Sushi success, salad bars and shredded cheese

We went to a new Chinese restaurant last night and I did gooooooood. I made my plan of attack before we left the house, so when we got there it was very easy to fill my plate with salad and sushi and just skip all the other goodies. This place was more expensive than our usual haunt, but it had such a great salad and fruit bar that I think we'll be back.

Is it just me, or are good salad bars really hard to come by? Even our local Pizza Hut has backed off it's already-too-small salad bar and now it's just a bowl of lettuce a few toppings and some pudding. My middle daughter and I really like a good salad, so I'm always on the lookout for a decent bar. Maybe I'll just have to get better about doing all the salad prep at home. Maybe.

Speaking of salad, does anyone have a FF dressing that they looooove? I have yet to find something that I can handle. I thought about making my own, but I have no clue what I'm doing. I keep thinking that I should just make a vinagrette, but I'm an old-fashioned ranch girl at heart. I'm not sure a skimpy vinegar dressing would do it for me. Do you have any good recipes?

Right now I'm getting ready to enjoy a delicious Core breakfast of a ham, broccoli and cheese omelette. I've found that I like the soy cheese (Veggie Shreds) as long as it's melted in something. I can't stand them as salad toppings though *blech* The other day I melted them under the broiler with brown rice, chicken chunks, broccoli, cauliflower and 98% FF cheddar broccoli soup. Not Core. But really, really, REALLY good. Total comfort food. It's too bad that the shreds are sooooooooo expensive because I could really enjoy them. On second thought, maybe it's better that they cost so much as it'll keep me from eating all the cheesey goodness that helped me get to this weight in the first place.

Salad!!

I totally love a good salad bar but you are right they are very hard to come by anymore. I used to be a ranch girl but I have recently gotten hooked on thousand island. I just water it down a little because it's too thick for me. Here are a few recipes for some dressings. I haven't personally tried them out but everything I have made from this cookbook has been AWESOME!!

Buttermik Basil salad dressing

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

1 teaspoon onion salt

2 garlic cloves minced

Combine the first 6 ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled

1 seving = 2 tablespoons

35 calories

2 g fat

Creamy Buttermilk dressing

1cup reduced fat mayo

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, cover and process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving

1 serving = 2 tablespoons

64 calories

6 g fat

FF Dressing

I'm big into greek cuisine and I found a dressing that's identical (with the exception of fat) in taste that I love!  It's Kraft FF Caesar-Italian dressing.  Love it on a salad with greens, red onion, kalamata olives, red. fat feta cheese, grilled chicken breast and a side of a toasted pita w/ 3T hummus.  The salad is core but the pita and hummes is 3 pts.  I love it!