Build A Better Salad For Optimal Nutrition (And Save A Bit Of Money)

I have a dear friend who has been trying to eat healthier and exercise more often, and hopefully lose a few pounds in the process. She called me the other day in a frustrated mood because after eating salads for two weeks, she had actually gained weight (and she said it sure wasn’t muscle weight that had suddenly developed.) When I asked her what types of salads she was eating she said healthy and lower in calories than she would typically eat in a day. Sometimes she made her own salad and took it to work, occasionally she’d pick one up at a fast-food chain or a couple of times a week would eat in restaurants with salad bars or salad selections.

After a couple of quick questions, we determined she was actually eating way more calories than she thought with the toppings and pastas she was adding. We also discovered she was spending a lot more money than she had thought. For what she was spending weekly on those take-out and restaurant salads, she could have made fresh salads for the entire month.

Here’s a few tips that have helped me in the past and after 1 1/2 weeks of my friend using this advice, she’s dropped a couple of pounds, feels better and less bloated, and finds it easier to get her children interested in making their own concoctions for snacks.

BUILD A BETTER SALAD

ADD DARKER GREENS –

I admit my favorite lettuce is iceberg, which just so happens to have the least amount of nutritional value. But I like the crunch. Just by adding darker, leafy greens, in addition to the iceberg, I get added nutrient-dense benefits, keep the overall cost down, and get that crunch flavor I like. Good choices are kale, Swiss chard, romaine, and spinach.

CHOOSE YOUR VEGGIES –

Loading your salad up with various vegetables add nutrition, color, texture, and can keep the cost down when you choose vegetables that are in season or on sale. To get the most health benefits from your salad, choose at least one vegetable from the following 3 categories.

1. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, kale, red cabbage, and radishes. These are chockfull of vitamins, minerals, fiber and disease-fighting phytochemicals which may help to lower your risk of cancer.

2. Root vegetables like carrots and beets are high in vitamins and minerals that they absorb from the ground. Full of nutrients, they are also an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants.

3. Allium vegetables such as onions, shallots, and scallions; and herbs like garlic and chives possess antioxidant properties that make them protective against heart disease and cancer. They also contain compounds that can help lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol and inflammation.

ADD FAT?

(I also love adding mushrooms which contain selenium, potassium, and B vitamins.)

Not all fats are bad for you. Nuts, seeds, avocado, and olives are full of the healthy monounsaturated fat that actually helps you absorb vitamins like A, D, E, and K better. If you’re watching your weight, keep the amount per salad to about 2 tablespoons.

PERFECT PROTEIN PICKS –

Proteins function as building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and blood. They are also building blocks for enzymes, hormones, and vitamins. Older children, teen girls, active women, and most men need about 2 daily servings of protein for a total of about 6 ounces per day. Good lean choices include roasted turkey or chicken, salmon or tuna. Eggs, beans, edamame, and tofu are also excellent choices.

CHANGE IT UP –

You can make a salad “feel” different, just by how you chop/slice/cut the vegetables. (And maybe a bit more “fun” for kids?)

KEEP THESE ADDITIONS TO A MINIMUM –

If I load down an otherwise healthy salad with croutons, dressings, cheeses, or oils, well it may taste great but I’m not going to get optimal health benefits. Certainly you can add your choices, especially if you don’t care for salad that much, which will make you tend to eat more good-for you food…just use sparingly. Keep dried berries to 1 to 2 tablespoons since they add sugar. Keep cheese to 1/4 cup or less. If you must have a creamy dressing, keep it at 2 tablespoons and omit the cheese. Avoid low-calorie vinaigrettes since they can have extra sodium and sugar and opt for your own oil-and vinegar dressing.

MAKE AN EASIER SALAD –

I have been known to buy produce, throw it in the fridge, and then totally forget about it all being in the crisper drawer until it’s well past its prime. I hate when that happens and get mad at myself for the waste! Or I remember I have fresh apples or celery in the fridge but I’m just too darn lazy at the moment to clean it and so instead, reach for some chips. Yes, I admit that.

So knowing my personality and wanting to make it more easy when I wanted to toss a salad together (or just much on healthy items,) I had to take a different approach to how I store my fresh produce. Before heading to the grocery store for my list of healthy items, making sure I knew what was on sale so I’d spend more wisely, I cleaned out the fridge. Next I checked my storage containers and lids and this is what I saw…

Ok, what a mess! I immediately took care of that, matching up lids to containers, and setting aside all the mismatched pieces to donate to Goodwill. Then I made a stop at Target and picked up new containers which would be easy to stack and store.

Once I got everything washed and put back into the cabinet, I knew it would be so much easier for me to prep and store all those salad ingredients.

For me, the easiest way to decrease food waste when buying produce is to immediately clean and prepare it when I get home from the store. (Unless it’s something like berries which you want to keep dry until you’re actually using them.) As each item is cleaned and chopped, I toss it in containers and whenever I want to toss a salad together, I just pop open the lids and pull out what I want.

At the end of the week, you can toss whatever you have left over into a saute pan and make a quick stir-fry. No more waste and an easier way to build a better salad.