How do you use a food processor?

[FrankW]

I bought a food processor to make healthy chopped salads and my first one was a disaster. I put in greens, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, sunflower seeds and fat free cottage cheese and ended up with an unappetizing sludge. Almost like something you'd find under the sink! It's my first time using one of these things so i'm sure i messed up something simple. I pulsed it for maybe 20 seconds tops starting and stopping and checking progress.

My guess is that maybe i shouldn't have put the cottage cheese in. Maybe i should have mixed that in by hand afterwards.

Any ideas? Also, is there special order to putting in the veggies when making chopped salad?

[grace111]

your right about not putting the cottage cheese in. do you know how use utube as you can always check it out there and actually see someone doing it. love grace xoxo

[FrankW in reply to grace111]

I had a feeling but i wanted to get some confirmation before i wasted another container of vegetables. Good tip about youtube. I'll check it out.

[andyswarbs]

btw I find a bread knife works best for shredding cabbage.

[TheAwfulToad]

Why not just eat the salad as-is?

Food processors are usually only good for blitzing things to a pulp. The chop function never seems to work. If you want it all diced up, there's really no substitute for good knife technique!

youtube.com/watch?v=G-Fg7l7...(Not working as expected?)

Incidentally I'd just use proper cottage cheese, not the fake low-fat one. Otherwise you've literally got no useful energy in your salad; you'll feel hungry 20 minutes later (when your body catches up with the fact that you've just given it nothing but water and protein) and you'll end up raiding the cookie jar.

[FrankW in reply to TheAwfulToad]

My problem with using the knife is that it costs me too much in band aids! I'm limiting my intake of salt, sugar and fat so i don't want to use real cottage cheese. I've been able to do well with not snacking on junk. I'll grab an apple or an orange if i feel hungry.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to FrankW]

well, don't limit things for no good reason: the only likely result is that you'll be undernourished and grouchy

I would encourage you to read up on the physiology of salt and fat. Dietary fat isn't junk - it's a critical macronutrient that has a role in satiety. It's a bit more nuanced than "salt gives you high blood pressure and fat makes you fat" - those things are true only under a very specific combination of circumstances. Nothing wrong with apples or oranges per se, but if you feel the need to snack on them, you're not eating enough proper food.

Anyway, just think of all that time spent cleaning the wretched blender when you could be practicing your knife skills! The trick, paradoxically, is to have a very sharp knife, because you're not putting so much pressure on things and it's less likely to slip, and keep your fingers tucked under so only the nails are presented to the knife.

[FrankW in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I do agree that it's a lot more complex than people make it out to be. I also don't subscribe to the "salt gives you high blood pressure" myth. When i was 305 pounds and pouring massive amounts of salt on my food, my blood pressure was high, but only slightly. It should have been through the roof if the salt myth was true. I also believe that sugar does a lot more towards leading to obesity than fat. No, i'm limiting those things because it's an addiction to salt, sugar and fat which leads to the standard American diet (or SAD), which IS unhealthy. So, i'm training myself to enjoy more healthy foods. I do have eggs in the morning with a toasted slice of Ezekiel bread with unsalted butter so i'm still getting in some good fats and for sodium, i've found that hitting the maximum recommended amount is way easier than i thought - even by eating low sodium stuff i still get more than i need with it's prevalance in all foods. BTW, so far my wife has said my mood has improved. We'll see what happens in the long run.

[Agoodenough]

I did this once. Got excited about my new blender and put in a load of vegetables thinking I’d end up with a coleslaw consistency and ended up with cold soup lol. My advice is to use your blender for something else. Do you have a mandolin or a very sharp knife. Or if it has a slicing mode just use it for carrots and cabbage etc. Anything soft like cottage cheese, cucumber or tomatoes won’t work in a blender. Good luck! I’ve got into making different salads at the moment too, I love salad! 👍😁

Ali 🌱

[deejames]

I would never use a processor for chopping salad ingredients. Much too wet and soft. A knife and a chopping board means that sizes can be different and you end up with chunks of food.

Dee

[FrankW]

I tried it again today without the cottage cheese and it worked pretty well. I did add some roasted chicken breast and some spices. I put some balsamic vinegar on it and i thought it tasted great.

[Hidden]

Good for you Frank... keep experimenting.

I am with you concerning knives. . . It's just safer to keep them in the drawer.

[Diana]

Food processors the mini ones are fab fir mincing garlic, onions and other stuffs, the bigger processors do have shredding or grating options too