A Chef’s Salad is my staple lunch - lettuces, tiny tomatoes, cucumber slices, with some chopped meat, a little pepperoni, a hard-boiled egg, some grated cheese. Sometimes I add marinated mushrooms, maybe a few beet slices.
I normally use those bottled, low-carb, refrigerated dressings like Marie’s and Marzetti’s; but am trying to get away from the oils in them, and make my own from olive oil.
People who aren’t used to salad as a meal might be surprised as to how enjoyable and filling even a small Chef’s Salad can be.
I love Marie’s blue cheese dressing. I could probably eat it from the jar with a spoon! :)
FWIW, making your own vinaigrette is super easy once you get used to it. My base is half a cup each of vinegar and olive oil, a teaspoon of salt, and a dash of sugar or other sweetener to tame the sharpness (you can do without sugar, but I’m not really low-carbing and prefer a smoother flavor). It’s fun to play with different vinegars and herbs, but easiest for me is extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, a heaping teaspoon of brown or Dijon mustard, and some garlic powder.
Last night I did a pasta salad for dinner. Chopped and browned bulk sausage for the protein, used arugula and radicchio, plus many colored cherry tomatoes.