Lettuce

Phyllo-wrapped goat cheese gives this salad served at Un Grand Café in Chicago, Illinois, an elegant touch.

Use leftover cooked chicken, or buy a cooked chicken at the market or a take-out place. Serve the salad with warm tortillas, or try the chicken mixture (without the lettuce) as a sandwich filling.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve this quick stir-fry with rice.

The combination of herbs, the rice noodles, and the garlicky lime sauce mark this pasta salad as Vietnamese.

Variations of this salad are often served on Christmas Eve in both old and New Mexico.

For the following salad, you may prepare the dressing and lettuce early in the day so they can be tossed together just before serving.

The seafood is cooked in lime juice and fish sauce, making this oil-free salad perfect for a low-fat lunch.

Called pho in Vietnam, this unusual soup is a wonderful party centerpiece dish for an informal gathering. Start out by supplying everyone with a large soup bowl and a ladle. Place the soup tureen in the middle of the table. Have each guest take a generous helping of noodles first, then some meat and broth. Each serving is topped off with shredded lettuce, sliced green onion and a squeeze of lemon juice.

(MIXED SALAD)

The traditional apple, walnut and chopped celery salad is updated with a yogurt and low-fat mayonnaise citrus dressing, pine nuts and Cajun seasoning.

Tangy Irish cheddar or Cashel, an Irish blue cheese, is ideal for this typical main-course pub salad; you can substitute English cheddar or French Roquefort. Thick slices of buttered soda bread and some raisin tarts could round out the menu.

Called tzatziki in Greece, this yogurt sauce can also be used on a baked potato as a nonfat alternative to sour cream. To prevent the pita bread in this recipe from getting soggy, place the trimmed portion of the bread down into the pocket to act as a sponge for the lamb drippings and yogurt.