Recipes: Salads

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1. Antipasto Picnic Salad (Strict)
2. Cucumber Salad - (Strict)
3. Chicken Curry Salad (Strict)
4. Broccoli Salad (Strict)
5. Salad Dressings
6. Chicken or Turkey Salad (Liberal)
7. Bleu Cheese Coleslaw (Liberal)

1. Antipasto Picnic Salad (Strict)
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
2 (6 oz) can pitted ripe olives
2 (6.5 oz.) jars of sugar-free quartered marinated artichoke hearts (including liquid, serves as marinade)
2 bell peppers, cored & cubed (any color)
1 (8 oz) chub of sugar-free salami, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/8 cup dried basil
2 cups of broccoli or cauliflower florets, washed and trimmed

Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. Serves 12. top

2. Cucumber Salad - Strict
2 English hothouse cucumbers. peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, chopped very fine
1/2 teaspoon sweet (Hungarian) paprika

Place sliced cucumbers in a bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and let stand one hour and drain. Mix in remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper. top

3. Chicken Curry Salad (Strict)
In a large bowl mix together:
4 cups boneless chicken meat, chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds (use 1/4 cup if you are on the strict diet)
1 cup celery, finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon curry powder
Mix these together in a bowl.

In a smaller bowl whisk together:
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar-free mayonnaise (see below)

Fold the dressing into the chicken mixture.
You can eat this with celery sticks, or on a bed of shredded lettuce.
Sugar free mayonnaise is shockingly easy to make. In your blender put one whole egg and one egg yolk. Start the blender on mix. Take one cup of olive oil and just drizzle it in slowly. Add a dash of lemon juice and if you like it a dash of cayenne pepper. top

4. Broccoli Salad (Strict)
5 slices bacon
1 bunch broccoli
2 Tablespoons chopped onion (Red onion on Liberal diet, green onion on Strict diet)
1/2 cup cashews (almond or sunflower seeds for Strict diet)

Dressing:
1 cup sugar-free mayonnaise
3 Tbsp Splenda
1-2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp maple flavoring
poppy seeds (optional)

Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Cut bacon into small pieces and fry till crisp. Drain on paper towel. Cut broccoli into bite size pieces. Mix bacon, broccoli and nuts in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing, toss and refrigerate one hour before serving. top

5. Salad Dressings
I have ranch and blue cheese salad dressing recipes that I really like. I made the ranch the other day and my kids LOVED it. Both keep well in the fridge for several weeks. Here they are:

Ranch Dressing (makes about 2 cups)

1 cup mayonnaise (sugar-free, of course)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 tsp instant dried minced onions
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used paprika instead)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until creamy. Cover and refrigerate at least 25 minutes before serving.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4cup sour cream
1 1/2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
2 Tablespoons minced chives or scallion greens
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, mashing any large lumps of cheese.

Also, at my local Whole Foods store, I found a ketchup that I like called “Unsweetened Un-ketchup” by Westbrae. The Whole Foods store brand of canola mayonnaise is sugar-free, and they have a delicious sugar-free whole-wheat bread that they bake there. Also, they carry a line of pasta sauces that are unsweetened and very good. I think the brand name is Mama’s, and it is some old family recipe. top

6. Chicken or Turkey Salad (Liberal)
2 cups cooked and diced chicken or turkey
3/4 cup diced salad olives
1 cup diced sharp cheddar
One med onion diced
2 cups diced raw broccoli
3/4 to 1 cup sugar free mayo or sour cream

Toss together. If it is too dry add a little more dressing. I am a "dump and pour" cook. The above amounts are negotiable. top

7. Bleu Cheese Coleslaw (Liberal)
1/2 cup crumbled Bleu Cheese or Gorgonzola
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Splenda (sucralose)
12 cups shredded cabbage (about one large head)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients except the last two in a blender and beat until smooth. Place shredded cabbage in a bowl and add the dressing. Toss together and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Can be made in advance and should be served cold, so needs at least two hours to chill. top