How is it useful?
Greek salad is a traditional dish of Mediterranean cuisine that has gained considerable popularity. Despite the simplicity of its preparation, it has wonderful taste and is good for our health.
The recipe for this dish includes products such as cucumbers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce. These vegetables are a rich source of dietary fiber and fiber, which are beneficial for digestion. Romaine and Iceberg lettuce leaves contain folic acid, which is involved in the body's synthesis of endorphins - happiness hormones. In ancient times, Romaine lettuce was considered a cure for many ailments. It really has a huge number of useful qualities.
This dish is seasoned with olive oil, which provides our body with vitamin E and other natural antioxidants. Olive oil helps prevent the development of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal diseases. Olive oil is also used to speed up the healing of ulcers, cuts and other injuries.
Olives have a beneficial effect on the condition of the liver, cleanse it and improve its functions.
Greek Feta cheese, made from goat or sheep milk, contains a number of beneficial microorganisms. Of these, it is worth noting bacteria that fight pathogenic agents, for example, listeria - one of the most dangerous bacteria that causes digestive disorders.
Basil, as a spice, has a positive effect on the nervous system and is a natural antiseptic. Basil relaxes muscles, helps get rid of pain in them after heavy exertion, relieve nervous tension, and strengthen memory.
Balsamic vinegar is a natural antioxidant.
How many calories are in Greek salad?
Here's how much:
Let's prepare it with this recipe:
Products:
- Feta - 200 gr. — (580 kcal)
- Tomatoes – 2 pieces – (40 kcal)
- Cucumbers – 1 piece – (19 kcal)
- Bell pepper (yellow) – 1 piece – (27 kcal)
- Onions (preferably red) - 1 piece - (45 kcal)
- Lemon juice (required) - from half a lemon - (8 kcal)
- Olives (pitted) - 80 gr. — (92 kcal)
- Lettuce leaves - 50 g. - (7 kcal)
- Olive oil - 3 tbsp. — (269 kcal)
- Parsley
- Salt and black pepper (ground) - to taste
First - preparing the products. Cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, lemon and lettuce are washed. Lettuce leaves are torn coarsely by hand. Cut sweet peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes coarsely. Cut the onion into half rings, then lightly knead. Feta cheese (you can use feta cheese) is cut into cubes (1x1 cm). Then add the olives. Salt it and pour olive oil over it. Add squeezed lemon juice to the salad and mix lightly.
To give the dish a beautiful appearance, you don’t have to stir the dish, but lay out the chopped components of the dish in parts.
Based on the posted recipe:
The calorie content of Greek salad with cheese and butter, per 100 grams, is:
Diet salad recipes
Eating salads cannot be called a mono-diet. A huge number of components makes it possible to create delicious culinary masterpieces and diversify your diet while losing weight. Don't be afraid to experiment.
We, in turn, would like to share several recipes for the most common dietary salads.
Vegetable salad for weight loss
The simplest dietary salad can be prepared from three hundred grams of ordinary cabbage, one cucumber, three tomatoes, fifty grams of lettuce and good bunches of onions, parsley and dill. Cut cabbage, vegetables and herbs. The dressing for this salad is lemon juice or a small amount of vegetable oil.
For added effectiveness, add a thinly chopped celery stalk.
Light diet salad
Another version of a vegetable salad that helps you lose weight consists of tomato, cucumber, and bell pepper, taken one piece at a time. Cut all vegetables into small slices. Season the dish with lemon juice and olive oil. Add a bunch of green onions.
This salad is prepared very quickly and can not only satisfy your hunger, but also give you a boost of necessary energy.
Diet cucumber salad
A light and fresh cucumber salad will help remove toxins and normalize metabolism in the body.
To prepare, you will need four medium cucumbers, a bunch of parsley or dill, olive oil and lemon juice. Cut the washed cucumbers into thin slices, sprinkle with juice, pour in oil and sprinkle with herbs.
Vitamin carrot salad
Take one large carrot (about two hundred grams), a green apple, 4 lettuce leaves, a tablespoon of lemon juice, some raisins and olive oil. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the apples into strips. Place the mixture on a lettuce leaf, drizzle with dressing and garnish with raisins. The energy value of the dish is about 230 kcal per 100 grams.
Salad for weight loss with celery
Celery helps speed up metabolism, cleanse the body of toxins and saturate it with vitamins. The product actively fights fat deposits and is indispensable for weight loss. Celery has a specific taste. Fortunately, this problem is easy to solve with the right recipe.
For a celery salad, take a couple of stalks of this vegetable, one carrot, two apples, 50 grams of low-fat yogurt and a few sprigs of rosemary. Cut the celery into thin slices, the apples into cubes, and grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Pour yogurt over the salad and add rosemary.
Delicious diet salad with tomatoes and cheese
To prepare the dish, take a couple of ripe tomatoes, two heavy grapefruits, two hundred grams of soft cheese, fifty grams of olives, a tablespoon of lemon juice, some herbs and olive oil. Cut vegetables, herbs and cheese, season with juice and oil.
Diet green bean salad
This salad will please those who cannot satisfy their hunger with a standard set of vegetables. Green beans will cope with this task perfectly and at the same time thoroughly cleanse the intestines.
Take 350 grams of green beans, a couple of medium carrots, one sweet pepper and one red onion. Scald the green beans with boiling water or simmer briefly in a frying pan. Instead of oil, use a mixture of soy sauce and clean water. Grate the carrots, cut the onions and peppers into thin half rings. Combine all the ingredients and enjoy the excellent taste of a healthy salad.
Diet salad with chicken fillet
Salad with boiled chicken fillet will balance your diet well.
You will need one bell pepper, a couple of medium cucumbers, a small bunch of arugula, four cherry tomatoes, two hundred grams of boiled chicken fillet, a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice and a little olive oil. Chop the vegetables and poultry, divide the arugula into leaves, season with juice and oil. This salad is higher in calories, so don’t overload it. The energy value of the dish is about 216 kcal per 100 grams.
Spicy weight loss salad with chicken
This salad will please any gourmet.
You will need two small cucumbers, one sweet pepper, one hundred grams of boiled chicken fillet, a third of a glass of soy sauce and a couple of cloves of garlic. Chop the poultry and vegetables, pour in soy sauce, which you previously mixed with grated garlic.
Diet salad with pineapples and chicken
We think that many housewives have chicken salad with pineapple in their arsenal of holiday dishes and are currently wondering how it can be dietary. It's simple, the recipe we offer is based on the use of healthy fresh pineapple and, of course, without mayonnaise.
Take a ripe fresh pineapple, cut it into cubes, add slices of two apples, a bunch of greens and 200 grams of chopped boiled fillet, tear a few lettuce leaves. As a dressing, you can use low-fat yogurt or olive oil in small quantities.
Dietary seaweed salad
Sea kale is known for its cleansing effect and high content of so useful and irreplaceable iodine.
To create a delicious dish, mix two hundred grams of seaweed and three hundred grams of boiled lean fish fillet, the whites of 2 boiled eggs, an onion cut into thin half rings and two tablespoons of olive oil.
Dietary pike perch salad
A salad of two hundred grams of boiled pike perch fillet, one sweet pepper, leek and two tomatoes will help add variety to the diet. You can dress the salad with low-fat yogurt or sour cream.
Dietary seafood salad
Oddly enough, a hearty seafood salad will also help you lose a few pounds. The main rule is not to eat it for days. This dish should be alternated with simple vegetable salads.
To prepare you will need two hundred grams of peeled shrimp, a squid carcass, 50 grams of hard low-fat cheese, one cucumber and herbs. Boil the shrimp and place the squid in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Remember, if the latter is kept in hot water, it will become rough and tasteless. Slice cucumbers, cheese and herbs, boiled squid and shrimp. Combine the ingredients and add soy sauce. You can sprinkle the salad with lemon juice.
Greek salad for weight loss:
If you are a fan of Greek cuisine, primarily their most famous dishes, then you should be interested in the Greek salad diet. It gives excellent results, but at the same time it cannot be classified as a mono-diet, because the diet is balanced and provides our body with at least a minimum of all the necessary vitamins and microelements. In addition, this diet contains enough protein, so it does not affect muscle tone. But carbohydrates are limited in the system, especially fast ones. Instead, you will eat a lot of fiber that is beneficial for your figure.
Any low-carb nutrition system gives excellent results, because we gain weight not from fat, as many people think, but from carbohydrates. It is this component of food that becomes the main source of energy. The glucose we get from carbohydrates powers many biological processes. The problem is that due to bad eating habits, the average person's diet usually contains too many carbohydrates. Our body receives more energy from them than it needs, so part of the “fuel” goes into reserve and accumulates in the form of fat cells.
The classic version of Greek salad does not use rich sources of carbohydrates. However, this is not to say that this nutrient is not present at all. Vegetables are also a source of carbohydrates, but only slow and difficult to digest. The energy from such food enters the body gradually, creating a long-lasting feeling of fullness and giving us strength for various daily activities.
In addition to healthy carbohydrates, this dish also contains healthy fats. They are extremely necessary when losing weight. Fats are largely responsible for human health. This especially applies to the female half of the population. Without healthy polyunsaturated fats, hair, nails and even skin suffer greatly, and the reproductive cycle is disrupted.
However, the diet places greater emphasis on proteins, especially of animal origin. They have a lot of connective tissue, due to which such food is digested more slowly. The result is a prolonged feeling of satiety and a general reduction in caloric intake.
Preparing vegetables and fruits for diet salad, cooking methods
The main component of salads for weight loss is a variety of vegetables and fruits with low sugar content. However, despite the high fiber content that makes you feel full, eating plant foods alone as a diet is not enough. If you are not a vegetarian, then your body will probably endure severe stress without receiving the necessary amino acids. That is why dietary salads are supplemented with protein foods: poultry, lean meat and cheese, fish, egg whites. In addition, these products will help diversify the composition of salads, which will greatly increase the chances of successfully maintaining the diet to the end.
Let's return to vegetables and fruits. We think there is no need to remind you that for dietary salads, the products must be exclusively fresh. Forget canning. If you are not the proud owner of your own vegetable garden or orchard, do not forget to properly process the fruits before consumption. Beautiful, custom-made vegetables and fruits that come from exotic countries are unlikely to please your body with vitamins. On the contrary, by consuming people from Ecuador you can at least get cellulite, or even worse. Unfortunately, domestic manufacturers cannot boast of a 100% absence of chemicals in their products. Therefore, before starting to prepare a diet salad, soak vegetables and fruits in clean water for half an hour. You can scald vegetables with boiling water and remove the skins, where most of the toxins accumulate. Some people suggest boiling the fruits. However, in this case they lose all their vitamin value. Salads made from boiled vegetables are unbalanced. As a result, such a diet will only bring you fatigue, malaise and disappointment.
It is also worth mentioning that salads for weight loss are called dietary for a reason. Such dishes should contain only low-calorie foods. It is worth excluding potatoes, legumes, yolks, and fatty meat. Use nuts with great care. They are certainly healthy, but they also contain high fat content. Don't forget to count calories, the daily norm of which is 1500 kcal. You should not add more than one high-calorie component to the salad.
Lemon juice, low-fat sour cream, kefir or yogurt, olive or sunflower oil in minimal quantities, vinegar, preferably apple, and naturally fermented soy sauce are ideal as salad dressings.
Try to avoid consuming salt and various spices. Seasonings only increase the feeling of hunger, and salt will not allow you to get rid of excess liquid.
There are several schemes for consuming dietary salads for weight loss. This dish can replace dinner or several meals. It will be especially effective to eat salads alone during the week. However, with this diet, do not forget to diversify the salads themselves by adding protein components. Another diet option would be to eat a salad before the main course.
