It's spring time, let's build a salad! Often I mentioned it is good to eat your greens... Leafy greens are really good for us, but are also very tasty and anything but boring! Which greens to use best and how to build a salad? Check out below!
Finally, for some great inspiration I'll share two wholesome and delicious spring time recipes where leafy greens are the star âïž of the dish! A lovely rainbow salad and a great stamppot inspired by Ceasar salad... Enjoy!
Salads are probably the most repelled food to exist. Many people have a perception of salad that they are boring and of course, not tasty. However, this post is here to bust all your myths and tell you that it is all in your head. It is often said that salads are for crash diet geeks and "normal" people just canât eat them. This is not even close to the truth, so letâs check out what are the benefits of eating salad.
Eating salad greens in your daily life is one of the healthiest habits you can adopt. Consumption of whole vegetables and fruits is extremely rare unless it is in the salad and therefore salads become an easy source of nutrition from these whole greens. Besides, its health benefits, it is a magic food for those who don't like or find it hard to cook or donât have ample of time to cook. Mind you, I do love to cook, but I also like to be efficient and it almost is a "sport" for me to create something good and tasty in a relative short time. Besides, rather than going out and spending your money on buying fancy salads, you can make these salads at home in just a matter of minutes and it would be as tasty as any other fancy restaurant or fast-food chain. Probably even better...
What is the first thing you notice about a plate full of food? Colour! And what is more colourful than a plateful of salad green. All these plant pigments give you a perfect eye treatment as well as provide you with great nutrition.
The benefits:
- Natural source of fibre: In a day to day life, we are usually short on time and when running for work, carrying a bottle or can of fruit juice is much easier than holding the fruit in your hand. Although these habits might end up making your body fibre deficit. To ensure that your body has an adequate amount of fibre, you should switch to whole fruits and vegetables. If you donât like to eat an entire fruit, you can add them to your salad or yoghurt and add the essential crunch on your plate.
- Keep that weight in check: Contrary to the common notion, salads do not necessarily have to be a part of a crash diet. Include the benefits of mixed greens in your everyday life, and you will never have to worry about weight again. A well-balanced diet and active lifestyle can ensure a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally.
- Take care of your fat intake: Even though it is often thought that fat is bad, this is so not true, we surely do need fat. Fat has some very important role in your body and contrary to what people believe, loading up on healthy sources of fat can hardly go wrong on your weighing scale. Fat is fuel for your body, it protects your organs as isolation, is a part of vitamins and hormones and it helps your body to take up vitamins. Add some tablespoons of roasted or raw pumpkin seeds, sesame, flax, chia, and sunflower seeds to your salad. These are great sources of healthy fat. Avocado, nuts and different kinds of natural oils can also be added for great variation.
- Salad benefits for skin: How often do you really catch yourself gulping litres of water to benefit your skin? We all know that drinking plenty of water is necessary to improve your skin and skin tone, but we also know that drinking a good amount water per day is not always that easy. Unless you have a never quenching thirst, you are rarely going to reach the ideal limits of drinking water. However, the high level of water content in the vegetables we use in salads can really help out here. You donât have to drink water directly, but you are still getting the benefits of mixed greens.
- Get the vitamins directly: When we cook the food, often the nutrition, especially the vitamins and minerals are lost, or at least less. Consuming uncooked food ensures that you get vitamins and minerals in a raw form and it will maximise the health benefit you get from such foods. On a small side note, it also has to be mentioned that there are also veggies that actually are even better for you when cooked, for example tomatoes. When cooked, the nutrients and anti-oxidants will come out more and your body can take it in easier.
Something to keep in mind...
- Not choosing the dressing carefully: People often think that since eating salad is healthy, it is okay if we top it up with a light dressing or just a bit of oil and (balsamic) vinegar. Reason being, health benefits of salad are uncountable but eating it with syrups rich in fructose totally ruins the purpose.
- Adding processed food to the salad: Some people like to add full-fat cheese and salted nuts to their salad. These foods are high in sodium fat and will not serve as a healthy diet that you are pursuing. Keep the balance!
Which leafy greens to use?
We now know that eating salad is good for you â but not all salad greens are created equal. When choosing the base for your salad, go for the darkest greens you can find for the most nutritional bang in your bowl. Whether it's kale, nutrient-packed spinach, or crunchy romaine, nearly all greens have something to offer, so experiment and try something new and different than just plain lettuce. What's different is in the type and amount of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Let's find out which salad greens are the most nutritious.
- Kale: (our nice and old-fashioned Dutch boerenkool) is one of the trendiest salad greens for a reason, because just one cup of cooked kale meets 19% of your daily requirement for vitamin A, which helps maintain good vision, a healthy immune system and reproductive system, and proper functioning of the heart, lungs, and kidneys. It also contains 23% of your daily requirement for vitamin C, which is important for the growth and repair of all tissues in the body, and helps maintain a healthy immune system; and a high amount of your daily requirement for vitamin K, which creates proteins necessary for normal blood clotting, builds stronger bones. While slightly higher in calories than other greens, cooked kale provides about 14% of your daily requirement for calcium, which is essential for building and maintaining strong bones. Kale is delicious raw or cooked. It's simple to prepare sautĂ©ed with some onions and garlic, amazing baked into âchips,â and makes a great base for a salad. If you chop the kale into small pieces or allow it to sit in the dressing for a little bit before eating (or both), it becomes more tender. Kale also pairs well with roasted squash, nuts, seeds, and beans. However you serve kale, just be sure to remove the tough ribbing first...
- Spinach: one of my favs, it has a nice neutral flavour. Spinach is the most nutritious salad greens, because it is one of the darker leafs in colour. And this dark, vibrant colour of spinach hints at its nutritional profile: 1 cup has 16% of your daily requirement of vitamin A, and all of your daily vitamin K. When spinach is cooked, itâs an excellent source of iron (more than one-third of your daily requirement), vitamin C (20% of your daily requirement), and fibre, which is essential for digestive health. Spinach also contains more folate than most salad greens, which helps convert the food you eat into energy and produces healthy red and white blood cells. Spinach just makes a great salad base. What I love about having spinach on hand is that it can easily be incorporated into so many dishes without âtaking overâ the flavour. Itâs excellent on top of a sandwich, stirred into an omelet, and sautĂ©ed in olive oil with onion and garlic. Last but not least, something nice to remember... spinach stays fresh very long, so easy to store in your fridge.
- Beet greens: while most people throw the beet greens away or buy beets with the greens already removed, theyâre actually very nutritious. Beet greens contain 13% of your daily requirement of vitamin A and all of your daily requirement for vitamin K. Beet greens can be eaten raw or prepared in the same way as spinach or kale, by simply sautĂ©ing them with olive oil, garlic, and onions.
- Swiss chard: it may be the healthiest green you're not yet eating, or not often enough.
A relative of the beet family, chard tastes similar to spinach, and itâs growing in popularity. While it does have a higher sodium count than other salad greens (with 77 g per cup), it also has more than double your daily requirement for vitamin K, 12% of your daily requirement of vitamin A, and 12% of your daily requirement of vitamin C. Consider combining chard with a few other greens to make your own mix. Swiss chard has a distinct flavour that not everyone appreciates. It tastes great sautĂ©ed ed with garlic and onions, and mixes into a quiche or frittata well.
- Watercress: this salad green is often used as a garnish. Don't underestimate the power of watercress in your diet. It's more nutrient-rich than romaine and leaf lettuce; just 1 cup is almost three-quarters of your daily requirement of vitamin K, and is a good source of vitamin C â 16% of your daily requirement. Watercress makes a delicious addition to a salad, and if you love its peppery flavour, can even be enjoyed alone with just a touch of oil and vinegar. Watercress can also be pureed into a soup for an extra dose of flavour and nutrition.
- Romaine lettuce: it's dark green colour, long leaves, and crunchy texture make it a very popular salad base. Two cups of romaine give about one-third of your daily requirement for folate, almost one-half of your daily vitamin A, and almost all of your vitamin K. To boost the nutritional value of your salad, mix romaine with some spinach or kale to pack in more antioxidants, or opt for a premixed blend. Prepackaged salad green mixtures offer a wide variety of nutrients without you having to buy large quantities of each type of green. Tossing your salad greens with a small amount of oil is also a great idea, as the oil adds a dose of healthy fat (and flavour) and can also improve your bodyâs absorption of fat-soluble vitamins from the salad. Romaine lettuce has a great crunch and is delicious served in a salad or on top of a sandwich and it can even be lightly grilled for a unique, slightly charred flavour.
- "Plain" lettuce: whether red or green, looks bright and cheerful on your plate and has a mild taste, making it a great choice for children and picky eaters. Just 2 cups of green leaf lettuce give you about 80% of your daily vitamin A. However, like many salad greens, itâs a little low in fibre, so bulk up your salad by adding other high-fibre veggies such as broccoli, carrots, and legumes. Most people know that red and green lettuce can be served in a salad or on top of a sandwich, but itâs also delicious sautĂ©ed, steamed, or grilled. And I like to turn it into a lovely light, spring time "stamppot"with salmon. Recipe is shared below...
- Chicory: chicory leaves are another good source of folate, with 1 cup fulfilling about 18% of your daily requirement. It is excellent chopped and served in a salad. And because of its firm texture, chicory can be served in individual leaves with dip, or as a small rollup.
- Arugula (rucola, or rocket): if youâre looking for a nice peppery flavour to spice up your salad, arugula is the perfect base ingredient. However, unfortunately it ranks near the bottom nutrition-wise. Arugula is a tasty choice with some vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium, but it just doesn't measure up to other greens for any of these nutrients. Mix arugula with more nutrient-dense options to pump up the flavour and the antioxidant power of your salad. Arugula has a strong, peppery flavour that some people can't get enough of. If this is you, it makes for a great salad all by itself. If the flavour is a bit strong for you, then use it as a condiment â adding a small amount to a salad or a few leaves on top of a sandwich.
- Iceberg: this may be the most popular of all the salad greens, but it's definitely not the healthiest base you can choose. While the low calorie count is comparable with other greens, the nutrient totals are not. Still, the crispy and inexpensive green doesn't have to be removed from the menu entirely. "If itâs the only way that you enjoy salad or itâs whatâs being offered at a dinner youâre attending, then go for it and enjoy it as a nice contributor to your daily fluid need. However, if you like other, more nutrient-rich salad greens (and theyâre available), youâd be better off nutritionally choosing one of those. Iceberg lettuce can be used just like butter lettuce (as a salad, on top of a sandwich, or as a bread replacement).
@nutrition science study @loi
How to build a salad?
Lettuce: the base is always a form of leafy greens, like the example discussed above. Spinach, kale, paksoi, arugula etc. All delicious and nutritious one way or another.
Seeds/legumes: add seeds or legumes like lentils, or chick peas, but for example quinoa or amaranth is also great to use. You could also go for a grain, such as spelt, barley or buckwheat. These are a good way to add proteins.
Veggies: for a good lunch salad, or dinner salad it is best to use 3 veggies besides the greens. It is a great idea to use veggies with different colour. This does not only look good, but also gives your body a nice variety in nutrients.
So-called premium: meaning the main flavour bomb of your salad. This could be, fish, chicken, meat, cheese, but also a boiled egg or avocado.
Topping: finish your salad with a crunchy topping. This could be some nuts, seeds or kernels, as well as herbs or olives.
Dressing: as finishing touch, the dressing. I have to admit, sometimes I am a bit lazy and just add a drizzle of olive oil and (balsamic) vinegar. However, a simple but tasty dressing, which is a good combo for many salad ingredients is mixing up some mustard, yoghurt and honey with some vinegar. src@ilovesla
Below two nice recipes, rainbow salad and a lovely dish inspired by... the Ceasar salad!
Rainbow salad
Ingredients
- spinach
- carrots
- beets
- mais
- spelt
- radish
- seeds
- lentils (or other legume)
Dressing
- tahini
- lemon juice
- sesame oil
- garlic
- olive oil
- pinch of salt
- pinch of sugar
How to
- start with blending your dressing, so it can sit for a while and all flavours come together
- cook your spelt following the instructions on the package (you could prep a large portion for a few days to make it easier)
- clean and cut your veggies
- toss the veggies and spelt in a bowl
- add the dressing and toss again
- Let's munch!
Spring time lettuce stamppot with salmon & egg
Ingredients
- 1 egg per person
- garlic
- olive oil
- potatoes for mash
- salmon (no skin)
- 2 little gem lettuce (1 p.p)
- honey & mustard dressing
- dash of pepper
How to
- prep the dressing (mix mustard, yoghurt, honey and some vinegar) set aside
- boil the eggs to your personal taste
- boil the potatoes in about 12-15 minutes
- in the meantime clean and cut the little gem
- heat up the oil and bake the salmon with garlic
- mash the potatoes with the honey & mustard dressing
- mix the mash and lettuce
- add a dash of pepper to your stamppot
- serve the stamppot with the salmon and boiled egg
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