Salad meets antipasto in this colorful, bursting with flavor, main course salad. I love having a big salad for dinner. It also works great as a side salad for a gathering. I’ve made it much skinnier by substituting reduced-fat salami instead of regular and using artichoke hearts packed in water, instead of oil. In addition, it’s chock full of veggies and tossed in a light dressing. This glorious salad has 236 calories and 10 grams of fat including the dressing and cheese, and 6 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients for Salad:
1 bag romaine lettuce
1 bag spring mix
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1½ cups cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup red onions, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
½ cup artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained, rinsed and quartered
¾ cup (3 oz) reduced-fat salami, cut in half and sliced thin, see shopping tips
⅓ cup peperoncini, rinsed, stemmed and chopped, optional
Ingredients for Dressing:
½ cup Cardini’s Light Caesar Vinaigrette, Girard’s Champagne Vinaigrette or Girard’s Balsamic Vinaigrette, see shopping tips
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
Ingredients for Topping:
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, add the lettuces. Next, add all the remaining salad ingredients. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
2. When ready to serve, add the dressing, vinegar and toss well. Divide salad on each plate. Top each salad with 1 tablespoon cheese.
Makes 6 main course salads or 12 side salads
Food Fact
The word antipasto is an Italian word meaning ‘before the meal.’ It’s usually a course of appetizers consisting of an assortment of foods such as olives, anchovies, sliced sausage, peppers and artichoke hearts.
Shopping Tips
Most large supermarkets sell reduced-fat salami in the deli section or luncheon meat section of the market. I used a brand called Columbus Lite Italian Dry Salame.
Peperoncini’s can be found in a jar in the pickle and olive section. They’re available whole or already sliced. Store leftover jar in the refrigerator. Peperoncini’s add flavor to salads and sandwiches.
Cardini’s Light dressings are sold in most large supermarkets. If you can’t find them, Girard’s Champagne Vinaigrette, Girard’s Balsamic Vinaigrette or Newman’s Own Light Balsamic dressing will all taste delicious on this salad.
Substitution Tip
You can make this salad vegetarian by omitting the salami and using Ives meatless salami. It’s a tasty soy based luncheon meat substitute. Ives products are sold in many supermarkets and health food markets, along with Trader Joe’s.
Serving Tip
This salad makes a wonderful main course meal. It’s also terrific as a side salad to serve with my recipe for Skinny Chili Italiano.
WEIGHT WATCHERS (OLD POINTS) 5
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS 6
SKINNY FACTS: for 1 main course salad including dressing and cheese
236 calories, 10g fat, 12g protein, 24g carbs, 4g fiber, 946mg sodium, 6g sugar
FAT FACTS: for 1 full fat salad including dressing and cheese
445 calories, 30g fat, 13g protein, 33g carbs, 4g fiber, 1560mg sodium, 4g sugar
Nancy Fox
Nancy Fox is no stranger to the food industry. She founded Mrs. Beasley's, a gift-basket company featuring baskets full of decadent baked goods. It became the "hot" gift to give among the Hollywood community. Nancy later opened 2 low fat restaurants called Nancy’s Healthy Kitchen. Her line of reduced-fat cookies were featured on "Oprah's Favorites" gift show. Continuing her passion for cooking and baking Nancy created a recipe website called Skinny Kitchen. Each week she shares skinny recipes, cooking and kitchen tips, food finds and the healthy benefits of many recipes. There’s also nutritional facts and Weight Watchers POINTS on each recipe.
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Cathy Chester
Tuesday 24th of March 2015
This looks absolutely delicious (of course) Nancy. It could be a lovely lunch or perhaps a side dish for dinner. Whichever one we choose I know it will be wonderful!