It’s summer, and most of us are working on maintaining our vacation bodies. So, among the most popular meals during this season are salads. Apart from being very healthy, salads also help us feel cool during the hot summer days, being a refreshing alternative to other calorie-dense dishes.
However, the vast majority of people are not necessarily fans of salad. One reason for this could be a certain “stigma” associated with it, salads usually being associated with restrictive and unfulfilling diets. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can make a salad delicious, and without submerging it in dressings.
So, here are 5 tips for spicing up your salad, courtesy of Eating Well.
Alternate your sources of protein
With chicken being the most popular choice of protein, it’s easy to forget that there are also other delicious, protein-packed ingredients you can add instead. From fish and shrimp to steak, and legumes, such as beans or lentils, diversity is the key to enjoying every salad.
Prepare the dressing at home
While it’s very tempting to buy ready-made dressings from the store, making them yourself gives you the freedom to prepare them exactly as you like them. Furthermore, a homemade dressing is infinitely healthier than the store-bought ones, which contain a bunch of additives and preservatives that are bad for your health.
Enrich the taste using herbs
Herbs make a huge difference in almost any dish, and salads are no exception. You can use fresh basil, dill or parsley, and even mint, to obtain a richer and more flavorful salad.
Make it more satisfying by using grains
If you’re a fan of pasta, you’ll love this tip. Adding quinoa, rice or pasta to your salad, will not only keep you full for longer, but it will also give you a balanced and nutritionally diverse dish, full of vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients. At the same time, adding grains to your salad will also give it a richer and more satisfying texture.
Diversify your types of greens
If you want to make your salad more interesting and enjoy it every time, choose different types of leafy greens. While iceberg and romaine are popular choices, you can also replace them with kale, arugula, baby spinach and microgreens like valerian.
These are only a few ways in which you can make a basic salad more satisfying. In reality, there are numerous ways to do this, depending on your taste and diet preferences.
Photo by Ryan Concepcion on Unsplash
