The Salad Bar

It is hot, hot, hot!  On days like this, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven.  I also have an overabundance of lettuce in my garden!  The solution?  Salad! 

I came across this recipe a while back and tweaked it to what I wanted it to be.  I love the idea of Cobb salads but they're pretty meaty and so high in calories & fat that we might as well eat a big plate of cheese fries :-p  Crazy, but true!!  If you think ordering a salad is a healthier dining-out option, you may be in for a shock. A recent survey of popular eateries has found many of them to be loaded with unwanted fat and calories. Here are the findings:

Chili's Southwestern Cobb Salad
970 calories/ 81 grams of fat  (GASP!)

Pizzaria Uno's Chicken Waldorf Salad
920 calories / 62 grams of fat

Arby’s Santa Fe Salad
844 calories / 55 grams of fat

T.G.I. Friday's Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad
750 calories / 50 grams of fat

Cosi's Signature Salad
683 calories / 52 grams of fat

Dairy Queen's Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
680 calories / 48 grams of fat

Ruby Tuesday's Grilled Salmon Salad
590 calories /35 grams of fat

Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad
520 calories / 25 grams of fat

Nuts, right?!  If you're going the salad route when you're out and about, ask for the dressing on the side.  Then you can monitor how much you're eating.  Also, if there is meat on the salad (going veggie saves calories ;-)  ask for it to be baked, not fried.

So, tonight, I'm making a Veggie Cobb Salad.  Give it a whirl with veggie bacon.  Not into faux meat?  Leave it out - it'll still be delish & just a filling.  Take a look at the nutrition info:

Servings: 8 • Calories: 141.9 • Fat: 7.3 • Carbs: 5.2 • Fiber: 5.0 • Sugar: 0.6 • Protein: 11.0

Now THAT'S a healthy salad ;-)

Vegetarian Cobb Salad Recipe

Ingredients

- 1/2 head of romaine, coarsely chopped
- 1 cucumber, chopped or sliced into small pieces
- 1/2 head of Boston lettuce (or Iceberg), coarsely chopped
- 2 hard-boiled large eggs, separated, whites and yolks finely chopped
- 5 slices of Smart (veggie) bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup Chick Peas
- 1 ripe avocado, cut into small pieces
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup blue cheese



Dressing
- 1/3 cup red-wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed
- Salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine chopped lettuce in a large salad bowl.

Arrange the veggie bacon, cucumber, tomato, chick peas, egg and avocado over the greens.

Whisk vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking until it is emulsified. Pour over the top. Serve separately.

Let me know what you think!