August 13, 2022

Padding out salads

It has been hot here in the UK this weekend, and so I didn’t feel like cooking much. I could smell BBQs in the gardens around me which was probably served with salad. We eat a lot of salad in the summer, and grow most of our own in pots and mushroom trays. I re-sow lettuce and mixed leaves every 6 weeks so that we have a constant supply. I have noticed that the price of some salad staples has really increased in the supermarket this year. Cucumbers were 79p each last week, and tomatoes around the same price, these ingredients being nearly double what they were last year. To save money, and bring some variety to my salads, I add whatever I have in the house or garden to them. This not only makes the salads more interesting, but can increase the nutrition as well.

Here are some examples:-

  1. Add apple to your salad, but put some lemon juice on it when chopped to stop it going brown.
  2. Grate in some carrot.
  3. Add some fresh peas or pea shoots.
  4. Add some cooked beetroot.
  5. Add some sliced onions
  6. Add sliced mushrooms
  7. Add cooked potatoes
  8. Add some cooked chick peas.
  9. Add some strawberries (my favourite)
  10. Add spinach
  11. Add nuts eg pistachio, walnuts, almonds or peanuts
  12. Add seeds eg chia seeds or pumpkin seeds
  13. Add dried fruit like cranberries, sultannas or apricots
  14. Add mango or pineapple
  15. Add cooked kidney beans or other types of beans including green beans. We had some young broad beans yesterday which were lovely.
  16. Add raw bean sprouts
  17. Add grains like barley, rice or quinoa
  18. Add herbs like corriander, mint or parsley.
  19. Add foraged leaves like sorrel or young dandelion.
  20. Add berries.
  21. Add cheese
  22. Add crisps or tortillas chips.
  23. Add peppers and chillies
  24. Add avocado
  25. Add edible garden or wild flowers.
  26. Add left over roasted vegetables
  27. Add hard boiled eggs.
  28. Add any left over cooked meat, ham, chicken, beef etc
  29. Add cold cooked bacon or left over cooked sausage.
  30. Add sea food eg a few defrosted prawns from the freezer.
  31. Pommegranite seeds and fennel are a lovely combination
  32. Add fresh or defrosted corn on the cob kernels.
  33. Add torfu
  34. Add olives and cooked pasta
  35. Add celery
  36. Add grated courgette(this is really helping with my glut).
  37. Add slices of orange.
  38. Add croutons of diced toast.
  39. Add pickles.

There are a lot of other ingredients that you can add too, as well as a simple dressing from some olive oil, vinegar and fruit juice. Adding things like nuts, fish, meat and beans increases the protein in your meal, and the grains, pasta and potato help fill you up and give you energy. During the summer we have a salad every day, and this is from what I find in the garden, left overs, foraged items and items from the cupboard. The salads are always different and so we don’t get bored. What do you like to put in your salads?

Padding out salads.

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15 Comments

  1. Supriya Kutty May 22, 2024 at 1:24 pm - Reply

    It’s great to have practical tips on how to make salads more filling and satisfying without breaking the bank. I love the suggestions for adding hearty ingredients like grains, beans, and proteins to turn a simple salad into a complete meal. The advice is practical and easy to implement, making it accessible for anyone looking to eat healthier on a budget.

    • ToniG May 23, 2024 at 6:38 am - Reply

      I am glad that you like the article. When I was young a salad from my parents was just lettuce, tomato, and cucumber with some pickles. Since having to be frugal I have become more adventurous naturally to find ways of eating healthily from my garden or from the fridge, cupboards and freezer. I appreciate you commenting. Thanks

  2. Pauline Mackay-Danton June 7, 2024 at 2:16 pm - Reply

    Such lovely ideas! I love when it’s salad season and so much of it is home grown too

  3. Sarah peacock June 7, 2024 at 2:23 pm - Reply

    Thank you for these lovely ideas. I’m always stuck when it comes to salad.

  4. Karan Fowler June 7, 2024 at 5:56 pm - Reply

    Great ideas to pad out a salad, I like fruit in mine as I like sweet and savoury together

  5. Amanda Dobson June 7, 2024 at 6:55 pm - Reply

    Thank you for another really informative post Toni. I remember my mothers idea of salad. A bit of lettuce, a tomato and a few slices of cucumber with salad cream. I love adding lots of fermented foods such as carrot sticks or orange sauerkraut. At the moment we have lots of radishes which are adding lovely crunch.

    • ToniG June 12, 2024 at 9:12 am - Reply

      I am just coming on board with fermenting as I know it is good for you, but am just getting used to the taste. Yes I think we all remember those salads from our childhoods. I used to hate salad and then went to a salad bar in a pizza place in London when I was in my 20s and it changed my eating habits in summer. Thanks for sharing

  6. Angela Carmody June 7, 2024 at 8:07 pm - Reply

    A salad when I was young was always lettuce, cucumber and tomato and occasionally spring onions or beetroot. I used leaves more than lettuce as they are easy to grow. I often make my own mayonnaise which always turns out difference as I sometimes put mustard in and nuts and apple. I sometimes make potato salad. I grow pea shoots and harvest them a few times, then put them in a pot and grow into pea plants.I grow various size cucumbers as I much prefer home grown ones to tasteless shop ones. I sometimes have tinned fish or cold meat or even make a quiche. The last one I tried Toni’s base idea of using a tortilla and we really liked it.

    • ToniG June 12, 2024 at 9:09 am - Reply

      Thanks for sharing your salads. We don’t like mayonnaise but I understand it is easy to make as Mr S makes it for guests. I am glad that your quiche worked out well. It is so simple making a quiche that way isn’t it?

  7. Talis June 7, 2024 at 9:10 pm - Reply

    Some lovely ideas I love fruit in mine as well. Also lots of herbs,homemade grown in with a salad dressing homemade. Will definitely be doing some more of these in the coming months. Thanks for sharing.x

    • ToniG June 12, 2024 at 9:07 am - Reply

      Yes I am a big fan of having fruit in my salad. Even dried fruit. Thanks for commenting.

  8. Julie Barton June 7, 2024 at 9:13 pm - Reply

    I love either olives or grapes added to my salad as well as grated carrots
    Lovely blog Toni thank you so much for the inspiration

    • ToniG June 12, 2024 at 9:06 am - Reply

      No worries. Thanks for sharing your ideas too

  9. Marina Kaplais June 8, 2024 at 6:25 pm - Reply

    Some new ideas there for me…like others i grew up with lettuce,tomatos and cucumber and that was basically it. So boring. Thanks Toni

    • ToniG June 12, 2024 at 9:04 am - Reply

      No worries. Thanks for commenting

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