Toss Salad for A Quick and Easy Fix

The thing about Toss salads is that bulk of the effort would come from making the dressing. The salad is mainly made up of greens such as lettuce, cabbage and romaines. The reason why these are called tossed salad is because preparation for this is just tossing together all the ingredients.

Meaning, all the greens and other twist which one may opt to add in it. Some of the add-ons may include sausages, fruits, chips and basically anything else that might come up in one’s imagination. With a prepared dressing, it only takes one as little as five minutes to prepare this recipe. Below are some recipes which one can try out at home.

Parmesan Vegetable Toss

2 C. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/2 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. Salt
4 C. fresh broccoli
4 C. fresh cauliflower
1 red onion, sliced
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 head iceberg lettuce, torn
1 lb. sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, Parmesan, sugar, basil and salt.

Add broccoli, cauliflower, onion and water chestnuts.

Toss.

Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Just before serving, place lettuce in a salad bowl and top with vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with bacon.

Top with croutons if desired.

CLASSIC TOSSED SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce
1 head red leaf lettuce
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives
1 (4 ounce) package blanched slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, sliced
6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 (8 ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing

Directions:

Chop, wash and dry the romaine and red leaf lettuces. In a large salad bowl, combine lettuces with feta cheese, olives, almonds, sesame seeds, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms and Romano cheese. When ready to serve, add the Italian dressing and toss thoroughly.

CONFETTI TOSSED SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

15 ounces Italian Blend or Spring Mix salad greens
16 ounces sausages, lightly rinsed, well drained
2 cans (11 oz. size) mandarin oranges, drained
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 medium apple, cored and diced
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup pecan pieces
1/3 cup extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam, softened in microwave
1/2 cup frozen (whole) raspberries, thawed, with juice
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Salad: In large salad bowl, toss greens and Sauerkraut together. Top with oranges, cranberries, apple, fresh raspberries, pecans, and cheese.

Dressing: In a small bowl, blend together olive oil, vinegar, jam, thawed raspberries, and pepper.

Drizzle a few tablespoons of the dressing over the salad for moistness and color; serve remainder on the side.

Light And Fresh As A Salad

No small thanks to weight watchers everywhere, the salad is beginning to take on center stage from an obscure, little corner during the earlier times. Indeed, salad is now enjoying the same popularity of the, well not exactly pizza, but at least fast food.

New diet and fitness methods seem to pop out everywhere on a monthly basis. From crash to yoyo to Low Carb-High Protein, to the After Six, to South Beach to something as crazy as color dieting.

The methods vary mostly in the food composition that must be consumed while on the diet, but what’s common to all these are the inclusion of salad in one form or another.

Indeed, the humble salad has found its way even to those fast food counters as health consciousness begins to grow. Even the Fast food king, McDonald’s himself, had to yield to the pressure and has started to offer healthy alternatives that includes, you’ve guess it right, the salad.

There are more than a thousand ways to prepare a salad. This can be served as an appetizer, a main course, dessert and even as a sandwich filling. Although most often associated with all those big nutritional stuff such as the lettuces, romaines, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and grapes, the salad can also take on the form of a heavier meal.

While chicken and tuna are the most common ingredients, pork, turkey and peking duck have already found their way in bowls everywhere.

Generally, the term salad refers to a preparation of chopped and / or sliced ingredients. Although meat can be incorporated in it, it has to contain at least one or two vegetables and fruits. It can be served dry or with a dressing.

The most common dressings are whipped cream, vinaigrette, thousand island, honey-mustard and ceasars’ dressing. And the most common ingredients are lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and cucumber. Eggs have also become a regular ingredient.

The popularity of the salad has grown mostly because of its nutritional value. It satisfies the hunger pangs without weighing in too much on the scale. And this is why it has become a favorite preparation for the health nuts everywhere.

Come to think of it, one need really not be a health enthusiast to enable him or her to enjoy this preparation. With the variety and interesting textures that come up every time, one is bound to find one that he or she can be addicted to.