Salads made from vegetables are invariably popular with professional chefs and ordinary housewives.
All of us know that any vegetable is tasty and healthy. And the salad, unless, of course, you pour a lot of sour cream or mayonnaise into it, contains a minimum of calories. That is why a considerable number of cookbooks are devoted to dietary varieties of this dish. Let's analyze the composition and calorie content of some common vegetable salad recipes and make sure that many of them should be included in our daily menu as often as possible.
BJU, calorie content
Most often, salads are made from fresh vegetables. Their calorie content is very low. A popular dish is a salad of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Calorie content of such a dish per 100 g: 34.8 kcal.
Ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates:
- proteins: 0.8 g;
- fat: 1.8 g;
- carbohydrates: 3.9 g;
Fresh cabbage salad is also low in calories: 64 kcal.
The ratio of BJU in this dish:
- proteins – 1.6;
- fats – 3.7 g;
- carbohydrates – 6 g.
A salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with olive oil contains 89 kcal per 100 g of product.
BJU ratio:
- proteins – 0.8 g;
- fats – 8 g;
- carbohydrates – 4.1 g.
Vinaigrette contains 77.2 kcal per 100 g of product.
The proportions of the BJU are as follows:
- proteins – 1.7 g;
- fats – 3.6 g;
- carbohydrates – 9.8 g.
There are more carbohydrates in this dish, since the fiber found in fresh carrots, onions, potatoes, and beets is converted into carbohydrate molecules.
Tomato and cucumber salad
The dish is very simple. The composition includes cucumbers, tomatoes, onions. The salad is suitable for a healthy diet and weight loss program.
Composition of ingredients
Vegetable salad (calorie content 89 kcal) contains the following components:
Compound | Quantity |
Tomatoes | 400 g |
cucumbers | 300 g |
Green onion | 1 bunch |
Salt | how much do you need |
olive oil | 25 ml |
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared very simply:
- Tomatoes should be washed, cut into small pieces, and placed in a large bowl.
- It is recommended to rinse the cucumbers under the tap, chop them into cubes or straws, and pour them into a bowl with the tomatoes.
- Next, you need to chop the green onions finely and add them to the main ingredients.
- After cutting the salad, the vegetables must be salted and mixed.
- The dish should be seasoned with oil and left for 15-20 minutes. in the refrigerator until the juice forms.
What can I add?
You can add onions, sweet peppers, parsley, dill, radishes, and Chinese cabbage to the salad. You can also add canned corn or peas to the dish.
How to serve a dish
The dish should be consumed cold. The product is placed on a plate, garnished with olives and parsley.
Option with green peas and beets
We advise lovers of dietary dishes to pay special attention to another very interesting recipe for vegetable salad seasoned with vegetable oil. You can see a photo of such a dish a little later, but now let’s figure out what is needed to prepare it. This snack includes:
- 300 grams of beets.
- Medium bulb.
- 300 grams of carrots.
- 200 g pickled cucumbers.
- 400 grams of potatoes.
- 400 g green peas (canned).
- Vegetable oil, any fresh herbs and salt.
Root vegetables are rinsed under the tap, placed in different saucepans, filled with cool water, brought to a boil and boiled until soft. The prepared vegetables are cooled to room temperature, peeled, cut into approximately equal cubes and combined in a deep salad bowl. Green peas, finely chopped onion and pieces of pickled cucumber are also placed there. All this is salted and poured with vegetable oil. The finished snack, the energy value of which is 62.8 kcal/100 g, is decorated with chopped herbs and served for lunch.
Fresh cabbage salad
Cabbage salad is made from fresh vegetables. In addition to cabbage, the dish includes carrots, onions, vinegar, and sunflower oil. The product is ideal for weight loss. It can be consumed both for lunch and dinner.
Composition of ingredients
Vegetable salad (calorie content 64 kcal) consists of:
Compound | Quantity |
White cabbage | 300 g |
Carrot | 1 PC. |
Onion turnip | 1 PC. |
Garlic cloves | 3 pcs. |
Sunflower oil | 45 ml |
Vinegar | 5 ml |
Sugar | 2 tsp. |
Salt | on demand |
Step-by-step cooking process
Prepare the dish as follows:
- The cabbage must be cleaned of dirty and damaged leaves, rinsed under the tap, and dried. The vegetable should be chopped with a special shredding knife and then placed in a deep bowl.
- The carrots need to be peeled, rinsed under the tap, chopped in a large vegetable grinder, and added to the cabbage.
- The onion should be peeled, chopped into cubes, and poured into a common bowl.
- It is recommended to peel the garlic, chop it with a knife, and put it in a bowl.
Low-calorie vegetable salads are recommended for lunch and dinner. - After cutting, the salad must be salted, seasoned with vinegar and oil.
What can I add?
You can add cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, green peas, olives and other products to the dish. Sunflower oil can be replaced with olive oil, sour cream or mayonnaise.
How to serve a dish
Salad should be eaten cold. The dish is placed on plates, garnished with parsley or dill, cranberries, and olives.
Option with beets and broccoli
This simple recipe for preparing a vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil will probably end up in the personal cookbook of young ladies who watch their own figure. It allows you to relatively quickly make a healthy low-calorie snack suitable for a diet menu. To create such a dish you will need:
- 100 grams of beets.
- 10 milliliters of lemon juice.
- 300 g fresh broccoli.
- 200 grams of carrots.
- 30 milliliters of vegetable oil.
- Sugar, salt, onion and parsley (to taste).
Carrots and beets are washed, peeled, processed using a medium grater and combined in a deep salad bowl. Finely chopped broccoli, sugar, salt and chopped herbs are also placed there. All this is topped with citrus juice and vegetable oil. The energy value of one serving of this snack is 108 kcal.
Vegetable salad with olives and sesame seeds
The salad turns out very tasty due to the presence of a large amount of herbs, sesame seeds, vinegar, and garlic. The dish contains tomatoes and bell peppers, which go perfectly together.
Composition of ingredients
The dish contains the following components:
Compound | Quantity |
Tomatoes | 3 pcs. |
Sweet pepper | 2 pcs. |
Bulb onions | 1 PC. (or 1/2) |
Olives from a jar | 150 g |
Olive oil | 60 ml |
Wine vinegar | 15 ml |
Lemon juice | 5 ml |
Provencal herbs | on demand |
Garlic cloves | 2-3 pcs. |
Fresh parsley | according to taste preferences |
Sesame seed | 1 tsp. |
Salt | on demand |
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared step by step:
- The pepper must be washed, cleared of seeds and stalks, and chopped into medium pieces or strips.
- The tomatoes need to be washed, the stem area removed, and chopped into medium cubes.
- The onion needs to be peeled and chopped into half rings.
- It is recommended to put all chopped vegetables in a large bowl and mix.
- Next you should add parsley and olives.
- For this salad, dressing must be prepared. She makes the dish unusual and very tasty. In a separate plate you need to combine Provençal herbs, garlic (pre-chopped), lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt. All ingredients must be mixed. Pour this dressing over the vegetables and stir.
- To soak the dish, it should be placed in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
What can I add?
You can add cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, dill and other ingredients to the product. Instead of olive oil, you can use sour cream or sunflower oil.
How to serve a dish
The product is recommended to be consumed cold. The salad is served with meat, fish or mushrooms, or as a separate dish. Parsley and olives serve as decoration. The salad can be eaten for lunch or dinner.
A gourmet treat – low-calorie, delicious!
This salad is considered a treat of Caucasian cuisine. It is original in that all components must be laid out in layers. And on top of the appetizer is poured with a dressing made from walnuts. This design allows us to choose how to eat vegetables - with dressing or fresh.
Ingredients:
- zucchini (preferably young) - one fruit;
- cucumber - one piece;
- tomato - one fruit;
- bell pepper (preferably red) – one piece;
- red onion - half a head;
- fresh basil;
- dill;
- salt;
- balsamic vinegar;
- olive oil - two tablespoons. spoons;
- garlic - one clove;
- lettuce cress.
Preparation:
- Peel the zucchini.
- Cut the zucchini pulp into medium-sized cubes.
- Heat a little refined vegetable oil in a frying pan.
- Add the zucchini and fry it until golden brown. Or you can bake the vegetable on the grill.
- Let the zucchini cool a little and place them nicely in one layer on a flat plate.
- Clean and rinse the onion. Chop it into thin half rings.
- Place the onions on top of the zucchini.
- Wash the tomato and cut into cubes.
- We also wash the cucumber and chop it into rings.
- Remove seeds and stalks from the pepper. We wash it and chop it into strips.
- Place the prepared vegetables on top of the onion layer.
- Let's prepare the dressing for our treat. Peel the nuts from the shell. Grind them with a blender or coffee grinder.
- Place the chopped nuts in a bowl.
- Wash and chop the basil.
- Add the greens to the nut mixture.
- Wash and dry the dill. We chop it finely and send it to the ingredients of the dressing.
- Add 0.5 teaspoon. spoons of salt and black pepper.
- Let's add just a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar.
- Let's add two tables. spoons of olive oil.
- Peel the garlic clove. After passing it through a press, add the garlic to the dressing.
- Stir it until it has a homogeneous structure.
- Spoon the nut dressing on top of the snack.
- All that remains is to sprinkle the treat with watercress.
Cucumber in yogurt
The main ingredient in this recipe is cucumber. Garlic, pepper, and mint are used as seasonings. The dish is seasoned with natural yogurt.
Composition of ingredients
Vegetable salad (calorie content 13.1 kcal) consists of the following components:
Compound | Quantity |
Cucumber | 400 g |
Salt | ½ tsp. |
Natural yogurt | 250 ml |
Garlic cloves | 3 pcs. |
Fresh mint | 2-3 leaves |
Parsley dill | ½ bunch |
Chili powder | ¼ tsp. |
Black pepper powder | ¼ tsp. |
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared step by step:
- Cucumbers and greens should be washed under the tap and dried. It is recommended to peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely.
- The cucumber should be cut into small cubes. Mint, parsley and dill should be finely chopped with a knife.
- Yogurt must be combined with chopped garlic, pepper, and salt. This will be the salad dressing.
- All ingredients must be mixed. It is recommended to stand the dish for 15 minutes. in a refrigerator.
What can I add?
You can add tomato, Chinese cabbage, olives or black olives. Instead of yogurt, you can use sour cream or mayonnaise.
How to serve a dish
The salad is recommended to be consumed cold. When serving the dish, it is decorated with mint, parsley or dill leaves. The salad is served with meat or as a separate dish.
The vinaigrette
Vinaigrette is both an everyday and holiday dish. The product is low-calorie. The salad includes boiled vegetables and pickled cucumber. You can eat the dish during lunch or dinner.
Composition of ingredients
Vegetable salad (calorie content 77.2 kcal) vinaigrette consists of:
Compound | Quantity |
Boiled beets | 1 PC. |
Boiled potato tubers | 4 things. |
Boiled carrots | 1 PC. |
Parsley and dill | 1 bunch |
Pickle | 3 pcs. |
Apple vinegar | 5 ml |
Sunflower oil | 45 ml |
Garlic cloves | 2 pcs. |
Black pepper powder | on demand |
Coriander powder | how much is needed |
Salt | if required |
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared like this:
- Carrots, potatoes, beets need to be peeled and chopped into cubes.
- Cut the cucumber into small cubes.
- The greens must be finely chopped.
- The garlic cloves need to be peeled and grated on a fine vegetable grater.
- To fill, you need to combine oil, vinegar, pepper, coriander, salt (if necessary), garlic. Everything must be mixed well.
- First, you need to put carrots, potatoes, and cucumbers in a deep bowl. All ingredients must be poured with vegetable oil (15 ml) and mixed. After this add beets. The oil envelops the vegetables and prevents them from becoming too saturated with beet juice.
- After adding beets to the salad, you need to pour out the dressing.
- All ingredients must be mixed. It is recommended to keep the salad in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
What can I add?
You can add sauerkraut to the dish. If there are salted cabbage and cucumbers in the salad, do not add salt. In this case, it is enough to steep the dish so that the other ingredients are soaked.
How to serve a dish
The product is eaten cold. The dish is served for lunch and dinner in individual plates, garnished with parsley or dill.
Option with beets and potatoes
This appetizer, better known as vinaigrette, can be prepared not only for adults, but also for children. A recipe for a vegetable salad dressed with vegetable oil requires the use of a specific food set. Therefore, before starting the process, be sure to check whether you have all the necessary components on hand. In this case you will need:
- Large beets.
- 4 potatoes.
- 2 carrots.
- 5 tbsp. l. sauerkraut.
- A small onion.
- Pickled cucumber.
- 1 tbsp. l. finely chopped greens.
- 1/3 cup of any aromatic vegetable oil.
- Fine salt (to taste).
The washed root vegetables are placed in separate saucepans, filled with water, placed on a working stove and boiled until soft. The finished vegetables are cooled to room temperature, peeled, cut into small cubes and placed in a salad bowl. Chopped onions, slices of pickled cucumber and sauerkraut are also added there. All this is added, sprinkled with chopped herbs and poured with vegetable oil. The energy value of a 150-gram serving of vinaigrette is 100 kcal.
Olivier without sausage with sour cream
This recipe involves preparing Olivier salad without sausage. The dish uses boiled vegetables, pickled cucumber, and canned green peas. All ingredients are seasoned with sour cream.
Composition of ingredients
The vegetable salad is very satisfying due to boiled vegetables and sour cream. Its calorie content is less than that of the classic Olivier. The dish includes the following components:
Compound | Quantity |
Peas from a jar | 1 jar |
Potato tubers | 300 g |
Carrot | 200 g |
Pickled cucumber | 200 g |
Spices | on demand |
Sour cream | 50 g |
Salt | if it is needed |
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared as follows:
- Carrot and potato tubers must be boiled, cooled, and peeled. It is recommended to chop vegetables into cubes.
- Chop the cucumber into cubes.
- It is recommended to pour the peas into a large bowl and drain the water.
- You need to add potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers to the peas. All ingredients must be mixed.
- In the salad you need to put sour cream, pepper and other spices according to your taste preferences. The ingredients need to be mixed. The salad must stand for 15 minutes. in a cold place.
What can I add?
Instead of sausage, you can add champignons or wild mushrooms to the product. They will give the dish a pleasant taste. Instead of sour cream, you can put mayonnaise.
How to serve a dish
The product is consumed cold. The dish is placed on individual plates, garnished with parsley and olives.
Winter Salad
This dish uses Chinese cabbage, carrots, dried fruits, and apple. All ingredients are seasoned with sour cream.
Composition of ingredients
To prepare the dish you need to buy:
Compound | Quantity |
Chinese cabbage | 300 g |
Apple | 1 PC. |
Carrot | 1 PC. |
Lemon juice | 5 ml |
Dried dates | according to taste preferences |
Sour cream | 45 g |
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared step by step:
- Dried fruits must be soaked in boiling water before slicing. After soaking, they need to be drained and chopped into cubes.
- Cabbage should be chopped into strips.
- It is recommended to peel the apple, chop it into strips, and sprinkle it with lemon juice to prevent it from turning black.
- All ingredients need to be combined together in a deep bowl, mixed, seasoned with sour cream.
What can I add?
You can add dried pears, apricots or prunes, and nuts to the dish. You can use fresh pears instead of apples.
How to serve a dish
The product is served cold, garnished with nuts and mint. The dish is more suitable for breakfast and dinner.
Avocado and cabbage salad
The dish has an original taste due to the combination of avocado and white cabbage. They also put an apple in the salad. The dish can be eaten for breakfast.
Composition of ingredients
You need to prepare the following ingredients:
Compound | Quantity |
White cabbage | 150 g |
Apple green | ½ fruit |
Avocado | ½ fruit |
Olive oil | according to taste preferences |
Lemon juice | 5-10 ml |
Salt | how much is needed |
Ground pepper | on demand |
Instead of white cabbage, you can use Chinese cabbage.
Step-by-step cooking process
The dish is prepared as follows:
- The cabbage should be washed and chopped into strips with a shredding knife.
- The apple needs to be washed and cut into strips.
- Next you need to peel the avocado and cut it.
- It is recommended to sprinkle avocado and apple with lemon juice so that they do not change color.
- All ingredients must be placed in a deep bowl and mixed.
- The dish is peppered and sprinkled with oil. The salad should be mixed and refrigerated for 15 minutes.
What can I add?
You can add olives and nuts to the dish. They will give the salad an interesting taste.
How to serve a dish
The salad should be served cold on individual plates. The serving is decorated with parsley and olives.
These Six Mistakes Make Salad High in Calories
Mistake #1. Adding chips and croutons to your salad is a calorie bomb.
It doesn’t matter what you take: corn chips, dried tortillas, croutons - thanks to them, the calorie content of the salad will increase dramatically. One handful of these crisps provides 120 kcal. There is no benefit to them, they are food garbage. If you want some crunch, choose nuts: pistachios or walnuts, they are healthier. Don't put too much - take half the serving recommended in the salad bar. With nuts, you'll get a little more healthy fat, protein, and fiber, which will keep you feeling full longer.
Mistake No. 2. Taking a lot of dried fruits.
Think dried cranberries are a healthy addition to your fruit salad? No matter how it is! Almost all dried fruits, such as raisins or dried apricots, contain a lot of natural sweetness. And dried cranberries are prepared by dipping in sugar syrup, so their calorie content is even higher. A quarter glass of such cranberries contains almost 100 kcal, while the same serving of seedless grapes contains only 16 kcal! So it is better to add pieces of fresh apples, oranges or grapes to the salad, rather than dried fruits.
Mistake #3. Choosing the wrong protein.
Crispy chicken pieces, coconut-crusted shrimp, fried tofu, bacon bits, or any protein marinated in sauce and fried will add a lot of extra calories to your salad. Another insidious source of high calorie content is multi-meat salads, such as Cobb, which contains bacon, ham and turkey.
If you want to add protein to your salad, your favorites should be boiled shrimp or grilled salmon, canned tuna (no mayonnaise!), steamed tofu, boiled egg, turkey fillet or rotisserie chicken pieces. When adding them to a salad, follow the rule of the size of your palm (a portion of proteins should fit in the palm of your hand).
Mistake #4. Forget that vegetables are different.
The biggest confusion occurs in the choice of vegetables. The basis of a proper salad should not be starchy vegetables, but low-calorie ones. These include all leaf lettuces, spinach, all types of cabbage (cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli), eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, peas, artichokes, fennel and asparagus. Once you've got plenty of green, healthy vegetables on your plate, you can add nutrition in the form of two, but no more, starchy vegetables. For example, take 1 spoon from this category: potatoes, corn, zucchini. And the second is made from legumes or grains: beans, lentils, peas, quinoa, brown rice. This way you will create a tasty and balanced salad that will enrich you with nutrients and create a feeling of fullness.
Mistake #5. Add a lot of cheese to the salad.
The calorie content and large amount of animal fat in cheese do not change because you added it to a salad and not to pizza. Add less cheese, no more than 30 g. The same applies to sources of vegetable fats - avocado and nuts, as well as salad dressing made from vegetable oil. For 1 serving of salad, 1/8 of an avocado or ¼ tbsp is enough. l. nuts and the same amount of dressing. Even better, do not dress the salad with oil, but sprinkle it with crumbled pickled cheeses, such as feta or soft goat cheese.
Mistake No. 6. High-calorie sauces.
The wrong dressing or sauce for a salad can easily add 200-300 kcal on top of what it already contains! If you want to save your figure, then season the salad with low-calorie dressings, for example, lemon juice with salt and pepper, lime juice. And for those looking for more delicious sauce options, it's important to remember: you're safe as long as your dressing contains no more than 1 tbsp. l. olive (or any vegetable) oil and a little wine vinegar. Mayonnaise and any creamy dressings such as Caesar dressing and ranch dressing are prohibited for those who want to maintain a slim figure. Be careful with hidden sugar bombs like Dijon mustard dressing with honey and olive oil - it's loaded with calories!
Menu for 3 days for weight loss
To lose weight, you need to eat salads every day. Dishes should be different to avoid hypovitaminosis.
Meal time | 1 day | 2 days | 3 days |
Breakfast | Avocado and cabbage salad with olive oil, tea | Omelette with vegetables and cheese, coffee | Winter salad, juice |
2 breakfast | Apple, yogurt | Pear, kefir. | Orange, fermented baked milk |
Dinner | Fresh cabbage soup with chicken, tomato-cucumber salad with olive oil, apple juice | Puree mushroom soup, fresh cabbage salad, tea | Fish soup, Olivier salad without sausage with sour cream, orange juice |
Afternoon snack | Cookies, tea with milk | Sandwich with jam, tea | Sandwich with jam, juice |
Dinner | Vinaigrette salad, tea, bread with cheese | Salad with olives and sesame, tomatoes and peppers, bread with cucumber and cheese | Cucumber salad in yogurt, juice, toast with cheese |
2 dinner | Kefir | Ryazhenka | Natural yogurt |
When losing weight, it is recommended to season salads with sunflower or olive oil, yogurt or sour cream. It is better not to use mayonnaise. To prevent salads from becoming boring, they need to be alternated with each other.
To enhance the taste of dishes, be sure to add herbs and spices.
The salad will be brighter if you add herbs, vinegar, and olives to fresh vegetables. It is recommended to prepare a filling from vinegar and oil. If the dish is sweet, you can serve it for breakfast. It is not advisable to eat only salads. The diet should include meat soups, cheese, cereals, eggs, steamed or baked meat and fish dishes.