how to upgrade a salad

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How to upgrade a salad

• Add color beyond just the greens. The more color (for example red pepper, orange carrot, purple cabbage, blue blueberries, etc) you add to a salad, the more diverse nutrient profile you receive. Different colored vegetables and fruit contain different proportions of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.

• Use a variety of different greens beyond the typical romaine or spinach. Arugula, kale, mustard greens, butter lettuce, napa cabbage, escarole. Rotating the greens that you choose offers a slightly different complement of nutrients per respective green for more balanced nutrition while presenting your microbiome with a more diverse offering of dietary fiber.

• Use fresh, homemade dressings— Homemade salad dressings are easy to make and allow you to control the ingredients. Try a balsamic vinaigrette, honey mustard, tahini-based dressing, or a yogurt-based dressing for a healthier option. Many store-bought dressings contain a significant amount of additives, preservatives and sugar just to save you a minute or two to make your own

• Add some textured nutrition. Adding toasted walnuts, cashews or almond or flax and hemp seeds, roasted chickpea can supplement your salad with high quality nutrition while boosting sensory mouth appeal.

• Always include a protein and beneficial fat source for satiation and sense of being filling. Protein and fats often give a meal the base that leaves you satisfied. Some options include grilled chicken, sliced steak, shrimp, tofu, beans, lentils, quinoa, or hard-boiled eggs. Sources of healthy fats could be avocados, nuts  (almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts), seeds (chia seeds, flaxseeds, or sunflower seeds), or a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

• Incorporate fruits. In addition to being great examples for adding color and nutrients to your salad, they also add a whole food source of sweetness, fiber and freshness to salads.

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