Salad is synonymous with healthy food. A colorful combination of fresh green vegetables, herbs, fruits, aromatic herbs, beans, sprouts, tofu, cheese, rice, pasta, meat, fish or poultry, nuts and seeds – a salad can be a perfect accompaniment or a whole meal in itself. A salad not only adds visual excitement, it adds flavor, crunches and lends character to the food. These can be served cold or hot with sweet, spicy or creamy dressings. The key to a good salad is at least three primary colors and simplicity in taste.
What makes a salad an integral part of a healthy diet is that you can eat as much of it as you can without worrying about calories. Depending on other ingredients and the type of dressing, the content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates varies.
The dressings are usually a clever balance between tangy and sweet. Always choose cold pressed oils like extra virgin olives or sesame and mustard can be really magical for the pungent taste.
Creamy dressings can be lightened with hanging yogurt and low-fat mayo, ketchup and mustard. The tank can be given natural acids such as malt vinegar, rice vinegar or strong balsamic vinegar, or orange juice and lime. Throw in some toasted seeds such as sunflower, sesame, flax and almond kernels.
Low in calories and rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, salads can help you lose flakes without the need to control your portions. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and other starches that need to be limited can be considered as free food.
Salads provide some vitamins and antioxidants, such as vitamins B and C and folic acid, which are destroyed when heated. They also provide special disease-resistant plant pigments called phytochemicals, which have antioxidant properties. These chemicals protect us from chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cataracts and aging.
One of the main concerns of salads is their microbiological safety. Make sure that raw vegetables and fruits are washed thoroughly in saline cold water or potassium permanganate solution if possible. Choose organic products whenever possible.
If you have a garden, grow as many fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs as possible organically. Excessively ripe or sore vegetables and fruits can be a source of infection. Make sure you don’t leave cut fruits and vegetables for too long. In general, avoid eating salad outdoors or at cheap food stores.
With endless variety and fancy combinations of good old Russian, kolesla, tossed greens and Caesar to exotic things like Nicois, Greek, the salad is definitely a recipe for good health.
Ishii Khosla