Salad ideas

LP said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a salad (don't laugh!) and I would like to
find a lettuce that tastes good. When I have tried iceberg
lettuce, it just seems so blah. What other salad
ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I like sweet
tasting stuff. I also know that I need a fat free
dressing. I like the flavor of garlic, lemon, bacon, ect.

Who says you need lettuce? You might try jicama (hick a ma)
a root vegetable which tastes sort of sweet-ish. Like a
sweet radish without the bite. Peel it up, slice into thin
strips, maybe add some carrots done the same way, throw in a
few raisins, grapes or apples. Slice up some celery, too.
This would benefit from a splash of lemon juice to keep the
jicama & apples from getting brown. Sprinkle same with a
little olive oil, garlic salt, add sweet herbs like tarragon
or mint. I wouldn't use both. Try out the mesclun (mixed
greens) mix, some of which have a little bite and are more
interesting in texture than *yuck* iceberg lettuce. We like
the swiss chard I grow, as well as red leaf lettuce & fresh
spinach. Edrena

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:34:03 GMT, "LP" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a

salad

Quoted message said:

(don't laugh!) and I would like to find a lettuce that
tastes good.

When I

Quoted message said:

have tried iceberg lettuce, it just seems so blah. What
other salad ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I
like sweet tasting

stuff.

Quoted message said:

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of

garlic,

Quoted message said:

lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance! ASF

If this is your first salad, have a yummy dressing like
ranch or even 1,000 island. Don't worry about the fat. (I
dislike those low fat Italian type dressings, personal;ly)
You want to love salad because it is so good for you! Some
tastier kinds of lettuce are romaine, red leaf, butter etc.
Iceberg is blah. Add some sliced tomato if you like
tomatoes, add small bits of grated cheese, add any chopped
up fresh vegetable that you like - broccoli, carrots
cucumbers, add a small amount of bacon bits or croutons.
Just make it tasty. aloha, Thunder

smithfarms.comsmithfarms.comOpen ↗
Farmers & Sellers of 100%
Kona Coffee & other Great Stuff

Quoted message said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a salad (don't laugh!) and I would like to
find a lettuce that tastes good. When I have tried iceberg
lettuce, it just seems so blah. What other salad
ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I like sweet
tasting stuff.

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of garlic, lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance! ASF

i'm not even sure why they grow iceberg lettuce. its got to
be the suckiest variety of lettuce around. try some romaine,
baby spinach, radicchio, arugula, or frisee. most grocery
stores carry bags of prepackaged lettuce mixes. try "spring
mix" if you can find it. the textures and tastes are great.
my favorite salad is a simple salad with romaine lettuce,
grape tomatoes, sliced red onions and a few cucumber slices
with a honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette.

In article <[email hidden]>, "LP"

Quoted message said:

have tried iceberg lettuce, it just seems so blah. What
other salad ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess
I like sweet tasting stuff.

OK, I'll admit it. I *like* iceberg lettuce! One of my
favorite salads, which I don't have very often, is to make a
dressing of catsup, mayo, chopped hard boiled egg and a
little finely chopped onion. I then cut the lettuce into
wedges. I eat this with a knife and fork.

--
Dan Abel Sonoma State University AIS [email hidden]

"LP" <[email hidden]> deliciously posted in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a salad (don't laugh!) and I would like to
find a lettuce that tastes good. When I have tried iceberg
lettuce, it just seems so blah. What other salad
ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I like sweet
tasting stuff.

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of garlic, lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance! ASF

Bacon and fat free are 2 different issues. That said, I'd
say a fresh spinach salad. Crumble on some bacon, red
onion, S&P and have at it. I pretty much don't think any
salad tastes bad. Iceberg lettuce can make a great salad. I
use it often with buttermilk dressing, red onion, S&P, and
whatever tomato I can find. I've used canned tomatoes and
asparagus also.

Michael <- prefers in season produce
--
Deathbed statement...

"Codeine . . . bourbon." ~~Tallulah Bankhead, actress, d.
December 12, 1968

We've been eating a lot of Bibb lettuce and baby spinach
lately. It's really nice this time of year.

smithfarms pure kona <[email hidden]> and LP
<[email hidden]> commented in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would like to find a lettuce that tastes good. [..] I
have tried iceberg lettuce, it just seems so blah. [..]

Quoted message said:

[..] Iceberg is blah.

Hey! I *LIKE* iceberg! I use it for salads, sandwiches, and
garnish. It's perfect for allowing OTHER flavors to
surface, rather than forcing itself on the eater. It's a
leafy chicken!

That said, I also enjoy arugula, spring mix salads, spinach,
green and red leafs, or Romaine. Butter (or Bibb) lettuce is
always too expensive.

If you're looking for a "sweeter" green, spinach or one of
the milder leaf (green or red) lettuces would work nicely.
I've made an excellent honey-based dressing that the family
love but it's not fat-free, or even low-fat.

The Ranger

"A.C." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a

salad

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(don't laugh!) and I would like to find a lettuce that
tastes good. When

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have tried iceberg lettuce, it just seems so blah. What
other salad ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I
guess I like sweet tasting

stuff.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of

garlic,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance! ASF

i'm not even sure why they grow iceberg lettuce. its got
to be the

suckiest

Quoted message said:

variety of lettuce around. try some romaine, baby spinach,
radicchio, arugula, or frisee. most grocery stores carry
bags of prepackaged lettuce mixes. try "spring mix" if you
can find it. the textures and tastes are great. my
favorite salad is a simple salad with romaine lettuce,
grape tomatoes, sliced red onions and a few cucumber
slices with a honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette.

I had almost that exact same salad for breakfast this
morning, but I added bacon, chicken and I used Ranch
dressing. kili

Quoted message said:

(Dan Abel)writes:

Quoted message said:

"LP" wrote:

have tried iceberg lettuce, it just seems so blah. What
other salad ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess
I like sweet tasting stuff.

OK, I'll admit it. I *like* iceberg lettuce! One of my
favorite salads, which I don't have very often, is to make
a dressing of catsup, mayo, chopped hard boiled egg and a
little finely chopped onion. I then cut the lettuce into
wedges. I eat this with a knife and fork.

I do the same... served as wedges or thick slices iceberg
offers great texture, with all it's nooks and crannies a
perfect medium for dressings to adhere. Except for it's few
dark green outer leaves I rarely use iceberg in a tossed
salad... it seems a shame to tear up the perfectly meshed
marbled geometry of a fine iceberg steak. A slab of iceberg
between thick slices of vine ripened beefsteak tomato,
sprinkled with minced green onions, and topped with gushes
of that no-class international orange bottled freedom
dressing... no other lettuce works as well.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED
NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life would be
devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

LP said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a salad (don't laugh!) and I would like to
find a lettuce that tastes good. When I have tried iceberg
lettuce, it just seems so blah. What other salad
ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I like sweet
tasting stuff.

I don't know what sort of diet or regimen or change of
eating habit you're shooting for so this information about
lettuce might be appropriate or might not. Lettuce isn't
necessarily good for you. That doesn't mean it is bad.
Lettuce is nutritionally neutral. It has crunch, a few
vitamins, little else, not even much fiber. Iceberg
lettuce especially is practically like eating water. If
you're trying to get fewer calories but are in the habit
of munching on something, salad is great because your jaws
get to work, but your body doesn't fill up. If you don't
like lettuce, go ahead and eat nothing instead. There's no
harm in that.

That said, here are salad ideas that don't concern lettuce.

Quoted message said:

Almost any vegetable salad in a vinegar based dressing
will do. The dressing is:

vinegar (cider, wine, Balsamic, malt, your choice oil
(olive, peanut, corn, soy, really anything) mustard (must
be Gulden's gold, nothing bright yellow in color.

Those are the essential ingredients. Optional
ingredients are:

soy sauce (also called tamari or shoyu) green herbs
(tarragon, thyme, rosemary are nice) freshly grated ginger
(I love that one-- surprising in salad) garlic (careful
with this one at a wedding reception) something sweet
(honey, sugar, maple syrup-- only a little here as it
changes the character of the dressing) sesame seeds
toasted sesame oil

Keep the dressing separate until the last minute since
vinegar discolors green vegetables. You'll also want a
starch. Choose from:

pasta quinoa buckwheat noodles rice wild rice.

Then go to town with the vegetables. Slice in a variety of
attractive ways. Grate one, mince another. Leave some in
biggish chunks and others in sizes and shapes in between.
Think in categories. Something in the onion family:

onion scallions, leeks.

Something green:

blanched broccoli collards (surprise, but it's good)
cabbage green beans snow peas

Everyone loves carrots. Fennel is something people don't
think of but is very nice. Zucchini is good.

Go through the produce section of the supermarket and pick
up whatever appeals. Shoot for half starch and half
vegetables by volume or err on the side of extra
vegetables.

You also need a fresh herb:

parsley cilantro
dill.

I hope this helps.

--Lia

LP said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a salad (don't laugh!) and I would like to
find a lettuce that tastes good. When I have tried iceberg
lettuce, it just seems so blah. What other salad
ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I like sweet
tasting stuff.

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of garlic, lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance! ASF

Bibb, butterhead, or redleaf lettuce are nicer texture than
iceberg for salad.

Does it have to be completely fat free? A splash of olive
oil, vinegar, sugar and herbs shaken together are a tasty
dressing to a lettuce salad with chopped peeled pear,
strawberries, mandarin oranges, mango, peaches, or your
favorite fruit instead of the usual tomatoes, carrot, green
pepper, etc.

gloria p

Quoted message said:

a little olive oil

He says he can't eat fat, though.

Quoted message said:

Lettuce is nutritionally neutral. It has crunch, a few
vitamins, little else, not even much fiber.

It has plenty of fiber.

Quoted message said:

LP wrote: As in the last post, I am trying to eat better.
... I would like to find a lettuce that tastes good. ...I
also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of garlic, lemon, bacon, ect.

You needs a little fat in yer diet, olive oil is a good one.
This ain't lettuce but it's my favorite cole slaw (that's
green right?), published many places. I like it lots better
than bottled cole slaw dressings. I suppose you could try it
with a whisper of garlic, I've not tried that. *very* high
fiber, no fat, lower in salt:
1/2 Cabbage shredded 1 carrot ditto if you got it Maybe a
piece of apple, chopped Maybe a few raisins (shhhh, maybe
a whisper of a tiny slice of white onion)
Mix:
1/2 cup no fat mayo 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or cider
vinegar (to taste)
2/2 teaspoon salt or substitute 2-3 packages (1 teaspoon?)
or more to taste Splenda sweetener 1 teaspoon celery seed
coupla grinds of black pepper Pour dressing over veggies
or vice-versa.

"A.C." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a

salad

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(don't laugh!) and I would like to find a lettuce that
tastes good. When

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have tried iceberg lettuce, it just seems so blah. What
other salad ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I
guess I like sweet tasting

stuff.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of

garlic,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance! ASF

i'm not even sure why they grow iceberg lettuce. its got
to be the

suckiest

Quoted message said:

variety of lettuce around. try some romaine, baby spinach,
radicchio, arugula, or frisee. most grocery stores carry
bags of prepackaged lettuce mixes. try "spring mix" if you
can find it. the textures and tastes are great. my
favorite salad is a simple salad with romaine lettuce,
grape tomatoes, sliced red onions and a few cucumber
slices with a honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette.

Iceberg lettuce is crunchy and adds that texture thang to a
salad. It should be used that way, kinda sparingly, not at
all like the standard salad the 'merkins are used to.

Jack LettuceAlone (the 'honeymoon' salad)

Am I the only one who puts pure balsamic on their salad,
without any oil? I love it!

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:34:03 GMT, "LP" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

As in the last post, I am trying to eat better. I have
never eaten a salad (don't laugh!) and I would like to find
a lettuce that tastes good. When I have tried iceberg
lettuce, it just seems so blah. What other salad
ingredients don't have a yucky taste? I guess I like sweet
tasting stuff.

I also know that I need a fat free dressing. I like the
flavor of garlic, lemon, bacon, ect.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance!

You might like mache for a green. Young bok choy is also
very agreeable without any dressing at all.

If you can tolerate a little olive oil, make a dressing by
smashing a clove of garlic, just cover it wil oil in a
little jar (like what spices come in at supermarkets). Then
put in some "balsamic" vinegar and shake vigorously and pour
over the salad, toss.

Other greens are sharper, but often taste good (to me)
without dressing. Belgian endive, arugula, baby spinach,
sorrel, radicchio, tah choy, etc etc. There are others at
the greenmarket whose names excape me.

Rodney Myrvaagnes Opionated old geezer

Faith-based economics: It's deja voodoo all over again

"Josh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Am I the only one who puts pure balsamic on their salad,
without any oil?

I

Quoted message said:

love it!

Sometimes, especially if the salad includes tomatos, with
some freshly ground pepper...

Mia

The Joneses <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

LP wrote:

[SNIP}]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What other saladingredients don't have a yucky taste? I
guess I like sweet tasting stuff. I also know that I
need a fat free dressing. I like the flavor of garlic,
lemon, bacon, ect.

Who says you need lettuce? You might try jicama (hick a
ma) a root vegetable which tastes sort of sweet-ish. Like
a sweet radish without the bite.

[SNIP]

Quoted message said:

Edrena

I don't usually like lettuce salads - somehow between the
washing and drying and tearing and finally chewing they seem
like too much work. (Though the salad spinner if fun!)
Objectively, the following salads aren't really a labor or
chewing savings, but I like them better.

Two more jicama/salad ideas: Peel it and cut it into spears,
and sprinkle with lime juice and chile powder and a tiny bit
of salt (or dip into a mixture of FF mayo/sour cream and
finely diced canned chipotles with a bit of lime juice).

Peel it and cut it in smallish (1/2"😉 cubes. Mix with
quartered radishes and chunks of supremed oranges and maybe
some seedless cucumber chunks. Sprinkle with lime juice, a
pinch of salt and a bit of chile powder.

Two carrot salads: Shredded carrots and chopped cilantro
(about 1:1 ratio, more or less either way) dressed with lime
juice, a tiny bit of very finely crushed garlic, s&p, and
maybe a drizzle of olive oil if you are so inclined.

Shredded carrots and chopped flat parsley, as above, but
substitute lemon juice for the lime juice.

A cucumber salad: Thinly sliced peeled seeded cucumbers, a
bit of finely sliced red onion, some very finely
sliced/minced hot peppers. Dress with a combination of
rice vinegar and sugar (taste it so it's not too sweet or
too sour).

And finally, if you like sweet, how about fruit salad?

Hope that helps you get started on salad! Melissa