FreshedOver Healthier Cobb Salad {Win a #FreshOver Prize Pack!} #Ziploc #FreshOver

FreshedOver Healthier Cobb Salad {Win a #FreshOver Prize Pack!} #Ziploc #FreshOver

Recipe: Anne-Marie Nichols’ Classic Cobb Salad

Recipe prepared by: Anne-Marie Nichols, Photo taken by: Anne-Marie Nichols

There’s nothing healthier than a chopped salad that uses lots of vegetables and lean proteins. Unfortunately, the Classic Cobb Salad means well but really is a dietary nightmare. The dish is over the top as it contains three kinds of protein – ham, turkey and egg whites. Six kinds of fat – blue cheese, egg yolks, bacon, avocado, olives and salad dressing (three of them contain saturated fat!) And the only greens are some ice burg or Romaine lettuce and maybe a few cucumber slices.

But I have an alternative that is yummy, healthy and fresh! Inspired by Rachael Ray’s FreshOver Recipe Guide on the Ziploc Facebook page, I “healthed up” the Classic Cobb Salad by using lean proteins like roast turkey or chicken breast or in this case, diced leftover pork sirloin as my kids aren’t big turkey fans and my son, Nathan, hates chicken.

I further “FreshedOver” the recipe by using just egg whites instead of the whole hardboiled egg. I kept the olives, which are healthy, but made sure to use olives packed in brine, not oil. I used reduced fat feta and added more vegetables – cucumbers, a celery/fennel mix, and tomatoes. I eliminated the avocado altogether because even though they’re good for you, they’re high in calories and fat.

Cobb Salads are a great way to use up leftover meats and veggies, so experiment and see what you can add!

Ziploc containers make salad prep easy

A Cobb Salad requires a lot of cutting and chopping of meat and vegetables. Plus you have to hard boil, peel and chop the eggs! However, once you have this recipe prepped, it takes no time at all to serve. So what I did was prep my ingredients the day before and store them in Ziploc VersaGlass Containers in the refrigerator to put together right before dinner time.

What’s so nice about the Ziploc VersaGlass Containers is that they’re attractive enough to use as serving dishes. So instead of preparing a Cobb Salad like I did, you could use them to make a salad bar so everyone could custom-make their own Cobb Salads.

You could also do the same thing in the morning when preparing lunches to take to school or work. Give everyone a Ziploc Brand Twist ’n Loc Container or Ziploc Brand Containers with the Smart Snap Seal and have everyone prepare their own lunchtime salad to go. (Put dressing in extra small Ziploc Brand Containers with the Smart Snap Seal so your lettuce doesn’t get soggy.)

The morning after I made my healthier Cobb Salad, I found my kids making salads for their school lunches with the chopped vegetables and lettuce that were leftover in the Ziploc Brand Containers! “Look Mom, we’re making healthy lunches,” they told me. I’m so proud!

Recipe: Anne-Marie Nichols’ Classic Cobb Salad

Recipe prepared by: Anne-Marie Nichols, Photo taken by: Anne-Marie Nichols

A Healthier Cobb Salad

Based on Quick Cobb Salad with Yogurt Dressing from MyRecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 ounce) container of baby spring mix lettuce
• 2 cups cooked skinless chicken, roast turkey or leftover pork roast
• 4 ounces of reduced fat feta cheese, crumbles
• 4 eggs, hardboiled and peeled
• 1 6 ounce can of pitted black olives, sliced
• 1 cup fennel, finely chopped
• 1 cup celery, fined chopped
• 4 vine ripened tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, seeded and diced
• your favorite low fat, low calorie salad dressing (bottled or homemade)

Directions:

Cut hardboiled eggs in half. Remove and toss yolks. Chop eggs whites and set aside.

Combine chopped fennel and celery in a bowl or Ziploc container and set aside.

Place lettuce on a serving platter. On top of lettuce, arrange meat, feta cheese, egg whites, olives, meat, tomatoes, and cucumber in rows.

Serve salad dressing on the side.

This Mama’s Tips

Double or triple the recipe so you have plenty of leftovers for the week’s lunches and as side salads at dinner.

I like to make additional amounts of the fennel/celery mix. Combine it with hummus, Greek yogurt and seasonings, or a low fat cheese spread and use it in sandwiches, wraps or in pita pockets as a crunchy sandwich spread.

A quick and easy salad dressing is an olive oil vinaigrette. Add two parts of your favorite vinegar (I like balsamic or malt) to one part extra virgin olive oil. Add Italian or garden seasoning and some dried onion or garlic. Shake to combine.

If you like creamy dressings but don’t like the fat or can’t eat dairy products, check out my salad dressing recipes using tofu and more salad dressings that use tofu posts.

Rachael Ray and Ziploc Brand have been so inspiring on my FreshOver journey.

Want a chance to meet Rachael and swap recipes? Find out how on the Ziploc Facebook page!

Win a year’s supply of Ziploc Brand Products!

How to enter to win a Ziploc FreshOver Prize Pack (value $75):

Giveaway closed. Congrats to Carol J.!

In the comments below, tell me your favorite way to make a meal fresh (adding vegetables or fruits etc.).

Spread the word about this giveaway by submitting a link to this post on Twitter for ONE additional entry. You must leave a link to your tweet in your comment so I can check.

Follow @amnichols on Twitter for ONE additional entry.

If you have done any of these additional activities you MUST come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did. I will be checking!

Giveaway starts on March 8, 2012 at noon PST and ends on March 13, 2012 at 5 p.m. PST

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Disclosure: I have partnered with Ziploc® and am being compensated for my posts. However, my opinions on the product are my own.