Quick Salad Suppers

Quick Salad Suppers
From BLC (Biggest Loser Club) News email
4 steps to whipping up a healthy meal in a flash

When you're facing the fridge and thinking what in the world am I going to whip up for dinner? There's always a salad. Consider these your salad supper building blocks:

Start with Lettuce
Unless you live in a remote fishing village, the produce section of your local supermarket has something beyond iceberg lettuce. Today you can buy a variety of types of head lettuce, including green leaf, red leaf, and romaine lettuce. This is a great place to start.

Add Some Protein
To make a simple salad into a main meal, you'll need to add protein to meet your nutritional needs. Stay within the Biggest Loser meal recommendation by choosing a lean protein without the added fat calories; look for protein sources that provide fewer than 50 calories for every 7 grams of protein, such as salmon (50 calories per ounce), chicken and turkey breast (35-40 calories per ounce), tuna and shrimp (30 calories per ounce), and nonfat cottage cheese ( 30 calories per ounce).

A Little Carbohydrate
You may find that a salad with a small amount of carbohydrate is more satisfying. Healthy carb additions include garbanzo beans, black beans, kidney beans, quinoa, wild rice, sweet pototo, corn, peas, toasted whole wheat pita or a few whole wheat crackers.

And Some Salad Dressing
The leading source of fat in a woman's diet is salad dressing! Can you believe that? Of course you can since going a little heavy on the dressing makes your healthy salad more like a greasy cheeseburger! Every tablespoon of oil packs 120 calories so use sparingly; dip your fork, look for light dressing, or go with the calorie-free option of balsamic vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon.