The Salad Diet: Salad For Dinner

The Salad Diet is found in Salad for Dinner, a recipe book created by chef Tasha DeSerio who began her career at the highly regarded Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café.

This book is designed to help you turn salads into main meals and will appeal to both vegetarians and meat-eaters.

Salad Diet Basics

The salad recipes provided in this book include a variety of ingredients going far beyond just raw leafy greens and other vegetables.

Says DeSerio, “The focus is naturally on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes; meat, fish, eggs and cheeses are used in moderation.”

The Salad Diet is divided into chapters, which focus on a particular style of salad. Chapters include simple salads, leafy salads, vegetable and fruit salads, grain-based salads and legume salads. The recipes are listed in order of the seasons; spring, summer, fall and winter.

In the first section readers are given instruction in the basic techniques required for making a great salad. Topics covered include:

• Washing and storing salad greens
• Making croutons, salad dressing and mayonnaise
• Roasting vegetables
• Cooking grains and beans
• Cutting vegetables and fruit

For each recipe, suggestions are offered to help you make lighter salads more satisfying. For example, depending on the type of salad you might add hard-boiled egg, grilled shrimp or roast beef.

Salad Diet Recipes

• Spinach Salad with Blood Oranges, Feta, Pine Nuts and Raisins
• Duck Confit and Frisee with Crème Fraiche and Mustard Viniagrette
• Spiced Cauliflower and Potato Salad with Caramelized Onion
• Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Scallop Ceviche and Jalapeno Vinaigrette
• Pasta Salad with Lentils, Kale and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
• Spicy Squid and Chickpea Salad

Recommended Salad Ingredients

Salad greens, tomatoes, beets, peppers, cherries, apple, tangerines, anchovies, olives, capers, cheese, nuts, seeds, bread, pasta, brown rice, beans, eggs, seafood, chicken, pork, lamb, beef, Greek yogurt, mustard, olive oil, grapeseed oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, kosher salt, black pepper, fresh herbs.

Sample Meal Plan

Breakfast Farro Salad with Broccoli Rabe and Poached Egg

Lunch Smoked Trout and Fingerling Potato Salad with Belgian Endive

Dinner Couscous with Kabocha Squash, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Harissa Vinaigrette and Grilled Lamb

Costs and Expenses

Salad For Dinner: Simple Recipes For Salads That Make A Meal retails at $19.95.

Available from Amazon →

Pros

• Makes it easier to eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit.
• Salads are fast and easy to prepare.
• Provides guidelines on basic salad preparation techniques.
• Includes advice on selecting quality ingredients.
• Created by a well-respected chef.

Cons

• Recipes do not contain nutritional information.
• Won’t appeal to those who don’t like eating salad.
• Some of the ingredients are expensive.
• Most of the recipes contain relatively high amounts of oil.

Conclusions

The Salad Diet includes a selection of recipes that will inspire readers to increase their intake of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes.

While this salad diet is not designed to promote weight loss, eating more salads can make it easier to reduce calories. Additionally increasing the intake of fruit and vegetables can improve general health.