Salads are the first things that people think of when they want to get healthy. They're packed with fresh ingredients that are good for our skin and digestion. Food is an experience of your senses; taste is obvious but we also get satisfaction through smelling the food as it cooks, it is also a visual experience. Taking the time to create a visually appealing presentation can add a little bit of excitement to our routines. Add some dried herbs to the top of your dinner plate before serving and experiment with different colors. Parsley springs and thin slices of lemon enhance your eating experience. Adding color to you salads is as easy as sliced tomatos topped with black pepper, oregano and a tiny bit of shredded cheese.
Your co-workers will be jealously eyeing your sensory experience while they add lbs to their waistline with their burgers and fries. While crafting your salad here's some things to keep in mind.
Here are some salad tips that will help keep your salads healthy
#1 - Skip the croutons The main ingredients are bread soaked in butter. 1/2 cup of croutons is the equivalent of an entire head of lettuce and serve less nutrition than any of the other vegetables you could potentially add. If you must have something crunchy/salty try adding pinenuts or almonds.
#2 - Skip the Dressing Salad dressings are generally two types cream based such as ranch or creamy Italian or Oil based such as vinaigrettes. Ranch will generally run you about 120 calories per 2 tablespoons and a vinaigrette will be about 80 calories per 2 tablespoons. The best alternative is using cracked red pepper with other herbs such as parsly and oregano and save yourself 200 calories! (come on...like you'd only use 2 tablespoons of salad dressing)
#3 - Never use iceberg lettuce This lettuce might be the most popular and versitile salad staple but it is also the base with the least amount of neutrients. Romane is a slighly better choice with a handfull more of vitamins than iceburg - better choices are baby spinach or mixed greens.
#4 - Grilled > Fried Who would have thought that greased soaked breading on your meats was unhealthy? Well it's an easy choice to make especially if you buy salads. Every restaurant I've been to has the choice of grilled vs. fried. Making this healthy choice will save you about 200 calories!!! That's the equivilent of a bar of chocolate (with a ton more fat). Better choices for protien would be 1 Hardboiled egg (70 calories), 2 Hardboiled egg with no yoke(30 calories), or a personal favorite chickpeas (46 calories, 2.4g of protien and 2.6g of dietary fiber per tablespoon)
#5 - What about cheese? My personal stand on cheese is all things are good in moderation. I love cheese and put it on my salads for a bit extra flavor. It's a better fat to add to a healthy dish than croutons or fried chicken. Use sparingly if at all. One oz is generally 100 calories. I'll use a hard cheese shredded small and use about 1/4-1/2 an oz. Thank god for food scales. It's acutally a lot more than you'd think when it's shedded up. Just don't mix parmesan and balsamic vinegar...it tastes aweful.
Measure Measure Measure - In closing use your best judgement and learn how much you are really eating by weighing your food first. If you want to throw chopped pepperoni and mozzerella cheese on your salad go right ahead but measure it first and figure out how many calories you can afford to cut out. Pepperoni is about 140 calories per oz but lets face facts...if you're torn between making/ordering pizza and throwing the same ingredients in a salad you're better off picking the salad.
Eat what you like - I've heard so many times "I don't like vegetables" I would like to call B S. You just haven't had ones that you like. Be adventurous and don't be afraid to ask at restaurants "What is this green thing?" I discovered a love for capers after having them in a pasta dish at a restaurant...before that in my naivity I believed that capers where small fish.
There are so many flavors out there to experience beyond the deep fried world. Just give them a try you might find something that you love.
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