Healthy Salad Ingredients

An important part your healthy weight loss program is to eat healthy. Many people rightly believe that a healthy salad is good for you. The question is what is a healthy salad? Over the years, the standard restaurant plate of healthy salad veggies has morphed into a platter of greens piled high with things like fried chicken and heaps of cheese, all hiding under a thick blanket of dressing.

Healthy salad recipes should be simple and with a delicious array of leaves, herbs and other produce to add flavors, colors and textures. Minimal or no cooking should be involved and often be prepared well in advanced to fit in with a busy lifestyle. Use this list of healthy items to perk up your salads and enliven your meals:

• Vegetables: Almost any raw vegetable can be cut up and added to a salad. Peas (matar), carrots (gajar), radishes (mooli), broccoli, cauliflower (gobhi), asparagus (shatwar), avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers (kheera) are all great suggestions. We need five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day, so eating a salad is a good way to meet those needs. Brightly colored vegetables have bioflavonoids, and the dark green vegetables are lowest in calories.

• Fruit: Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apple slices and raisins (kishmish) add vitamins and antioxidants to your diet. They are a delicious burst of flavor and sweetness and they can also help you cut back on, or eliminate, high-calories salad dressings. Oranges and grapefruit make tangy salad toppings. Not only do they bring a burst of citrusy flavor, but they are also low calorie and packed with vitamin C.

• Proteins: To make a meal of a salad, you may wish to add some healthy protein sources like chopped or sliced hard-boiled eggs, cooked shrimp, fish, or chicken breast. Make sure to measure your protein sources, since meats have more calories than fruit or vegetables.

• Greens: Most salads start with a pile of greens. Since greens are low in calories and are a good source of fiber, it's a great way to add volume to your meal without adding a lot of calories. There are different varieties of greens such as cabbage, spinach (palak) etc.

• Whole grains: Whole-wheat or barley are high-fiber toppings that also add some protein to your salad. Toss them over greens with a sprinkle of lemon or lime juice; it's a great way to use up that leftover side dish from last night's dinner.

• Nuts and Seeds: Sprinkle a few nuts like walnuts, almonds, or cashews, or some seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, or flax seed for a nice crunch. Remember that nuts and seeds tend to be high in calories, so just add about a tablespoon. Though both nuts and seeds contain a similar amount of fat and calories, you get more seeds in a one-tablespoon serving and that means more satisfying crunch in every bite. Nuts contain not only protein and calcium, but they also contain vitamin E and vitamin B2 as well. Although nuts are high in fat, it's the healthy fat your body needs.

• Beans: When it comes to beans, you get a lot of nutritional bang for your buck. One half cup will cost you between 100 and 150 calories but will bring in 6 to 7 grams of fiber and protein. And not only will beans fill you up, but their mild taste will also complement almost any type of salad.

However, too much of the wrong ingredients can make a healthy salad into an unhealthy salad. Here are soe ingredients that you need to avoid:

• Cheese: Generally speaking, most whole milk cheeses have around 4-6 grams (about a quarter of a day's worth) of saturated fat and 100 calories per 30 gram (around 1 oz). To salvage your salad, try only sprinkling of strong-flavored cheese.

• Deep fried meat: Adding three deep-fried chicken strips to a salad will turn a healthy salad into a health-disaster. Deep fried meats add unhealthy fats and extra calories. Another health-busting idea is to add several slices of processed sandwich meats.

• Excess salad dressing: Most of us like to top our salads with a bit of dressing. That means only a tablespoon or two. More salad dressing adds too many calories and extra fat. A better idea is to forgo the salad dressing and squeeze some fresh lemon and lime juice on your salad, or use some salsa.

This is all common-sense nutrition here, but the point is to get you thinking next time you're meandering your way through the produce section at the grocery store.