Benefits Of Healthy Salads

Eating plenty of salad is one of the healthiest gifts that you can give your body. Experts concur that eating healthy salads benefits the body in a variety of ways. It’s easy to toss up, easy on the calories and high in nutrients. Increasing our intake of salads every day basically means that our consumption of vegetables and fruits also increases. Most experts recommend that at least half of a meal portion should include fruit and vegetables.

In such cases consuming salads is the easiest thing you could do to attain healthy living. From antioxidants to phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, nutrition in healthy salads comes in many forms and can help in preventing a large variety of ailments. Salads are also rich in fiber, and eating lots of it helps us feel fuller, faster.
The best part, however, is that the calories in healthy salads are much lesser than any other meal option. A cup of spinach only contains about seven calories. Other leafy green vegetables also boast of similar numbers. So, in addition to providing our bodies with great nutrition, we also get to consume lesser calories. This is precisely why healthy salads benefits are extolled by nutritionists at every given opportunity.

Salads For Lunch And Dinner

While working, eating lunch at a restaurant or ordering take out seems to be the most convenient thing to do. However, this makes it tougher to monitor our calories, and we’re likely to eat unhealthy because we’re stressed out and pressed for time. Preparing healthy salads for lunch from home is not only easy to do but also healthy. Since we need energy for our work day, we should include some lean protein like chicken or fish. Beans and nuts are options for a vegetarian meal. Carbohydrates are a good source of energy as well; we can include whole grain pasta in our salad. Toss in a variety of veggies and fruits with a light, low fat salad dressing. Voila, you have a great lunch prepared! Healthy salads benefits not only are health related but also cut down food expenditure considerably when you make them at home.

We usually have salads at the beginning of a meal, this fills us up with our dose of healthiness, and we can usually consume smaller portions of the meal itself. However, we can have salad as a whole meal in itself, thus reducing our calorie intake. Healthy salads for dinner can include lots of veggies like lettuce, kale, collards and beans. Broccoli, carrots and cucumber are also other healthy options that we can consider. Lean protein and carbohydrates can be included in the meal to keep us full and provide our body with the required nutrition.

Healthy Salads For Weight Loss And Diabetes

As we know, salads are the best way to combat weight gain. We need to make healthy choices while making our salads or the whole purpose would be defeated. Healthy salads for weight loss will always include plenty of green vegetables. Darker greens such as spinach and romaine lettuce are more nutritious than iceberg lettuce. In addition to this, the more vegetables and fruit you add, the better it is. Peppers, sprouts, peas, mushroom, tomatoes and onions are a few examples. This wide variety is a valuable mine of vitamins and minerals for our body, and they are very low in calories too.

What we need to watch out for are the ‘extras’ that are packed with empty calories and are capable of silently adding to our weight under the guise of healthy eating. Croutons, cheese and pepperoni slices are a few examples of such foods. Losing weight with healthy salads can also be achieved by keeping an eye on the salad dressing we use. Two tablespoons of mayonnaise, for example, can add up to approximately 120 calories. Low fat dressings are available, and sometimes, a tablespoon of lemon juice can be a tasty substitute as well.

Healthy salads for weight watchers ultimately include a careful choice of ingredients. Along with fruits and vegetables, we must be aware of what else we are putting in. Good fats like olive oil are healthy options while cheese should be avoided as much as possible. Salads can be customized to suit ones needs. There are plenty of options: low carb salads, low protein salads, and so on. Good salads for diabetics, for example, would include all the five food groups in regulated portions to give the body its required nutrition. Carbohydrates generally have the greatest impact on blood sugar and may need to be controlled in accordance with advice from the doctor.

Healthy salads for weight loss include a large variety of ingredients. We can experiment to our hearts content with various combinations, the options are endless given the large assortment of fruits and vegetables there are. We can tailor salads to our needs, and proportion different food groups accordingly. We need to always remember, however, to ensure that our body gets a little bit of every group. Excluding any food group may lead to health implications in the long run. Increasing salad intake is saying yes to a healthy, happy life. It is also good to get a dietician to recommend healthy eating tips to suit your needs.

Recipes For Healthy Salads

Some of the main ingredients that one can add to one’s salads include vegetables like onions, artichokes, ginger etc. onions are found to contain flavonoids that are essential in fighting against cancer. One can simply roast some onions and add them to salad or one can just toss them in a little olive oil and add to the salad. Artichokes may be odd looking vegetables but are found to contain silymarin. This is an antioxidant that is useful in preventing skin cancer. It is also high in fiber and helps in controlling a person’s cholesterol levels. These can be steamed and added to any salad or can be boiled and served with lemon. Ginger is useful in reducing the feeling of nausea. It is also useful against migraines and in reducing arthritis. This can be directly added to the salad or can be grated and cooked before adding. Broccoli is also another great ingredient for a salad. This should be steamed and tossed into the salad. One can also add tomatoes and cucumber to any salad. Spinach makes great addition and is a great source of lutein and carotenoids. These help in preventing muscular degeneration. They can be lightly steamed and tossed in some olive oil with a dash of lime. Watercress is also a great source of beta carotene and also of vitamins E and C. These help in preventing cancer.

Submitted on January 16, 2014