Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Salads - yuck!

I'm trying to eat healthier and get more vegetables in my diet. To this for this reason, last night I had my first salad ever. It was pretty miserable! The lettuce really got my gag reflexes going - I think this is just mental conditioning from my I-hate-salads-even-though-I-never-tried-one childhood. Maybe that will pass in time, I had a similar but less intense reaction to bananas - which I can now eat just fine.

The other thing that I really didn't like what the salad dressing on my tongue. It was an Asiago Peppercorn dressing, which I used lightly. I think it would be fine on a sandwich, etc, but I just don't like it directly on my tongue. So I tried making a wrap out of my salad using a sun dried tomato wrap - this seemed somewhat better, but I still had to deal with the lettuce. I think I will just need to shred the lettuce, as it's not the flavor that bothers me but rather the texture of chewing on those big chunks.

I am going to continue experimenting with salads, as I'm sure sooner or later I will get over my mental conditioning and find something I like. I used to work at a coffee shop/cafe where we made a lot of salads that looked pretty good, so I'm going to recreate some of them. I think next will be our "Berry Good" salad - spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette, and various berries. That one always looked good, but I never could force myself to try it. I'm hoping I will be able to tolerate the spinach better than the iceberg/romanie mix I had last night!

Anybody have any suggestions? Particularly on toning down the dressing?

you'll probably have to experiment with what types of dressing you like/ dislike. i personally like making salads with 1/2 pasta 1/2 lettuce base. then if you add some meat or some form of protein its a complete meal.

What sort of lettuce did you use? I hate traditional iceberg lettuce. Luckily there are many additional varieties to chose from: red leaf, green leaf, romaine, butter, etc. I'm a big fan of using butter lettuce or baby spinach as the primary leafy vegetable in salads. BTW, when you say "mix" that makes me think of salad in a bag. Those are okay in a pinch, but I much prefer fresh, crisp vegetables that I've selected myself; there's nothing worse than slightly limp lettuce in my book.

FYI, there's no rule that says you have to use lettuce! Lettuce actually has very little nutritional content; it's mostly just there to fill your stomach. So, if you want to eat a bowl of carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, radishes, etc. with (or without) salad dressing on top, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Salads are good if you realize that can be made out of anything. Such as: mix baby spinach, mushrooms, crumbled up bacon (1-2 slices), crumbled up cheese (bleu, cheddar, asiago, whatever) and toss with lemon viniagrette (lemon juice and olive oil). Throw in shredded carrots, tomatoes, peppers, walnuts, etc. The bacon and mushrooms make it taste meaty and all the rest make it healthy.

There's nothing that says you have to have your veggies in a salad. You could get a package of raw baby carrots or slice up a cucumber. I'm not fond of lettuce, so I am always chopping up veggies I like and putting them into baggies to carry around for snacks.

Caesar salad, in my opinion, is worlds better than any other type of salad (besides fruit salad :-)

Olive Garden salad w/ shredded mozzarella cheese, giant black olives, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, and a warm bread stick. Add a vegetable soup, and mmm mmmm mmmmmmm. Oops, just drooled on the keyboard.

I hate lettuce, and actually most salad type veggies, so my idea of a 'salad' is normally a bunch of carrots, celery, peppers, onions, and pea pods. funnily enough, this mixture is not only good raw, but also a great base for stir fry if you add some ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and sprouts. A quick couple minutes in the wok will give you 'still crunchy' veg with some nice flavor.

I do not do dressing-just can't seem to stomach it. I have a very picky palate. I continue to try foods that I know I do not like, with the same results.

You are just not making it right . I was shown a correct salad by a small girl (she was just barely big enough to get it herself) at the salad bar at ponderosa. two spoons of ham chunks one spoon of bacon bits two spoons of crumbled boiled egg one of shredded cheese crutons and a touch of blue cheese dressing:thumb:
Amazing what you can learn from a child:)
I laughed for an hour over that
Roy

"Salads are great". Just keep trying new dressings and toppings until it hits the spot.

Buts dont put to much crap on your salads, because that will just defeat the purpose.

You are just not making it right . I was shown a correct salad by a small girl (she was just barely big enough to get it herself) at the salad bar at ponderosa. two spoons of ham chunks one spoon of bacon bits two spoons of crumbled boiled egg one of shredded cheese crutons and a touch of blue cheese dressing:thumb:
Amazing what you can learn from a child:)
I laughed for an hour over that
Roy

What, no goldfish? :)

Yeah, amazing how people try to say they're going healthy, then dump a bunch of sugar dressing on top.

Yeah, amazing how people try to say they're going healthy, then dump a bunch of sugar dressing on top.

I would never do that. I'm strictly a sugar-free salami, mozzarella cubes, and blue cheese dressing guy.

Do what you can to learn to love spinach. It's one of the best foods for you . Avoid iceberg lettuce, it's mostly just water, not too many nutrients in there.

Also be careful with the meats, dressings etc if you're watching calories, they add up faster than you think. A Cesar salad will usually have as many calories as a Big Mac for instance (healthier for you, but still pretty bad).

If you really just don't like salads, just eat more vegetables.

You can blend up green leafy vegetables and fruit in a blender, it makes a pretty good smoothie. It's a tasty way to get fruits and vegetables.

Here's a bunch of info on Green Smoothies:
http://www.google.com/search?q=green+smoothies

Here's a book:
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Life-Victoria-Boutenko/dp/0970481969

You'll be amazed how much better you feel in just a couple of weeks if you can pick up the exercise a little and increase your vegetable intake.

Good luck!

I'm trying to eat healthier and get more vegetables in my diet. To this for this reason, last night I had my first salad ever. It was pretty miserable! The lettuce really got my gag reflexes going - I think this is just mental conditioning from my I-hate-salads-even-though-I-never-tried-one childhood. Maybe that will pass in time, I had a similar but less intense reaction to bananas - which I can now eat just fine.

The other thing that I really didn't like what the salad dressing on my tongue. It was an Asiago Peppercorn dressing, which I used lightly. I think it would be fine on a sandwich, etc, but I just don't like it directly on my tongue. So I tried making a wrap out of my salad using a sun dried tomato wrap - this seemed somewhat better, but I still had to deal with the lettuce. I think I will just need to shred the lettuce, as it's not the flavor that bothers me but rather the texture of chewing on those big chunks.

I am going to continue experimenting with salads, as I'm sure sooner or later I will get over my mental conditioning and find something I like. I used to work at a coffee shop/cafe where we made a lot of salads that looked pretty good, so I'm going to recreate some of them. I think next will be our "Berry Good" salad - spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette, and various berries. That one always looked good, but I never could force myself to try it. I'm hoping I will be able to tolerate the spinach better than the iceberg/romanie mix I had last night!

Anybody have any suggestions? Particularly on toning down the dressing?

There are literally hundreds of different varieties of lettuce, and dozens of dressings, most will not work for you, you can also add other things, carrots, radishes, mushroom, bacon bits, ham, cheese. sunflower seeds, croûtons, etc, For example my wife loves French dressing, I think it tastes like dog puke, I like Thousand Island, she thinks it smells like dog puke, so we keep a bottle of each..... Actually had salad for dinner, nice bed of romaine lettuce, with home made dressing and steak on top.,...

on a more serious than my above post note. I grow a greens mix that has some where around 15 different lettuce types in it plus spinich and swiss chard Plus I usually grow swiss chard by itself ,this year my chard didn't come up good ,with chard the leaves make a good salad and when the stems get big we steam them and add butter and salt and pepper , A garden has two main benifits for me working in my garden keeps my sanity intact, plus gives me vegetables for a good diet I am now getting lettuce,grape tomatoes, onions, kolirabi (sp?) broccoli ,squash and peas . plus I give tons of stuff away helping some one else is always good
Roy
P.S. goldfish were not on the buffet that day

never had a salad ??????? Are you my son?

never had a salad ??????? Are you my son?

When I was a kid, you couldn't get me to eat a salad if my life depended on it! I'm sure it's common for many kids, but I never grew out of it.

I'm going to keep at it, hopefully I'll find something I like. However, I don't like a lot of the stuff you guys have suggested so far! I'm very much a meat and potatoes kind of guy.

Also on the list for this month: conquering carrots! :cry:

Spinach, rocket and watercress makes for an excellent and tasty salad combination. I'm also a big fan of raw sugar snap peas (in their pods).

I know what you mean about meat and potoatoes. That would be me as well. I eat more salad now. Go to the Chef salad, it's a good carrier for the half pound of ham, turkey, and hard boiled eggs.

Goldfish are awesome on salads........*oh wait* NM.

Spinach lettuce for me, actually. Ill put walnuts and a raspberry type dressing on there with some mushrooms and some crumbled cheese and bacon, snaps if I have them (though those make a great snack food on their own). Pretty good, not horrible for you, and the combination makes it good for most any time.

I wont/cant eat em.....its a very odd allergy..some things like lettuce and onions have there own type of acid in them that im extremely allergic too..i mean like a bad peanut type can kill you with a cuple bites deal. So ive only had lettuce once...and it was a bad deal. I have to find my way around this hurdle too. I can only eat a few veggies that ive found that i dont react to..

When I was a kid, you couldn't get me to eat a salad if my life depended on it! I'm sure it's common for many kids, but I never grew out of it.

I'm going to keep at it, hopefully I'll find something I like. However, I don't like a lot of the stuff you guys have suggested so far! I'm very much a meat and potatoes kind of guy.

Also on the list for this month: conquering carrots! :cry:

In my near 400 pound days, someone once joked that if I were handed a vegetable, I wouldn't know what it was. :)

Yeah, amazing how people try to say they're going healthy, then dump a bunch of sugar dressing on top.

I once dared someone to eat a salad with jellybeans. She did. Ah, the good old days when women followed my instructions. :)

I'm trying to eat healthier and get more vegetables in my diet. To this for this reason, last night I had my first salad ever. It was pretty miserable! The lettuce really got my gag reflexes going - I think this is just mental conditioning from my I-hate-salads-even-though-I-never-tried-one childhood. Maybe that will pass in time, I had a similar but less intense reaction to bananas - which I can now eat just fine.

The other thing that I really didn't like what the salad dressing on my tongue. It was an Asiago Peppercorn dressing, which I used lightly. I think it would be fine on a sandwich, etc, but I just don't like it directly on my tongue. So I tried making a wrap out of my salad using a sun dried tomato wrap - this seemed somewhat better, but I still had to deal with the lettuce. I think I will just need to shred the lettuce, as it's not the flavor that bothers me but rather the texture of chewing on those big chunks.

I am going to continue experimenting with salads, as I'm sure sooner or later I will get over my mental conditioning and find something I like. I used to work at a coffee shop/cafe where we made a lot of salads that looked pretty good, so I'm going to recreate some of them. I think next will be our "Berry Good" salad - spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette, and various berries. That one always looked good, but I never could force myself to try it. I'm hoping I will be able to tolerate the spinach better than the iceberg/romanie mix I had last night!

Anybody have any suggestions? Particularly on toning down the dressing?

If you don't like lettuce, skip it. Or at least skip Iceberg and go with another variety.

For a change of pace, make a pasta salad - use rotini as the base instead of lettuce. Just avoid drenching it in a heavy dressing, or 'mayo'.

What sort of lettuce did you use? I hate traditional iceberg lettuce. Luckily there are many additional varieties to chose from: red leaf, green leaf, romaine, butter, etc.

...

FYI, there's no rule that says you have to use lettuce! Lettuce actually has very little nutritional content; it's mostly just there to fill your stomach. So, if you want to eat a bowl of carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, radishes, etc. with (or without) salad dressing on top, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Actually, every lettuce you mention except for iceberg is full of vitamins and minerals. I never eat iceberg and I usually get green leaf. Just tonight I had a salad for dinner. I turn it into a full meal by adding a can of chickpeas and some sunflower seeds. Tonight my salad also had carot, onion, and cucumber on it. My personal favorite dressing is 2 parts oilive oil to 3 parts balsamic vinegar + salt & pepper.

I'm trying to eat healthier and get more vegetables in my diet. To this for this reason, last night I had my first salad ever. It was pretty miserable! The lettuce really got my gag reflexes going -

The other thing that I really didn't like what the salad dressing on my tongue. It was an Asiago

Anybody have any suggestions? Particularly on toning down the dressing?

The dressing is the least important part if you want to eat healthier.........just adds calories with no nutrients. If you need a little flavor try some hot sauce or salsa at about 15 calories per tablespoon .

Iceberg lettuce is pure fecal matter. It is not traditional. It is engineered to be easy to harvest by machine which is why you see so much in grocery stores. Types like black seeded simpson, butter, red leaf, and oak leaf are much better and are higher in nutrition.

That said my favorite salad is baby spinach with fresh strawberries and just a touch of raspberry vinegrette or poppy seed dressing. My wife always claimed she hated spinach until I it to her.

The general rule is the darker the leaf, the more nutrients. Take a look at a head of iceberg with that in mind....

If you like meat and potatoes, add a few boiled potatoes and some grilled steak, even fish. But if its a salad, the portion should be 3 ounces. More than that and your eating a side salad.

And for dressing- if you are really doing this to diet.... take your salad, add a good amount of pepper, buy some really nice virgin olive oil and lightly drizzle a little bit, then drizzle vinegar. There are a million different types of vinegar. Balsamic is the trendy one. I would do a balsamic/rice wine vinegar combo, the sweetnes of the balsamic goes well with the rice vinegar.


By adding glumpy mayo/cream based dressing to lettuce, you are masking the flavor.

You don't need to eat salad if you don't want to. Go for any kind of fresh vegetables you like and eat them.

And as far as salads are concerned, experiment with the contents you want. And most importantly, do your own dressing or don't put any on top of it. A simple mixture of oil and vinegar, or a mixture of mayonnaise, mustard and milk make two very good dressings that you can season the way you want. Don't put a lot on it and experiment. You will soon realize that the commercial dressings are not great (understatement) and that restaurant salads are typically way too wet.

It's all just fuel to feed the machine. If you are eating salads to lower your caloric intake then make sure you are actually doing so. I think salads are the most over used "diet" food. Unless you actually take into account what's in them, you can end up with just as many calories and fat as a cheeseburger. Count up the calories and fat just like all the other fuels that you consume.

As for not liking vegatable well I used to hate them. Then I decided that I hated being fat. Now I love them, not because I hate being fat, because I've learned what I like and eat the heck out of them. If you really don't like eating something, find something that you do like.

i too am not a salad eater, so i feel your pain. the only salad i'll eat is a ceasar salad... to make it better just toss some grilled chicken in there. the ceaser is fatty but you can find low fat versions that are pretty decent.

I'm trying to eat healthier and get more vegetables in my diet. To this for this reason, last night I had my first salad ever. It was pretty miserable! The lettuce really got my gag reflexes going - I think this is just mental conditioning from my I-hate-salads-even-though-I-never-tried-one childhood. Maybe that will pass in time, I had a similar but less intense reaction to bananas - which I can now eat just fine.

The other thing that I really didn't like what the salad dressing on my tongue. It was an Asiago Peppercorn dressing, which I used lightly. I think it would be fine on a sandwich, etc, but I just don't like it directly on my tongue. So I tried making a wrap out of my salad using a sun dried tomato wrap - this seemed somewhat better, but I still had to deal with the lettuce. I think I will just need to shred the lettuce, as it's not the flavor that bothers me but rather the texture of chewing on those big chunks.

I am going to continue experimenting with salads, as I'm sure sooner or later I will get over my mental conditioning and find something I like. I used to work at a coffee shop/cafe where we made a lot of salads that looked pretty good, so I'm going to recreate some of them. I think next will be our "Berry Good" salad - spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette, and various berries. That one always looked good, but I never could force myself to try it. I'm hoping I will be able to tolerate the spinach better than the iceberg/romanie mix I had last night!

Anybody have any suggestions? Particularly on toning down the dressing?

Yeah, experiment with different greens. Iceberg is crap. Making your own dressing w/ balsamic vinegar, evoo, sesame oil, garlic is good.

A good combo of greens is romaine, spinach and butter or red leaf. Add other veggies such as celery, carrots, onion if you like that, maybe artichoke hearts, jicama, or beets, some starches like peas and corn, and then a good protein like a skinless chicken breast, baked in the oven, that is nicely spiced (I like Prumhomme's Meat Seasoning). Add alittle blue cheese (goes along way), maybe some sun flower seeds, blue berries or craisins and a little lemon juice or good balsamic vinegar. You'll be surprised how nutritious, good and hearty the salad will be without adding any unnecessary calories or bad fats. If you need to, take one (not 2, 3 or the pack!) slice of bacon, cook it the microwave (so the paper towel you used absorbed most of the oil) and crumble that on top. One slice won't kill ya.

For variety try this... make a nice bed of romaine and spinach. In a pan, heat up some nice olive oil and quickly saute a thin slice sirloin or strip steak. Set aside. In the hot oil, add blue cheese, chives and heat quickly to form a sauce. Slice the steak on the grain, lay it on the salad, and drizzle over the sauce/oil. MMMMMmmmmmm think I'll make that tonight for dinner!

For you folks who like creamy dressings (especially Caesar) you can make those dressings yourself using plain fat-free yogurt in place of either Mayo or Olive oil.

It sounds weird as hell, but try it and you might be surprised that it tastes like any other full fat creamy dressing.


+1 for Salads being an over-used diet food. Its really surprisingly easy to make a salad thats more calorific for you than a Big Mac (and i love Big Macs). For the most part when making a salad If its not a veggie its adding a few calories...Its easy at a salad bar to do it too... you start with some lettuce and all sorts of good healthy veggies, cukes, tomatoes, spinach, maybe some chick peas...then as soon as the Bleu Cheese or feta Crumbles, and the bacon bits, and the croutons, and the ham or chicken or pepperoni (whatever) and dressing hits the plate you could be eating a tasty burger for the same caloric cost.

I found my happy medium at Subway. the Veggie Delight is like 250 calories for a 6"... i hit mine with just vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper...no oil. Its not exactly a salad but it kinda is... and I has bread; which I require to live.

Bean salad

Use a combination of any of these...
BEANS - French, Runner, Garbonzo, Black, Kidney, Black eyed peas,
Green, Waxed, Broad.

Choose one oil and one vinegar...
Oils - Olive,
Sesame,
Canola,
Safflower, Corn, Walnut
Vinegars - White,
Balsamic,
Cider, Wine

...add a bit (one or a combination) of...
Lemon juice,
Lime juice,
Hot sauce, Sugar, Fish sauce, Soy sauce.

...and a sprinkle (one or a combination) of...
Basil,
Ground mustard,
Cumin,
Garlic powder, Salt, Pepper,
Oregano,
Thyme

...and as much or as little of these as you like...
Olives, Onion,
Peppers,
Corn,
Avacado,
Tomato,
Cucumber, Celery,
Artichoke hearts,
Tofu, Mushrooms, garlic.

Mix in a big bowl... and devour!

The great thing about bean salad... it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

The best thing in the world is a salad made with leaf lettuce or spinach taken straight from the garden, when the leaves are just big enough to eat! Delicious!

Velomancer,

I like your recipe. You could also substitute wild rice or qinua for beans. Also, you can substitute mustard for vinegar.

Just because its a salad doesn't mean it has to be healthy, and healthy eating is not synonymous with eating green leafy everything. Eat a variety of healthy stuff that you do like, if you're not a fan of salads.

Velomancer,

I like your recipe. You could also substitute wild rice or qinua for beans. Also, you can substitute mustard for vinegar.

... sounds good :thumb:... it's a real mix and match... and it goes with just about anything... and because the beans have a bit of body it feels like you've actually eaten somthing. Green salads always leave me saying "Ok, what's next"