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A Tomato Salad For Tomato Lovers

July 14, 2010   21 Comments

Can you believe those colors? You know how they say to "eat the rainbow". Here is your chance!

Caprese Salad

I guess it looks more an Italian flag than a rainbow. This summertime salad is one of my personal favorites because I love tomatoes.

Someone commented on the Watermelon Feta Salad post that any salad you could do for tomatoes you could do for watermelon. This might be pretty amazing with watermelon too.

But, isn't it going to be a calorific snack with that cheese? The key here is to not put a HONKING slice of mozzarella on your tomatoes. I measured the ingredients very carefully for the 137 calorie recipe and it works.

Think of the cheese as an accent to the tomato. The same thing can be said of the olive oil. At 160 calories a tablespoon, you better be careful how much you drizzle! This salad could easily get out of control (but, I'm not so sure that is a bad thing :)

You should use the freshest mozzarella you can find. They come in little balls packed in water. You find them in the specialty cheese section of your supermarket and they aren't cheap (probably around $5 a ball).

Packaged mozzarella in blocks would not work for this salad, and you should splurge on the good stuff.

I like this salad for lunch, and I would then use more cheese and tomato to make it work. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare and is deeply satisfying now that tomatoes are in season. Hurray!

My kids will eat this salad without the basil. My daughter tried it but it tasted too strongly for her.

Caprese Salad

1/2 tomato
1 ounce fresh mozzarella
5 basil leaves
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomato with a serrated knife into thin slices. Slice mozzarella into thin slices. Alternate tomato, mozzarella, and basil onto plate. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

132 calories, 10.3 g fat, 2.4 g carbohydrates, 7.7 g protein, 0 g fiber, 151 mg sodium, 4 Points+

Please share your favorite tomato recipe.

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 21 )

Hi! I'm curious why packaged mozzarella wouldn't work for the salad. We always make this salad (albeit not always the healthiest way since we're cheese lovers) but I've always used the packaged cheese. Just wondering if it's a taste thing vs an actual issue. :)

I'd also skip the olive oil completely and go with a fat free/low cal salad dressing, such as Kraft Free Italian Dressing or Kraft Light Raspberry Vinaigrette w/evoo. The italian is only 20 cals per 2tbs and the raspberry is 60 per 2tbs.

I'm confused as to how much a serving is. 1/2 of a tomato? How many are there in your photo?

I too like this kind of salad without the basil. Or with only a smidgeon of basil to get the nice aroma without it being overpowering. Caprese salad is a wonderful summertime meal!

Aged Balsamic drizzled over adds another excellent dimension to this salad

We do that recipe all Summer long with the balsamic vinaigrette (it's only 33 calories per tablespoon).

Ken Leebow

http://www.FeedYourHeadDiet.com

I love this salad. Alot of times I will make it with cherry tomatoes that have a lot better flavor (where I am from) and cut up the mozarella in the same size chunks. I also use balsamic. It's our favorite salad. YUM!

The colors of this salad just make me smile :) I agree with everyone who adds balsamic! I really love the bite of the acidic but sweet balsamic...I must confess that my caprese isn't complete until I grate some 'real' parm on it....YUM! Thanks for the recipe!

Hi. I'm a doctor that works with diabetics and obesity, Olive oil is 135 cal per tablespoon (9calx15ml of oil). Olive oil is a BETTER BETTER BETTER choice than Kraft dressings that are NOT natural and mislead us with calorie counting. You know, if you get a 200-250 calories lunch or dinner is OK, what matters most is quality calories. Please don't overdue on calories and exchange for a bad choice like Kraft fat free or light. You need good fats and Olive oil counts for that. Big hug! terrific recipe if you add the balsamic (no calories on it!)

@Maria - thanks for the input! I've lost 65 pounds in 6 months so I'm ok with switching to the light and fat free dressings when I want a different taste! (I'm not a fan of olive oil at all.) :)

Looks wonderful! I have two tomato loving kiddos that are going to flip for that. (and basil and tomatoes growing in the garden)

OH YUM!

Just to clarify - 1/2 tomato will probably yield you about 5 slices - match that with one ounce cheese and you are doing great! Lisa

PS I love the balsamic vinegar idea - yummy!

Erin,

It is just a taste thing. I prefer the really soft squishy mozzarella. Lisa

Someone suggested blue cheese crumbles instead of mozzarella with a drizzle of local California balsamic. They said it was their new favorite way to serve this. I haven't tried this, but I'm going to. Not sure how it would compare calorie wise?

Yum. Caprese style salads are one of my favorite things in the summertime.

i don't really like tomatoes much, but will still give it a try. Though, it will be a tough time for me to find out the rest of the ingredients too.

I do a fun shish-kabob one like this as an appetizer to bring to parties. You take a wooden skewer and cut it in half with wire cutters-the easiest neatest way-trust me! Then you skewer a grape tomato, mini mozz ball, and black olives-I usually make a pattern like black olive, grape tomato, mozz, grape tomato, black olive. They are BEAUTIFUL on a platter and so easy! You need no dressing as the mini mozz come in a little tub in a seasoned oil.

This is a great way to use those 2 t olive oil that Weight Watchers requires daily.

I love this salad so much that I have used then harder mozzarella, and sprinkled dried basil flakes on it in a pinch. It's easy to make from the garden and guests always love it. Try turning it into a panini in the winter so good: two slices hardy grain bread(not too thick if watching weight)spread a little basil pesto or use leaves, some tomato slices with a few sundried tomatoes for some zing(jarred or dried) and light sprinkle of mozzarella. You can brush the outside w/oo but I don't if using pesto (too many cal)

Like Greek woman I suggested you can make this salad with feta cheese and extra virgin olive oil!

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