Filling Diet Food? A Low-fat, Low-Cal Salad Recipe
Posted on 29. Jan, 2011 by Rose M Garland in Food, Opinions, Popular Stories
The best thing about salad is that there are so many toppings that you can choose from. Here is my favorite recipe with an approximation of calories.
- Fresh baby spinach
(15 calories for 2.5 cups) - 1 tbs parmesan
(21 calories) - 1 or 2 tbs dried cranberries
(135 calories for 1/4 cup, so about 60) - 3 oz pre-cooked chicken (pre-heated or cold)
(110 calories) - up to half of a small can of drained mandarin oranges or…
(27 calories) - any fruit, fresh or canned, or…
- 2 tbs Fat-free Light Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
(35 calories, 0 fat)
About 268 calories!
I’m not going to insult anyone’s intelligence by giving directions on how to make it from this point, but I think this salad has a nice balance of the 4 food groups, is low in calories (including weight-watcher points), and thanks to the meat and the cranberries, it’s filling too!
I think the trick to diets is to find food that’s low in calories that you can eat a lot of. Popcorn is a great example of this. Did you know you can even get ‘lite’ caramel popcorn that’s low in calories and tastes good? (Stay away from ‘lite’ white cheddar popcorn though – not as good as it sounds!) Plain corn chips and salsa can be another good choice.
I’ve been substituting mandarin oranges for salad dressing for at least ten years – sometimes with light cottage cheese on top as well. It’s sweet without being too sweet, and helps make a great salad. I also switch feta cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese with the parmesan, and beef fajita strips with the chicken for about the same calories.
Each person’s favorite salad is unique to them, and mine’s quick, unusual and delicious. 
What’s your salad style?
