I am trying to eat healthier but it's easier said than done. I am tiring of making the same salad over and over. When I go to assorted markets, I will snap photos of the salad aisle to give me inspiration on what different kinds of salads I could make or may like. It is easier than seeing images online, since photos online of any food always look good. I am more of a visual person so this helps me!
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What a great idea!!!
Thank you!! It helps when you're out of ideas for salad making.
Excerpt from my soon-to-be-published article on healthy choices:
You think salads are boring? Think again!
Quick, easy, and endlessly versatile, salads are one way to ensure we eat our veggies.
Mix it up by using fresh spinach in addition to or instead of lettuce. Why not try two or three types of lettuce (iceberg, romaine, radicchio, green leaf ) in the same bowl? Tomatoes add a lovely spot of colour: cherry tomatoes, halved, are a good salad ingredient as well as snack (if you dont use them all in your salad). Bigger, juicier tomatoes will tend to make a salad soggy; romas are a better choice. Diced celery, minced onion or chives, sliced mushrooms these are salad staples, right? Perhaps add a few cremini mushrooms in lieu of the white ones? The taste and texture are slightly different. Water chestnuts are another texture variant. Thaw some frozen peas at room temperature to add to your salad, or chop a handful of snow peas or sugar snaps. If you enjoy a sweeter flavour, grate a carrot into your salad but if you want more crunch cut carrots into matchsticks, or use a peeler to create long and thin strips. Diced yellow, red or orange bell peppers. Cucumber or zucchini sliced or diced. Bean sprouts or alfalfa sprouts, or both. Cauliflower or broccoli or (red or green) cabbage, but not too much. Boy choy, perhaps? Radish slices?
One of my favourite salad ingredients (and snack food) is garbanzo beans. The canned versions are inevitably mushy and I recommend buying the dry legume (also known as chick peas). Rinse, soak a few cups overnight in enough water to accommodate the beans doubling in size. Bring to a boil, taste to ensure theyre just crunchy and remove from heat. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Soak in cold water until thoroughly chilled. Drain and use. Add a handful to a salad, refrigerate the remainder, but be aware they keep better in the freezer. 1-cup portions in plastic bags are ideal for later use in salads or as snack food (they thaw quickly).
Salads are also a good way to use leftovers: a bit of rice or plain pasta, chicken or shrimp or fish.
Visual appeal and additional flavour variants can include raisins, dry cranberries, orange segments, fresh berries or diced pear.
Toss all ingredients to combine, omit dressing until just before serving but taste first.
A good salad does not depend on a thick, rich (high fat) dressing. With all those textures, sometimes a bit of lemon pepper or seasoning mix is the only flavour enhancement required or desired. Another alternate to dressing is chopping and adding a dill pickle or a few hot pickled peppers: theyre very juicy and, when tossed with other ingredients, imbue all with a hint of pickling flavours. A tablespoon of pickle juice is a good light dressing, but freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice is also very nice.
Incredible! Thank you for all those pointers. I do think salads are boring, or I get sick of the same ones so I like to try other kinds. I will need to try roma tomatoes in lieu of other tomatoes (they are quite watery and I do not like soggy salads)!
I hear garbanzo is really healthy. I am going to have to that as well.
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