We 💚 salads around these here parts! Definitely not talking about those plain Jane ones made up of only lettuce, tomato and ranch but the fully loaded salad perfect as a appetizer, side or main dish that feels fulfilling and nourishing.
Here are some tips to make your salads remarkable.
💚Switch up the lettuce or add more than one variety - iceberg lettuce is great texturally but not a superstar when it comes to nutritional value compared to other leafy greens and has little to no flavour. Some greens you can easily add depending on the season; head, romaine, iceberg lettuces, kale, beet greens, spinach, cabbage, Swiss chard, arugula, mach, claytonia, sorrel, mustard, collard greens, micro greens, endives or any of the hundreds of asian greens out there.
💚Raw Veggies are a must to add dimension to any salad. Some of our favourite veg to add is, kohlrabi, carrots either orange or rainbow, celery, red onion, shallots, scallions, radish, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, broccolini, turnips, garlic scapes, fresh herbs and edible flowers.
💚Cooked Veggies - if you are someone that feels hungry after eating a big salad you might want to think about adding cooked veggies into the mix. They will help fill you up and it can be a nice textual difference between raw and cooked veg. Our favourites to add are, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celeriac or celery root, beets, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, broccolini, cauliflower, beans, corn zucchini, or any type of summer or winter squash.
💚Raw fruit can be a game changer when added to salads! They can be harder to get year round and chemical free but when berries and apples are in season here in Alberta we love to add them sliced into salads or create a zippy dressing out of them. Nothing beats a hapsak or raspberry dressing. Of course no taco salad is complete without avocados.
💚Dressings are the key to a great salad. Homemade is always best and they are super simple to make on the fly. Follow the ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar for regular classic vinaigrettes, for asian varieties follow 3 parts oil, 3 parts soya sauce, 1 part vinegar to 1 part sugar or for creamy thick dressing follow the 1 parts oil, 3 parts yogurt / sour cream / mayo to 1 part vinegar. We love adding shallots, garlic, mustard, maple syrup, honey, dried or fresh herbs to any dressing.
💚Toppings are the most underrated and underused aspect of salads. We enjoy making homemade seed and nut mixture out of nutritional yeast, hemp hearts, chia, flax, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds. You can find premade toppings like ours in most grocery stores. Pickled onions or kohlrabi and sauerkraut really add a nice textural element and it helps support your gut health! It also saves you some prep time by utilizing what you have in your pantry or fridge already.
💚Of course you can add cooked eggs, meat of your choice, cheese, tofu, grains, beans and legumes to any and all salads for extra protein to help fill you up and create a complete balanced meal.
Adding salads into an our regular weekly routine has drastically impacted our overall health.
💚In one study, Danish researchers analyzed the data from more than 50,000 people over a 23-year period and found that people who ate just one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables a day had up to a 26 percent lower risk of heart disease.
💚A 2020 review in Nutrients states that dietary fibre intake is associated with positive metabolic health, colonic health and gut motility as well as reductions in cardiovascular disease and decreased risk of colorectal cancer. Only about 5% of Americans meet their daily fibre needs of 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.
