Traditionally salads were known to be
prepared of only raw vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage and onion
which are cut into slices and sprinkled with a pinch of salt and lemon. They
were either served as the smallest portion among the other food items in the
meal plate or totally ignored.
Hey folks, if you have also been
doing the same, it’s now time to change.
But, let me first tell you the
importance of having salads which will definitely lead you to start having
salads with your meals. You can also be very creative in making your salad
colorful, tasty, crunchy, balanced, appealing to eat and obviously healthy.
Why salads?????
· Starting your meals with a bowl of
salad will help you attain weight loss. Not a joke, it’s true because salads
are low in calories, high in fiber and rich in other nutrients. Fiber helps you
feel full making you eat, the remaining meal less and ultimately lose weight.
· Eating a high fiber salads aids in
lowering cholesterol and also is known to prevent constipation.
-Eating a little good fat (like the
monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, avocado and nuts) with your vegetables
in salads appears to help your body absorb protective phyto-chemicals
(known to protect against cancer and heart disease), like lycopene from
tomatoes and lutein from dark green vegetables.
-Best way to skip croutons (deep fried
pieces of wheat bread) which are few in nutrients and have a high glycemic load
is to replace them by nuts and seeds and maintain the crunchiness in the salad.
-Want to balance it with proper
carbohydrates and protein to make it a whole meal; you can add brown rice or
protein packed Quinoe, grilled chicken, low fat Paneer, Tofu or Sprouts.
· People, who do not like to eat
fruits, can relish on salads which combine fruits and vegetables and eat it as
a whole meal or in between snacks. This will provide them a host of powerful
antioxidants which will protect the body from damage caused by harmful
molecules called free radicals.
Now let’s have a look at some tips to
prepare a healthy salad
· Salads are known to be rich in
Vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K cannot be absorbed and used by the
body without the presence of some fat. So go for the unsaturated (good fats)
olive oil or canola oil. Toss the oil with vinegar which helps to prevent blood
sugar spikes after meals.
· The best way to include greens like
romaine, radicchio, iceberg and spinach in our daily diet is to mix them all up
or use one at a time in salads.
· Don’t forget to add the medicinal
herbs like basil, garlic, lemon juice or parsley to the salad for that strong
punch of flavor and loads of disease fighting antioxidants. The more flavorful
your salad is naturally, the fewer high calorie ingredients you will need to
add for taste like extra cheese and cream.
· Pack your salads with as many other
veggies or fruits as possible to get the synergetic effects. Carrots,
cucumbers, different colored peppers, broccoli, peas, artichokes, strawberries,
raspberries, or pears are great choices to get in different textures as well as
plenty of filling fiber.
Make sure you add "salad
night" to this week's meal plan, because no matter what you bring home
from the farmers market.
Hope reading this will add a lot of
nutrition to your food plate and lead to your ultimate health goals.
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