Raw Salad, Veggies

[Burnt_Toast]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to incorperate more veggies and leaf greens into my diet. I was wondering if anyone has any recipes for raw salades or something like that. I would like to make something portable so I can put it in a container for lunch.

 

[kitchenelf]

Well, I actually like to take something like Boston lettuce, or butter lettuce, and use the leaves as the "bread" to make a sandwich. I wrap the lettuce leaf around whatever I am eating - could be turkey, cheese, onion, drizzled with a bit of balsamic - it could be a bunch of finely diced veggies, again drizzled with some balsamic - even some olive oil too.

I much prefer a homemade dressing to a store-bought. Just a simple 1 part balsamic, 3 parts good olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, pinch of sugar and stick in blender to emulsify. It's really refreshing. You can do the same thing using a bit of lemon juice and a big pinch of dry mustard for a different flavor.

Whole, unsalted almonds are VERY healthy
Water packed mozzarella is good
spinach and arugula make a great salad mix
spring onions
roasted red peppers
or goat cheese

It's always good to have some protein in a salad too - it's more balanced. You can top one with a bit of fresh salmon or canned, fresh tuna, or canned, chicken chunks, whatever. Don't forget a bit of grated cheese - it's still a dairy.

If you have to pack a few things in separate containers so they don't get soggy it will make your lunch more enjoyable.

I'm rambling but I'm really tired. I'm sure I'll find my way back to this thread tomorrow.

 

[mad_evo99]

I generally have a side salad with lunch or dinner. Usually hearts of Romaine lettuce, some cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives, low fat dressing, croutons, low fat cheese, fresh ground pepper and so on. Sometimes I'll toss on some hard boiled egg if I have one to get rid of, or some diced peppers.

For other veggies, I love steamed broccoli with dinner.

For take-to-work veggies, carrots and a low fat dilly dip work well. If you get the Pampered Chef dilly dip herbs, you can substitute yogurt for the mayo and it still turns out well.

 

[boufa06]

Some of the salads I usually prepare are lettuce, spring onions and dill, rocket (arugula), mushroom & cheese with vinegrette dressing. In the summer time, it will the popular Greek salad, Horiatiki Salata, consisting of tomato wedges, sliced cucumber, green capsicum, red radishes, onion, black olives, anchovies topped with cubes of feta, drizzled with EVOO, vinegar and sprinkled with oregano.

 

[lulu]

I don't know where you live Burnt Toast but if you get "proper" winters and are in the middle of one then salad can be a hard way to start increasing veg in take. For example, while I love salads, its cold where i live now and the idea of having a sald in this weather I find really off putting (I eat them out, but at home relish the warmth cooking somethng up gives me) so vegetable soups are a good lunch time solution, a small thermos being just as portable as a lunch box.

 

[Snoop Puss]

OK, here's the salad I've just had for lunch. Couldn't be easier. One medium to large tomato cut into bite-size chunks, some good quality canned green beans (don't ask me why but tinned ones work better cold for me than home cooked) and some pine kernels or walnuts. Mix together with your favourite salad dressing (I've just had olive oil and balsamic vinegar - 4 parts oil to 1 part vinegar) and Bob's your uncle.

If you've got some feta cheese, you can add some cubes of that. Red peppers, green peppers, spring onion. Even green lentils, avocado pear and diced raw carrot. Flageolet beans, black olives. Whatever you've got that is good and tasty.

 

[Robo410]

here's a hot soup idea...portuguese sausage and kale soup ... chicken or veg broth, (onion garlic etc) use a spicy chicken sausage (several good ones out there now) kale and potatoes (use yukon golds as they hold their shape in soups.) you will get lots of greens in a moderately light soup and it's really tasty ... to go with your salads in this cold wintertime.

 

[BreezyCooking]

If your supermarket carries bagged salad mixes, see if they carry a product called "Broccoli Slaw". This is my new fave product. It's actually just peeled & finely julienned broccoli stems with a few julienned carrots thrown in as well. Not only is broccoli very good for you, but I have found all sorts of ways to use this - have added it raw to salads, to soups, sauteed it as a veggie with garlic, & added it to stirfries. Love the stuff, & it's a nice change from the regular broccoli florets & sliced stems I frequently use.

(Around here, our local Wal-Mart is the only market that currently carries this.)

 

[SizzlininIN]

Having grown up on just iceburg lettuce what a thrill it was to discover the variety of lettuces out there. I highly recommend you trying the bagged varieties. I expecially love the Spring Blend Mix. At this time of year I avoid the larger tomatoes as they just don't have a very good flavor but that just depends on where you live and what is available to you. Instead I use the grape tomatoes this time of year.

I too recommend you making your own dressings vs the bottled .....at least when you make your own you know what is actually in it.

One I just made recently was a Honey Dijon Dressing. I just started out with 1 TBSP of good dijon mustard and 1 TBSP of honey and then wisked in some extra virgin olive oil to get the consistency I liked..... and a smidge of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I tasted it and added just a bit more of this and that till I came up with the right combination.

Just experiment with the dressings by using stuff you have on hand....whats the worse that can happen you end up with a flub.....no biggie just pitch it and start fresh. Thats the beauty of cooking.

Whoops had to come back cause I had a tip:
If you plan on taking your salad to work put the dressing on the bottom of the container and the lettuce on top so it doesn't get al wilty.

**And don't forget to wash the lettuce even though its been bagged a supposibly washed**

 

[PytnPlace]

If your're trying to incorporate more veggies you should take a look at the Sonoma Diet Cookbook. I checked it out of the library and it's fantastic! Great yummy yet healthy food. Some good salads as well. The Moosewood cookbooks have great ideas for portable food - salads, grains etc.

 

[mish]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to incorperate more veggies and leaf greens into my diet. I was wondering if anyone has any recipes for raw salades or something like that. I would like to make something portable so I can put it in a container for lunch.

Welcome to Discuss Cooking. I adore veggies & am a big salad fan. Re the leafy ingredients and transporting - I find lettuce etc gets limp. I would stick with crispy veggies added to a pasta salad. You can bring the dressing on the side, so the salad isn't soggy/wet, and add the dressing when you're ready to eat. Put the pasta sald in a zip lock. Use cherry tomatoes rather than sliced, raw veggies like broc, cauliflower, carrots, onions, celery, cucumbers, or sliced beets & chickpeas - add shredded cheese of choice, if you like. If you want a little more crunch, bring along a baggy of flavored croutons. Add ins could be cooked shredded chicken, etc. Try a classic Waldorf or Nicoise with tuna. Crisp sliced apples and walnuts are a yummy addition. Check out the veggie catagory and salads in this forum. The possibilities are endless. Happy salad eating.

 

[Burnt_Toast]

EH? did someone change my title? Can they do that? I feel violated. But for everyone else thanks for the ideas. I never knew it was so easy to make dressing at home. I also would like to know about veggies like squash and eggplant and weird ones like turnips. What can I do with those? SO I need to cook those?

 

[lulu]

a nice, and lunch box, but necessarily colleague friendly, thig to do with aubergine/eggplant is to pick one with a fork and put it in the oven until it is very, very well cooked and floppy, then open in and peel out the flesh. Put this in a sause pan in which you have already cooked some tomatoes, lots of garlic, perhaps a little EVOO and cumin, combine it reasonably well. I like it just like that, a sort of a vegetable gloop, that is excellent with bread or eaten just alone. My DH prefers it if I chop a big bunch of coriander and make it more salady, and he takes it in a tupperware and fills some bread with it at work. Its best at room temperature.

 

[Burnt_Toast]

ok here is a small update on my progress. This week I made a salad with romaine, broccoli, carrots, goat cheese, those little tiny tomatoes, and some store baught itlian dressing. Not too bad. I think I will go with a spinach/romaine combo instead of broccoli next time. Also I want to look into those home mad dressing ideas. I want to know if I really need sugar in the dressing? I stop eating mounds of sugar when I turned 19 and now I try to avoid the stuff when I can. Yep sugar is over rated. Also no more goatt cheese. Cheese is over rated too.

 

[lulu]

I had a great red cabbage salad last night....we were munching away on it happily and I think its the first time I have used raw red cabbage! Shocking, but it was delicious!