Power Salad: How To Make The Ultimate Tasty AND Nutritious Salad

Salads don’t have to be boring, bland, and completely devoid of satiety. At the same time, you don’t have to add a load of fatty, salt-laden toppings to hold you over.

Salads are a great way for you to consume raw vegetables and leafy greens…helping you to meet your recommended daily value of vegetables, as well as vitamins and minerals. Vegetables provide the majority of their nutritional power when consumed raw, uncooked.

Follow these simple steps and you’ll have a nutritious, healthy and filling meal. Not to mention a salad that tastes better than you’ve ever tasted before!

Base

For the base of your salad, use two cups of any of the following:

• Organic baby spinach
• Organic romaine
• Organic spring mix
• Organic kale
• Any other dark, leafy, organic green (ex. Arugla)

Proteins

For the ultimate satiety, never forget to add a protein! Try adding a half cup or 3 – 4 ounces of any of the below proteins:

• Organic, boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Organic salmon
• Organic tuna salad (try mixing with hummus or EVOO instead of mayo)
• Organic beans (our favorites: black beans, garbanzo beans, or cannellini beans)
• An organic egg and/ or egg whites
• Organic tofu
• Organic tempeh

Fats

Healthy fats are a necessary part of every diet, and they’re a great way to make sure your salad keeps you full for a few hours. Try the following healthy fats:

• ¼ of an organic avocado
• 1 Tablespoon raw nuts (i.e. sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, or unsalted pistachios)
• 1-2 teaspoons of organic extra virgin olive oil (great with a squeeze of fresh lemon or some balsamic vinegar for a homemade dressing)
• 1 Tablespoon raw seeds (i.e. sunflower or pumpkin seeds)

Grain/ Carbohydrate

While not necessary, adding in a quarter to a half cup of any of these grains or starchy vegetables can make your salad more of a well-rounded meal, and provide extra satiety.

• Organic quinoa
• Organic brown rice
• Organic barley
• Organic wheat berries
• Organic sweet potatoes
• Organic butternut squash
• Organic polenta (try toasting polenta cubes for polenta croutons)
• A whole grain tortilla, toasted for tortilla “chips”

Toppings

Here’s where things get interesting! To keep your salad spiced up, try adding in three or four of these fun options!

• fresh, organic herbs
• organic cucumber
• organic beets
• organic carrots
• caramelized onion
• roasted bell pepper
• organic broccoli
• fresh berries
• mandarin oranges
• shredded coconut (one teaspoon)
• sliced, rinsed olives (one teaspoon)

Dressing

Be careful of store-bought dressings. Try some of these simple means to boost flavor instead!

• Creamy dressing: one tablespoon Greek yogurt thinned with a little water & fresh, diced herbs
• If no fat on the salad already, mix 1-2 teaspoons olive oil with an acid like lemon or balsamic vinegar.
• Flavored balsamic vinegars (try a raspberry balsamic !) or any other vinegars (i.e. pomegranate vinegar, apple cider vinegar)
• Citrus wedge (pack a wedge of lime or lemon with your salad so you can squeeze on a fresh burst of flavor before enjoying)
• Home-made salsa
• Hummus (thin out with a little water and add some fresh herbs, ie: cilantro)
• Spicy Hummus (thin out one tablespoon of hummus with one tablespoon salsa for a zesty dressing)

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