If you follow my Instagram page for my food posts, you know that I have no issue throwing things in a bowl and calling it a meal. I’m a believer in the Food Network, a subscriber to their magazine, a Pinner and I think that above all food should be fun and work for you.
If you hate something, don’t eat it, pretty simple.
There’s not a lot that I don’t like, but having tried different eating styles on this journey and accomplished two seasons of competition prep, you learn to get creative.
The past two days I’ve posted salads and some of you have mentioned that you need to up your game. Well, I figure if you’ve tried something at a restaurant and liked it, why not try to recreate it at home. Likewise, change it up at home to keep it interesting.
My favorite summer salad at Panera this year had a lot of fruit in it and a berry dressing of sorts. So, I started making my own, but since I 1. like to eat a lot and 2. notice that I do get hungry within an hour or two of eating a normal salad, I looked to see how I could add volume without adding a lot of macros or calories to my bowl.
This is post is strictly salad combinations that I enjoy. I’ve hyperlinked a few things where necessary. I haven’t added measurements because the size salad I eat a lot larger than the size salad some other people eat.
Salad 1
- baby spinach
- sweet potato or butternut squash
- red onion
- goat cheese crumble
- chicken breast
- light raspberry acai dressing
Salad 2
- romaine lettuce blend
- red onion
- green pepper
- tomato
- chicken breast
- feta cheese
- honey mustard dressing or no dressing
Salad 4
- romaine lettuce blend
- raspberries
- tomato
- feta
- chopped up salmon burger
- pomegranate dressing
Salad 5
- romaine lettuce blend or baby spinach
- strawberries
- blueberries
- tomato
- red onion
- goat cheese crumble
- chicken breast
- light raspberry acai dressing
Salad 6
- romaine lettuce blend of baby spinach
- red onion
- green pepper
- canned tuna, broken up
- guacamole
- shredded cheddar
- jalapenos
- Frank’s Red Hot or Formosa Hot Sauce: Jalapenos or Habenero
Salad 7
- romaine lettuce blend
- cooked and chopped broccoli
- cooked and chopped asparagus
- cooked or raw white mushrooms
- red onion
- chicken breast
- shredded cheddar
- Formosa Hot Sauce or Honey Mustard
Salad 8
- baby spinach
- raspberries
- strawberries
- blueberries
- red onion
- goat cheese blueberry log or goat cheese cranberry log
- walnuts or pecans
- chicken breast
Salad 9
- romaine lettuce blend
- cooked white mushrooms
- cooked onion (white or red)
- cooked green pepper
- guacamole
- shredded cheddar
- ground turkey or ground beef
- Frank’s Red Hot or Cilantro Avocado Dressing
Tips:
- Season the chicken breast when cooking to add flavor, this allows you to use less or no dressing when it doesn’t fit your macros or calorie count.
- Use a veggie slicer for peppers and onions so you can chop them into pieces.
- Wholly Guacamole 2 ounce packs are life savers!
- Kitchen scissors to cut your cooked chicken into pieces saves the mess and time – especially if you prep chicken for meals at a time.
- If you need a little more fat for your day, adding nuts is a great way to add healthy fats without adding dressing.
- Plastic mixing bowls will be your best friend when you start to add volume to the bowl.
What do you think to throw in your salad?
<3 Cristina