In the article we will tell you what ingredients should be put in diet salads, how to season dishes for health, and also present 7 popular salads of the year.
Fashion dictates its own rules. The image of a slender, graceful girl, not burdened with excess weight, is increasingly being idealized.
Losing pounds is the main goal of many, but how to do it correctly and what to eat to make it tasty and nutritious?
We will answer these exciting questions further.
Diet salads are the main dish of a losing weight person.
How do they work?
- Vegetable salads can quickly satisfy your hunger thanks to coarse fiber.
At the same time, the stomach feels light, and the body receives the necessary vitamins and microelements A, B, E.
- When you add lean chicken breast, turkey fillet, or tuna meat to the salad, the food becomes more satisfying, and you can forget about snacking for a long time.
- Raw vegetables and fruits can cleanse the body of waste and toxins, improve your health and restore good mood.
- Advantages and disadvantages of dietary salads.
Let's take a closer look at the benefits of this food:
- raw vegetables and fruits contain coarse fiber. Fiber is a kind of plant fiber that, when it enters the gastrointestinal tract, tends to disintegrate and swell. Thus, a person feels full for a long time and does not need additional food intake. The highest amount of fiber is in green peas, turnips, and micro greens;
- green salad together with proteins (meat and eggs), lean fish promotes rapid weight loss and also has a good effect on the development of muscle mass;
- the body is cleansed of waste and toxins;
- swelling decreases and the functioning of internal organs normalizes;
- microelements and vitamins are fully absorbed, metabolism improves;
- as a result, you feel cheerful and light, there is an increase in strength, and your performance improves.
Vegetables and fruits are a storehouse of women's health, energy and beauty. For some reason, women who want to lose weight believe that such a salad is just greens and cabbage. But how wrong they are! Modern PP recipes dictate their own rule: “We eat salads with pleasure, experiment with recipes!”
Let's look at the other side of the coin. Why are some diet salads even contraindicated for some?
Flaws:
- contraindications for medical diagnoses. People with liver disease, kidney disease, urinary tract disease, and diabetes mellitus should use tomatoes, radishes, beets and carrots with caution;
- allergic reactions to products are purely individual, but still occur;
- indigestion - cabbage, peas, legumes can cause severe bloating, and even intestinal colic. Be extremely careful with doses!
- “Salad is food for rabbits! I’m going to lose it from this diet!” – you must admit, this thought has come to you more than once and given you serious doubts about whether to continue to lose weight.
People who have no experience in preparing PP dishes will tell you the same thing. According to many, a salad on a diet is greens, vegetables, without dressing. This article will help you understand such pitfalls.
Polish salad of boiled vegetables
This salad is great on its own or can be served with any type of meat. It also makes a great addition to barbecue. Although this creamy salad is similar to potato salad, the emphasis is on other ingredients rather than just the potatoes.
Ingredients:
- Eggs – 5 pcs.
- Pickled cucumbers – 10 pcs.
- Apples – 3 pcs.
- Peas – 1 can
- Carrots – 4 pcs.
- Potatoes – 3 pcs.
- Parsley
- Celery root – 1 pc.
- Mustard
- Mayonnaise
- Spices
Preparation:
Boil eggs, carrots and potatoes. Finely chop everything.
Slice cucumbers and apples. Grate the celery root. Mix all.
Add mustard, mayonnaise, peas and parsley to the salad. Mix everything and leave the salad to soak for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
It is better to boil the vegetables for the salad the day before preparing it.
What ingredients can you put in a salad?
Don’t be afraid to experiment with low-fat foods; each dish can be varied in its own way.
- Be sure to alternate and add turkey or chicken breast and tuna pieces to the greens; they are rich in fatty acids and protein, essential for bones and muscles.
- Eggs and cheese in small quantities will add more variety to your salad.
- Avocado is a source of fatty acids, a very valuable vegetable that should be on your table at least once a week.
- Micro greens - pea sprouts, radishes, sunflowers will decorate the salad and enrich you with essential microelements.
- Nuts – please note that they are quite high in calories, so you need to add them to the salad in small quantities.
- Fruits – treat yourself and cook with raw fruits.
As you can see, the variety of ingredients is huge and rich in vitamins. And if you mix it correctly, you get something delicious for a losing weight!
Salad of boiled vegetables and walnut oil
Incredibly healthy and low-calorie European salad of boiled vegetables, seasoned with nut butter.
Ingredients:
- Broccoli – 1 bunch
- Asparagus - 1 bunch
- Pumpkin – 400 g
- Zucchini - 1 pc.
- Carrots – 300 g
- Beets – 1 pc.
- Walnut oil
Preparation:
Boil pumpkin, beets, carrots, asparagus and broccoli.
Coarsely chop all vegetables and mix.
Season with oil and spices.
How to properly dress a diet salad?
Can:
- linseed oil;
- Olive oil is a source of microelements, you definitely won’t gain weight with it, but its price is quite high;
- fermented milk products are a more budget option; it can be low-fat sour cream, yogurt or kefir without flavoring additives; it is much better to prepare yogurt or kefir at home from dairy starters - this way you will be more confident in the percentage of fat content;
- egg sauce - mash the boiled yolk with a fork, add olive oil, mix, then pour in soy sauce and grain mustard; You don’t need to add salt, the taste will be quite piquant;
- lemon juice - very often used as a dressing because it promotes weight loss faster;
- avocado dressing - you need to choose a ripe vegetable that presses when pressed, then peel it, grind it to the consistency of porridge, add a clove of garlic and olive oil, pepper;
- white wine vinegar.
Try to choose dressings with minimal calorie content. This way you can diversify your dish and not gain extra pounds.
It is forbidden:
- sunflower oil (sesame, corn, rapeseed);
- mayonnaise (including homemade);
- sauces based on fatty oils, ketchup or mayonnaise.
The variety of healthy gas stations is huge, which is good news for those losing weight. All that remains is to choose what salads you can prepare in order to eat fully and without compromising your health.
Here are the top 7 most appetizing and low-calorie salads of the year.
Cooking tips
Different meats are suitable for dietary salads - beef, veal, lean pork, poultry or rabbit. The top spot is taken by chicken and turkey meat, especially breast. In second place are veal and rabbit meat, pork in last.
Important! Meat for salads is not fried, but boiled or baked in a cooking bag or in foil. The basis of the salad is vegetables, both raw and boiled or stewed.
A dietary salad with meat should not include the following products:
- store-bought mayonnaise, sauces and dressings;
- smoked meat and sausages;
- canned fish and meat;
- canned and pickled fruits and vegetables;
- canned beans and legumes.
Peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts are an excellent vitamin and flavor addition to the dish. But you shouldn’t get carried away with spices, they increase your appetite, and you can eat more than the norm. It is better to use aromatic herbs, for example, basil, dill, coriander, parsley, horseradish, ginger, cinnamon.
Depending on the salad, the main role in taste is played by dressing or sauce, and there are a great many of them. The taste of the salad depends on the dressing: replacing one dressing with another will allow the dish to reveal its taste in a new way.
Important! The ideal dressing for dietary salads is fermented milk products such as kefir, sour cream, and natural yogurt. Olive oil with a sour note is suitable - lemon, grapefruit, lime, kumquat juice or natural apple cider vinegar.
Salad with Chinese cabbage and shrimp
Suitable not only for everyday food, but also as a “highlight” on a holiday table.
Ingredients for 2 servings:
- Beijing cabbage (1/2 head);
- boiled shrimp (7-8 pcs.);
- canned or fresh pineapple – 120 gr.;
- pomegranate seeds (2 tablespoons);
- salt on the tip of a teaspoon.
For refueling we use:
- sour cream or natural yogurt - 2 tablespoons;
- lemon juice - half a dessert spoon;
- olive oil – ½ tablespoon;
- mustard beans - ½ tablespoon.
Cooking:
- food preparation;
- peel the pomegranate seeds;
- Peel the pineapple or remove it from the syrup and cut into cubes;
- boil the shrimp - add water, salt, bring to a boil; cooking takes only 2-3 minutes, then drain the water and let the shrimp cool;
- cut Chinese cabbage into small pieces; can be torn into small pieces by hand;
Making the filling:
- combine all the ingredients - sour cream (yogurt), lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, mix gently by hand to keep the mustard seeds intact;
Decor:
- put all previously chopped and prepared products into the salad bowl: Chinese cabbage, pineapples, boiled shrimp, pomegranate seeds;
- add dressing and stir, then refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. You can serve!
- Calorie content: per 100 g. salad - only 73 kcal.
Boiled beetroot and feta salad
Feta cheese and beets are soaked in a delicious and original wine sauce.
Ingredients:
- Brown sugar – 1 tbsp.
- Wine vinegar – 2 tbsp.
- Beets – 1 pc.
- Feta cheese – 100 g
- Olives – 9 pcs.
- Olive oil
- Spices
Preparation:
Boil the beets. Cut into cubes.
Feta cheese also cut into cubes.
Mix all liquid ingredients.
Mix sugar and vinegar with oil and spices.
Season the cheese and beets with sauce. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 3 hours. Add olives.
2) Green salad.
This dish is a source of antioxidants and microelements, promotes rapid and active weight loss, and cleanses the body of toxins.
Ingredients for 1 serving:
- lettuce - 1 head;
- cucumber – 2 pcs.;
- green onions – 1 bunch;
- olive oil – 1 tbsp. spoon;
- bell pepper – 1 pc.;
- garlic – 2-3 cloves;
- carrots – 1 pc.;
- lemon juice – 2 tbsp. spoons;
- You can add absolutely any greens - dill, parsley, basil or micro greens.
Cooking:
- cut bell peppers and carrots into strips;
- Tear the salad with your hands;
- either finely chop the garlic or crush it using a press;
- cut cucumber into rings;
- add herbs to taste;
- season with lemon juice and olive oil.
Green salad is a classic example of a dietary salad; it is ideal for a fasting day.
Simple salad of boiled vegetables “Vegetable Cake”
Traditional and everyone's favorite holiday salad of boiled vegetables.
Ingredients:
- Potatoes - 3 pcs.
- Beetroot - 1 pc.
- Carrots - 2 pcs.
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Pickled cucumbers - 3 pcs.
- Egg - 2 pcs.
- Mayonnaise - 120 g
Preparation:
Boil carrots, eggs, beets. Clear everything. Grate carrots and beets.
3) Tuna salad.
This is a nutritious protein dish that can satisfy hunger and give strength. It's very easy to prepare!
Ingredients for 1 serving:
- fresh cucumber – 2 pcs.;
- canned tuna – 60 gr.;
- greens to taste - parsley, dill, basil, lettuce;
- olive oil – 1 tbsp. spoon.
Cooking:
- prepare all products on the table;
- peel the cucumber and cut into cubes;
- add lettuce leaves (tear them with your hands), dill, parsley;
- then add diced tuna;
- pour olive oil and mix thoroughly.
Bon appetit! The salad can be eaten for lunch and dinner, it is absolutely calorie-free, per 100 g. – only 142 calories.
Boiled vegetable salad for every day
With this recipe, we can simply let the vegetables cook themselves and then simply chop them and mix them with other ingredients. This is a light and budget salad, available for any table.
Ingredients:
- Boiled potatoes – 2 pcs.
- Boiled beets – 1 pc.
- Fresh cucumber – 1 pc.
- Pickled cucumbers – 3 pcs.
- Green peas
- Green onions
- Parsley and dill
- Oil
Preparation:
Chop boiled vegetables.
Chop all the cucumbers and onions.
Mix everything and season with oil.
4) Homemade carpaccio.
A hearty fish salad at home will be an ideal treat for guests on the holiday table.
Ingredients for 2 servings:
- cod fillet – 400 gr.;
- lettuce leaves – 100-150 gr.;
- red sweet pepper – 100 gr.;
- yellow pepper – 50 gr.;
- greens to taste – 20 gr.;
- olive oil – 3 tbsp. spoons;
- black pepper - to taste;
- salt - to taste;
- juice of ½ lemon - to taste.
Cooking:
- Remove the bones from the cod fillet and cut into thin slices (the fish meat should be very fresh);
- Tear lettuce leaves into small pieces;
- cut red and yellow peppers into cubes;
- Place lettuce on a plate, slice cod on top, sprinkle with diced peppers and herbs;
- Season the salad with olive oil and lemon juice, pepper and salt to your taste.
- Calorie content – per 100 g. product 100 kcal.
The cooking time for carpaccio is minimal, but you will definitely enjoy the food! If possible, cod fillet can be replaced with salmon pulp, it will be even tastier, and most importantly, harmless to the figure.
Advice from experienced pp specialists
Beef salad can be stored for no more than 24 hours, or it is better not to store it at all, since vegetables and herbs quickly oxidize and wither.
Parmesan, eggs, beans - will perfectly complement any recipe.
You can experiment with sauces by dressing the salad, for example, with some kind of pp-mayonnaise or a mixture of mustard and yogurt. Berry sauces are also good for meat salads - add lingonberries, cranberries or red currants, cool, grind in a blender and the sauce is ready.
Irina Polyanitsa My name is Irina, I am the owner and admin of the site, as well as the author of most of the recipes and articles. I love to cook simple and healthy delicacies. Certified gym instructor, personal trainer. She completed a course on nutrition and health at Stanford University, Stanford Introduction to Food and Health, as well as a course at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy (about nutrition and lifestyle during pregnancy).
5) “Vitamin” salad.
In spring and autumn, we especially need vitamins and minerals that will support the immune system and promote weight loss. This salad can be prepared every day to maintain health and beauty.
Ingredients for 1 serving:
- carrots – 1 small;
- apples – 2 pcs.;
- bell pepper - half;
- white cabbage – ¼ part;
- ground pepper - to taste;
- greens (onion, dill) - to taste;
- salt - to taste.
Cooking:
- prepare all products, wash them;
- finely chop the cabbage or grate it on a coarse grater;
- peel the carrots and also grate them;
- Peel and coarsely grate the apples;
- bell peppers can be cut into cubes or thin strips for beauty;
- finely chop the greens;
- put all the ingredients in a deep bowl, mix well;
- pepper and salt to taste.
Calorie content: per 100 g. salad - only 35 kcal. This cannot but please lovers of thin waists. Bon appetit!
Boiled vegetable salad “Tenderness”
A very tender salad is a traditional Russian salad, the main ingredient of which is soft boiled potatoes. The combination of the savory flavors of salmon and soft potatoes in a mayonnaise sauce is incredibly nutritious and easy.
Ingredients:
- Canned salmon – 1 can
- Boiled potatoes - 2 pcs.
- Boiled eggs - 3 pcs.
- Sweet and sour apple - 1 pc.
- Sweet onion - 1 pc.
- Mayonnaise
Preparation:
Divide the boiled eggs into whites and yolks, grate them separately.
Grate the apple too.
Mash the salmon with a fork.
Layer the salad in order: potatoes, salmon, onions, mayonnaise, apple, whites, yolks. Decorate with mayonnaise.
6) Salad with corn and tuna.
This dish is suitable for everyday nutrition, rich in phosphorus, potassium and protein.
Ingredients for 1 serving:
- pickled cucumbers – 1 pc.;
- canned corn - 4 tables. spoons;
- canned tuna - half a can;
- boiled eggs – 1 pc.;
- greens - to taste;
- olive oil - to taste;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Cooking:
- prepare all products according to the list;
- boil eggs, cool;
- You can use parsley, dill, lettuce as greens;
- drain the liquid from the can of corn, set aside the required amount in a salad bowl;
- cut the cucumber into small cubes and add to the corn;
- Peel the eggs, chop them finely, put them in a salad bowl;
- tuna can be cut or disassembled into pieces and added to a bowl;
- Wash the greens and chop them finely, add them to the rest of the products;
- add salt and pepper to taste, season with olive oil.
- Calorie content – per 100 g. finished product – 75 kcal.
The salad can be eaten immediately after preparation.
Salad of boiled vegetables and green beans
boiled vegetables are often served as an accompaniment to some meat dishes. They are also added to soups and noodles and are considered "healthy". An easy to prepare and nutritious salad with crispy beans, perfect as a side dish.
Ingredients:
- Green beans - 100 g
- Potatoes, peeled and cut into slices - 200 g
- Carrots, cut into pieces - 100 g
- Olive oil – 23 ml
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed - 1/4 lemon
- Salt
Preparation:
Prepare green beans by boiling for about 8 minutes.
Boil potatoes and carrots.
Cut the vegetables into small cubes, then place in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine oil and lemon juice. Mix and pour sauce over vegetables, season with spices.
Recommendations
To make the salad with Adyghe cheese tasty and rich, you should take into account the following nuances:
- cheese goes perfectly with vegetables, dietary meat and fruits;
- to feel the taste of cheese, it should be cut into strips or small cubes;
- Olive oil or low-fat sour cream is best suited as a dressing for Adyghe cheese.
If we talk about feta cheese, then when adding it to salads, it is advisable to adhere to the following recommendations:
- cheese goes best with seasonal vegetables;
- It is better to prepare the dressing from olive oil or lemon juice;
- since feta is already quite high in calories, it should not be combined with other “heavy” foods;
- In salads, it is recommended to mash feta with a fork or cut into cubes.
Vegetable salad
Cottage cheese is a very healthy product. It becomes part of a huge number of diets. Thanks to this component, salads become quite filling. They may well be an independent dish, and not just a light snack. The main thing is to learn how to cook delicious options.
Preparing this salad is as simple as possible. You just need to prepare all the ingredients and mix them in one large bowl.
Recipe:
- You need to take a whole bunch of lettuce leaves and wash them thoroughly. It is best to do this for a long time, often leaving a little soil on the surface.
- Three tomatoes need to be washed and cut into large cubes.
- 2 bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips.
- The cucumber must be chopped into medium-sized cubes.
- The radishes are washed from the soil and cut into rings.
- 100 grams of cottage cheese is added to the total mass.
To bring out all the flavors, you definitely need a dressing. In this case, it is best to use olive oil with soy sauce. Salt and ground pepper will not be superfluous. Everything is mixed in a separate bowl, and then poured over the salad. Any other greenery would look quite appropriate here.
Feature of the dish
Quite often, salads are the main dish of the diet. They are low in calories, do not require much effort in preparation, are distinguished by a variety of products, and perfectly satisfy hunger. However, not every salad is considered dietary. It all depends on the dressing and composition.
Thus, salads for weight loss can be prepared from the following products:
- White cabbage;
- carrot;
- cucumbers;
- beet;
- Bell pepper;
- radish;
- apples;
- boiled dietary meat (chicken, turkey, beef);
- shrimps;
- eggs;
- low-fat cheese.
The addition of greens in large quantities is welcome. But potatoes, pork and legumes are not suitable for preparing dietary salads.
Interesting! For salads, it is better to use fresh vegetables that have not undergone heat treatment. They contain a minimal amount of calories.
Dressing is another important component of a salad for weight loss. Suitable for this purpose:
- low-fat sour cream or kefir;
- freshly squeezed lemon juice;
- natural low-fat yogurt;
- Apple vinegar;
- soy sauce;
- olive oil.
But you should refuse mayonnaise as a dressing. In addition, it is advisable to avoid salt and spices.
Salads are great for any diet. Often in weight loss plans, salads replace dinner or the main course. In some cases, salads are eaten instead of several meals.
Original dessert: spread
Appetizers and salads do not have to be spicy or salty. Cottage cheese looks great in desserts. You can prepare an original spread. You can eat it on its own or add it to toast or place it on a basket.
Ingredients:
- 1 piece – banana;
- 150 g – yogurt;
- 200 gr – cottage cheese;
- berries;
- 1 tsp - cocoa;
- bitter chocolate.
Recipe:
- Cottage cheese is simply mixed with yogurt. The berries must be thoroughly washed; they will be the main topping in this mixture.
- The chocolate is grated and a couple of tablespoons are added along with cocoa.
- The result is a very delicate and aromatic dessert that can surprise everyone.