Salads--Favorite and Healthy

When one thinks of weight loss diets salads often  come to mind,  Salads can be very calorie laden especially if you are including pasta or potatoes or can be very low in calories and still yummy.  I have a wide range of favorite salads and some opt in for a complete dinner either in the summer or when I just want  to make a quick meal.  The biggest secret for successful and healthy salads are having all the right ingredients in your fridge.  I make salads with almost all vegetables—some may need a little cooking, but other than that I can put the wildest things together and come out on top. Most salads are suitable for either a healthy lunch or healthy dinner.

Here is one my favorite salads for a healthy lunch.  This salad is suitable for Vegan diets.

Ingredients:

1 cup of slice radishes

1/2 cup of chopped sweet onions

3 cups of chopped spinach

2 carrots sliced very thin

1 cup of small broccoli flowerettes

1 cup of chopped zucchini

Salad Dressing

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of water

2 teaspoons each of curry powder, turmeric, coriander and garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend the ingredients together in a bottle with lid.

Directions:

1 Blend all the veggie ingredients in  a bowl

2 Pour the dressing over the salad 

3  Add 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Salads are the best way to get your daily dose of vegetables.  Including a wide variety of different veggies will give you a suitable dose  of the vitamins and minerals that you need for a healthy lunch or dinner.  Be inventive and add some new veggies you may have never tried.

Here is a list of few  different veggies you may want to try

1. Swiss chard (will need a few minutes of steaming)
2. White radishes
3. Bok choy (similar to celery though more tender)
4. sorrel
5. green cauliflower
6. Baby kale
7. Broccoli sprouts

It is really fun to try new vegetables.  We all know as the cooks in the family, sometimes things get a little boring in the meal department.  Most of us want to create healthy eating programs in our home, so venturing out for some different veggies might really be fun.  

If you omit leafy greens from your salads most will keep in the fridge, even with salad dressing mixed in for about 4 days.  Having salads handy in the fridge shaves off some time while  preparing meals.