Your Favorite Relatively Simple Salads?

[organicmom3]

We are entering a fast period for our church.....and my family has decided to stretch it a bit further for the first and last week of our fast period.  They want to do just salads for our main meal.  We've done this before...with salads for our main meal but not that many days straight....so I'm looking for some variations that perhaps I haven't thought of..... being that it's for a fast period, this means no meat and no eggs....sometimes we do a little bit of cheese.  I'd love to hear your favorite simple salads and dressings too for that matter!

[skreader]

I think salad alone for main meal, without any bread or rice would not be healthy for two times a week. So, can I assume you are having pieces of bread along w/ it?

Very simple salads:

Green leaves (romaine? bibb lettuce? spinach?), oil & vinegar

Tomatoes (cut up), olive oil, sprinkle w/ some herbs (organo, basil, etc.) &  a bit of salt & pepper

Fancier salads

Spinach salad w/ mushrooms - oil & vinegar dressing

Tabouleh salad

Cucumber & tomatoe salad w/ feta

Lentil salad

Cole slaw

[Gwendolyn's babies]

I cucumber (peeled. seeded and sliced in half moons)

2 avocados (sliced)

2 tomatoes

2 tablspoons of italinan dressing

we like it. You can add some sunflower seeds for some extra protein, but I find the avocados very filling.

[katelove]

Tomatoes, cucumber and avocado chopped into similar-sized pieces. Toss with salt and pepper then dress with equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Eat on it's own or on a bed of green leaves (I like baby spinach leaves). If you want to add cheese then some crumbled fetta is lovely. Toasted pine nuts would also be nice sprinkled over the top.

Spinach and roast pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into small cubes. Toss in oil, salt and pepper and roast until soft and caramelised (200C for 45 minutes in my oven). While still warm, add to bowl with toasted pine nuts, chopped tomatoes and spinach leaves. Toss to combine and dress with olive oil and vinegar. You can also do this salad with roasted onions and capsicum. A bit of fetta or shaved parmesan is nice on top.

[katelove]

Originally Posted by skreader 

I think salad alone for main meal, without any bread or rice would not be healthy for two times a week. 

I don't know about that. I think salad can be a very healthy meal.

[mistymorning]

You can add chickpeas or beans or sweet potatoes or regular potatoes to any green salad to bulk it up and be more filling.  Yum!

[organicmom3]

Salad is definitely a healthy meal! We don't do very much bread, especially with dinner.  And the purpose of my DD and my DH doing the salads all week is to add the even healthier component to our fast of doing just raw food for the week.  They'll just be doing smoothies for breakfast too.   I do occasionally add beans to the salad for extra protein and I'll have to keep that in mind for this week especially.  I never think of feta as my dh doesn't like it, but I'm sure I could put some in a bowl on the side for the rest of us. I never thought about pumpkin or sweet potatoes in the salad....maybe I'll do that for one of them.  Sounds yummy!  Thanks everybody.  Sometimes it helps to hear other's ideas to think outside the box! 

[youngspiritmom]

OP and other simple salad seekers, fear no more! This has been my go-to salad source for years. Gotta love the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?pagewanted=all

Enjoy!!

[jimblejamble]

1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped (you could also do half romaine, half chard)
1 can (or equivalent of fresh) corn kernels, drained
1 can (or equivalent of homemade) black beans, drained
1 large avocado, diced

Shake everything together, then add some olive oil, red wine vinegar (I just eyeball it--enough to dress the salad but not make it soggy) and a dash of black pepper. Shake it all around again. Enjoy!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by skreader 

I think salad alone for main meal, without any bread or rice would not be healthy for two times a week. So, can I assume you are having pieces of bread along w/ it?

  What is it you think bread or rice is bringing to the table that is so much healthier than a plate of veggies?  Other than bulk and a whole lot of carbohydrates, neither bread nor (white) rice has anything to offer nutritionally that a good salad doesn't already have. 

[IsaFrench]

sliced raw fennel .... with spinach leaves and slices or red pepper

[IsaFrench]

today I had grated celeriac root, spinach leaves and segments of an orange + the oil in the dressing was half olive oil and half sesame seeds oil

[*LoveBugMama*]

A favorite salad of mine is this:

Lettuce and/or spinach, red bell pepper, cucumber and cherry tomatoes cut up and tossed in a bowl. (We usually use chicken, too. But I think it will be totally ok with some kind of bean instead. Or maybe a vegetarian meatreplacer?)

What makes this salad so yum is the dressing:

Mix half a cup of mayo (use vegan, if you can`t have the eggs in the mayo), apprx. 2 tablespoons of sweet mustard, 0,5 tablespoon currypowder and the juice from half a lime.  Pour this over the salad, and mix gently until the veggies are all coated. :)

Edited by *LoveBugMama* - 2/17/12 at 10:38am

[philomom]

No one mentioned fruit.

Citrus salad with a cut up orange, a bit of feta or crumbled cheese and a few nuts.

Same thing but with pears or spicy apple.

Yum.

[hotmama23]

Simple salads are fantastic. With a bit of balsamic vinegar or honey dressing, it'll spruce up any salad. Unfortunately my 'craving period' hasn't consisted much of salad...that would be pretty good for the body. I love tomato, mozzarella, thinly sliced onion and basil with some simple bread. Do like a good tuna pasta salad.

I remember seeing Nigella Lawson's cooking show and did this interesting crab and avocado salad which was incredibly simple to make. If you're feeling experimental, this is one to try out.

I won't even mention fruit salads because I could go on about that all day. It's a shame that its winter. I do love the variety of fresh fruits in summer...counting down the days

[youngspiritmom]

Did this the other day: Cooked up some quinoa, let it cool, and then mixed in: diced red pepper, diced green onion, halved cherry tomatoes, parsley, a little orange zest, half can of chick peas, (basically this will work with whatever veggies you have/need to use), salt and pepper, and then mixed it all with 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Yummy yummy

[jimblejamble]

Made one the other day that was really good! It was mostly spinach with a little "spring mix" (various lettuces) thrown in, a fuji apple diced into tiny chunks, a grated carrot, and a whole diced avocado. For dressing I used Marie's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. MMM it was so yummy!

[Sol_y_Paz]

Red leaf lettuce, green onion, tomatoes, and a simple homemade dressing (oil, vinegar, lemon, garlic powder, parm cheese)

[calebsmommy25]

My favorite salad ever:  Mix of romaine and spinach, sliced sweet apples, pecans, gorgonzola and raspberry vinaigrette.  Delicious.   

[Megmoira]

I don't know if this is too late, but I've got two recipes for you.

One is a simple spinach and cherry tomato salad with a balsalmic reduction glaze dressing (and homemade croutons, if you like 'em). Take about 2/3 c of balsalmic vinegar and reduce it until it starts smelling sweet. add a bit of honey (to taste, equal parts is way too sweet for me) and bacon drippings if available. The bacon drippings make it smokey, but a vegetarian option would be a bit of smoked paprika and your favorite oil.

The second is http://allrecipes.com/recipe/swiss-chard-with-garbanzo-beans-and-fresh-tomatoes/ and it's my new favorite thing to do with chickpeas or with chard. This recipe made a side dish for my husband and I, with a half serving left. Maybe our bunches of chard are smaller than others? It was so delicious.