I am on a calorie deficit plan to lose some weight to stave off some recent health concerns. I am not much of a cook or meal planner, but if I am to succeed, I have to find meals that are not just nutritionally dense but also easy to make. I saw a similar salad on social media so I decided to make it today since I had all the ingredients.
Pretty simple.
Salad: thin or ribbon cut cucumbers(3 medium) and carrots(1 large). I used a vegetable peeler.
Green onion, if you like them. I used the white and green parts since I love onions.
Dressing: 2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chopped garlic (I used the jar kind)
1 tsp chopped ginger(again, the jar kind)
salt, pepper, MSG (yes, I have eaten it all my life but leave it out if you want)
1 tsp honey, agave, monk fruit, maple syrup–what ever you have. I used honey.
Shake it all up and pour over salad stuff.
Let this sit for about 5 minutes. When you are ready, add chicken or a protein you like. I used chicken tenders that I always have cooked and ready to go in the fridge.
Sprinkle on sesame seeds and/or peanuts. I did both. Oh, and I like a bit of spice so I also used red pepper flakes.
Yummy and filling.
To complete my lunch within my calorie budget, I’ll have a slice of melon and a cheese stick a bit later. My dinner will be larger so I am planning for that.
I love ribbon salad! Have you tried a spiralizer? OMG, it is so fun for carrots & beets especially!
Sometimes I used date soak water or even the blended soaked dates for sweetness. I also have yacon & lucuma powders, they are really nice.
Looks good! Last summer we went through a spiralized zucchini phase. These kind of salads are so nice and fresh in summer.
AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
4
I do have a couple of Spiralizers and a cookbook…thanks for the reminder!
I have just read about the benefits of dates. There are a lot of them. I can have up to three large ones a day! I didn’t think about using them as a sweetener! I do have to eat them with a protein to slow done the sugar from spiking my glucose.
@Immaculata Yes–that is why I got the spiralizer. We had a glut of zucchinis one year and I made so many dishes! I recently made ground chicken and zucchini meatballs that were delicious as a main meal and as a snack. I made a low cal/carb curry sauce with Greek yogurt!
Cream cheese filled dates are one of my favourite snacks.
We used to eat the spiralized zucchini with cherry tomatoes and chicken in a creamy pesto sauce.
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AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
6
I made a similar dish!
I don’t think cream cheese fits into my calorie deficit right now so I just stuff an almond inside. I will double check, because that sounds delicious and it can’t be more calories than almonds! WOO-HOO–about the same calories!
I have been adding zoodles to rice bowls, they are so nifty.
Medjool dates opened up and sticky side tapped into cocoa powder then stuffed with nuts are the best truffles ever.
