Low-calorie salads can be made with fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins. The dressing must also be low in calories. Homemade dressings can reduce sodium and avoid additives. Croutons and proteins like eggs and meat can be added. Fruit salads should be monitored for serving size.
Low-calorie salads can be sides or side dishes. They can be fruit or vegetable based and may or may not include grains or proteins. For a salad to be considered low in calories, the dressing used must also not be high in calories. Low-calorie salads can have as many ingredients or as few as two.
For example, mixing sliced cucumbers with a little vinegar and chilling before serving can create a refreshing low-calorie side salad to serve alongside meat, poultry or fish. A green side salad can be as simple as serving washed and torn lettuce with a low-calorie vinaigrette dressing. To make a low-calorie vinaigrette salad dressing, orange juice or vinegar can be combined with olive or canola oil. Seasonings like pepper, mustard and garlic powder can add flavor. Although low-calorie dressings are commercially available, homemade versions can reduce sodium counts and avoid food additives.
Commercial low-calorie mayonnaise dressing can be used to make a thinner version of macaroni salad. Low-calorie macaroni salads can be made even healthier by using whole-wheat pasta. Some home cooks like to use nonfat plain yogurt with low-calorie mayonnaise to mix with cooked whole-wheat macaroni. Another way to make a low-calorie salad dressing is to place the cottage cheese in a blender with the lemon juice and seasonings and blend until smooth. Finely sliced celery or chopped green onions are a good addition to a low-calorie, creamy pasta salad.
Besides pasta, croutons are another way to add grains to a salad. Commercial-flavored croutons can be high in salt and fat, but toasting multi-grain bread and cutting it into squares can make a healthy, low-calorie salad dressing. Croutons and low-calorie dressings can be added to a simple lettuce salad. Instead of lettuce, using raw spinach in a low-calorie salad will add more vitamins and nutrients. A classic spinach salad with sliced hard-boiled egg and a creamy dressing can be made more caloric by using a low-fat cottage cheese topping as described above.
In addition to hard-boiled and sliced eggs, other proteins that can make a salad are cooked meat or leftover poultry slices. Adding canned fish to low-calorie salads is another option. Thinly sliced green bell pepper and celery are great vegetable ingredients for salad meals. Leftover cooked vegetables such as corn or green beans can also be added to a low-calorie salad.
Low-calorie fruit salads are low-fat or low-fat instead of whipped cream or sugary toppings. When fruit is used in low-calorie salads, virtually any type can be used, but serving size should be monitored. Eating a very large bowl of fruit salad can mean consuming hundreds of calories if you eat a whole banana, apple, orange and/or other fruit.
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