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A Dietitian's Favorite No-Cook Dinner Recipe for Weight Loss

This salad recipe is delicious, packed with nutrients, and seamless to whip up.

Two pitfalls of staying on a steady weight-loss journey include getting bored with your food rotation and running out of ideas on what to prepare. Don't stress because we're here to save the day with a dietitian's no-cook dinner recipe for weight loss.

The best thing about no-cook recipes? They're seamless to whip up during busy weeks. With this recipe at your fingertips, you can pick up everything you need when you're grocery shopping and will be prepared to pull it together.

This no-cook Nicoise salad is chock-full of healthy ingredients.

Nicoise salad
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Not only is this Nicoise salad yummy, but it's also extremely healthy for those who are looking to lose weight.

Per salad: 626 calories, 36 g fat (7 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 600 mg sodium, 37 g carbs (15 g fiber, 11 g sugar), 45 g protein

"Nicoise salad is one of my favorite no-cook dinner recipes [to] make in a pinch with ingredients you likely already have in your fridge and pantry," says Laura Burak MS, RD, the founder of GetNaked® Nutrition and author of Slim Down with Smoothies. "All you need is a bed of any raw greens and veggies and top with sliced hard-boiled eggs, canned Italian tuna, rinsed cannellini beans, jarred marinated artichoke hearts, avocado, and olives."

Burak boasts, "In minutes, you have a delicious blood-sugar balancing, light [and] nutritious dinner meal that doesn't even require turning on the stove!"

Here's what you'll need and how to prepare it:

Nicoise salad
Shutterstock

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups washed greens
  • 2 sliced hard-boiled eggs
  • 1/4 diced avocado
  • 2 ounces Italian tuna in oil
  • 4 olives
  • 1/4 cup rinsed cannellini beans
  • 4 quartered jarred artichokes
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • squeeze of lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste

Toss the above ingredients together in a large salad bowl. As for the dressing, you can use the artichoke heart marinade, or drizzle your salad with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

What makes this Nicoise salad beneficial for weight loss?

canned tuna in bowl
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Burak shares, "This recipe includes a stellar variety of nutritious whole foods because there are two great sources of lean protein in the eggs and tuna, fiber and antioxidants from the veggies, beans, and avocado, and heart-healthy fats from the olive oil and olives. The combo of these foods will keep your blood sugar stable and keep you full and satisfied to prevent after-dinner snacking. The high-protein, low-carb dish is light and healthy for your last meal of the day, and when you keep it light at night, this is key for weight loss.

We'll be right back—off to prepare our own Nicoise salad!

Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa
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