You’ve seen me do it before: ditch the lettuce.
One way to incorporate spiralized veggies into your diet is by treating them like lettuce, which, is obviously way more exciting.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a big, fluffy salad, but I mean, wouldn’t you rather eat pasta over lettuce?
When I first starting making salads, I only used romaine lettuce. I feel like romaine lettuce is the gateway into the fabulous worlds of salads. Romaine lettuce is in taco salads at Chipotle, the base of the most popular Caesar salad and iceberg lettuce it’s typically the main option at salad bars.
Soon after my love for building giant salads began, I read somewhere about the nutritional value of romaine lettuce versus other, greener lettuces. Basically, there isn’t quite as big of a nutritional bang for your bank.
A wise person once told me – the darker the green, the more nutritionally dense. Think kale and spinach – there’s a reason Popeye loved spinach so much!
I try to eat kale, spinach, arugula and other darker lettuces when I’m making salads, unless the salad flavors all for a romaine (ie a chopped salad works best with romaine lettuce because the lettuce is stiffer.)
Anywho, now, after Inspiralized, I ditch the lettuce and use spiralized veggies instead – like here, with this lobster Cobb salad!
Using zucchini noodles instead of lettuce makes the meal less salad-y, more fun to eat and packs the nutritional benefits of zucchinis (ie dietary fiber and lots of folates.)
One more note – don’t be intimidated by the lobster. You can grab pre-cooked lobster at most grocery stores or, as you’ll see in the recipe instructions, it’s easy to cook lobster! If you’re still afraid, make this a regular Cobb salad, no lobster. Or, use some chopped chicken or if you want to stick with the seafood vibe, top it with some jumbo lump crab meat.
Regardless of what type of Cobb you turn this dish into, it won’t disappoint.
No more soggy salads, make yours #inspiralized.
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers PointsPlus*: 11 points
*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers PointsPlus® calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.
No-Lettuce Lobster Cobb Salad with Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 raw lobster tails about 10oz each (you could also buy this pre-cooked and skip the first step in this recipe, FYI)
- 2 strips of turkey bacon I like Applegate!
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 ear of corn shucked
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 avocado pitted and peeled
- 1 boiled egg
- freshly cracked pepper to garnish
- For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon country dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Fill a pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the lobster tails and cook for 8 minutes. Drain into a colander and remove the meat from the tails, chop, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, on another burner, place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Once heated, add in the bacon and cook until crispy, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- While the lobster and bacon cook, peel and spiralize the zucchinis with Blade D. Trim the noodles and set aside, dividing into two bowls (these will be what you eat the salad from, so pick a wide pasta or salad bowl.)
- Once the lobster is done, refill the same pot halfway with water and place the corn and a pinch of salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 2-3 minutes or until the corn is fork-tender. Remove, drain into a colander and once cool enough to handle, shave the kernels off the cob and set aside.
- While the corn cooks, prepare the rest: quarter the cherry tomatoes, crumble the cooked bacon, slice (or dice) the avocado, and quarter the boiled egg. Set everything aside.
- Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a food processor and pulse until creamy. Taste and adjust if necessary. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Now, it’s time to assemble your salads! Top the zucchini noodle bowls evenly with cherry tomatoes, bacon, corn, avocado, boiled egg and lobster. Drizzle the bowls with the dressing and serve with freshly cracked pepper.
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