to make them more interesting? I am always looking for more ideas!

Adrienne