If the start of spring has you in a fit about how you’ll squeeze into your bathing suit this season, think thin and think salads. Spring salads can be a dieter’s best friend or, if you’re not careful, a worst enemy.
The season brings with it lots of fresh produce from lovely lettuces to luscious fruits that add a healthful, beautiful addition to salads while boosting the flavor so dressing can be kept to a minimum.
Over a bed of mixed salad greens, try adding strawberries with crumbles of feta cheese, then sprinkle the salad with a good balsamic vinegar. Or toss blueberries and walnuts with salad greens and dress with a light vinaigrette.
Salads often contain hidden calories not considered when trying to lose weight, says Chattanooga food coach and registered dietitian Pamela Kelle.
“For instance, a salad in most dine-in restaurants contains croutons, cheese and bacon bits. Add the dressing to the bowl, and you could potentially have a 500- to 800-calorie salad,” Kelle says.
She suggests looking for smaller side salads and “green” or “mixed green” salads. And always have the dressing served on the side and croutons and other additions left off altogether, she adds.
“For dressing, try simple lemon juice,” she says. “You’d be surprised how delightful it is on greens without making it as sour as you might expect.”
Think of the greens in a salad merely as the base upon which you build your masterpiece. “It’s what you build on it that matters,” she says.
Here are some of her ideas:
* Take leftover cooked veggies such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans, beets and carrots and put them on top of the greens.
* Try adding fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme and fennel on the salad, too. Be adventurous.
* Experiment with raw veggies such as raw asparagus, sweet pea pods, broccoli, shredded beets and cabbage and add them to the salad base. You can shred almost any hard, raw veggie for a salad. Often you may find you like raw veggies better than cooked, and serving them cold over greens can be fabulous.
* Consider the different proteins that can be added to salads, too. Boiled eggs, tuna, salmon and chicken are common additions, but don’t forget about strips of lean steak, pork, or grilled fish or shrimp.
* Don’t forget about nuts. If your desire is calorie control, then measure your nuts out; otherwise, they are great sources of brain-enhancing fats.
* If a salad isn’t a salad without cheese, consider using just a small amount of a lighter cheese, such as feta or Parmesan.
“The calorie-laden cheeses, bacon, croutons won’t be missed if you create a colorful- taste salad built with different flavors,” Kelle says.
Here’s another idea from Chef Eric Fulkerson at Cleveland’s Bald Headed Bistro. “It’s a beautiful salad that’s a very good way to have a small but filling meal,” he says.
Burrata Salad
2 ounces fresh English peas
4 ounces cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 basil leaves, chopped in chiffonade fashion
1 pinch sea salt
4 ounces burrata or fresh mozzarella cheese
Basil oil
1/4 cup basil leaves
1 cup olive oil
Make basil oil by removing stems from 1/4 cup basil leaves and blanching in simmering water for 15 seconds, chill in ice water and pat dry. Place the 1/4 cup basil in a blender and combine with the olive oil. Season with a light pinch of salt. Place in covered container in refrigerator while preparing salad.
For the salad, blanch fresh peas in a pot of salted boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes or until just tender. Remove from boiling water and place in ice water to chill. Blanch cherry tomatoes the same way. This will loosen the skin so it’s easier to remove. You can leave the skins on if you like.
To finish, place peas and tomatoes in a bowl and toss them with olive oil and season with salt.
Place burrata or mozzarella on a plate and drizzle with olive oil and a light sprinkle of sea salt. Add peas and tomatoes to the plate and garnish with the basil chiffonade – a cutting technique that makes long, slender strips. Lightly drizzle 2 teaspoons basil oil around the plate and serve. Refrigerate any remaining basil oil.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.