My Favorite Food is Salad! What?

Your body wants to talk to you!

My favorite food is salad. There, I said it! Anyone who knows me well is aware of my love of salads. But this fondness is often met with laughter and disbelief. “Why would you want to eat salad when you could be eating … (fill in the blanks).

Well, let me tell you:

• Salads are incredibly versatile and can have a myriad of ingredients from various food groups.

• They are vehicles for wonderful and creative dressings.

• They can be light and leafy or robust and more substantial.

• Their preparation doesn’t require a ton of dishes.

• They are pretty.

• And they taste delicious.

• Salads, particularly those made with raw ingredients, are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

• FYI, Romaine is the most nutritious lettuce, delivering more folate, potassium, beta carotene and lutein than red leaf, green leaf, butterhead and iceberg.

While we generally think of a salad as being healthy, it really depends on the ingredients you choose as well as the dressing you put on top. Some ingredients like cheese, nuts (watch the quantity), bacon, anything fried, and creamy dressings, etc. add lots of fat, sodium, sugar and calories, the opposite of a healthy meal.

You can make delicious dressings yourself with a little olive oil (or no oil), lemon/orange juice, honey, fresh herbs, a little Balsamico or other type of vinegar. Get creative!

Here is my version of a Chef Salad

Ingredients

• One or two handfuls of green lettuce (I prefer Romaine or butterhead)

• A handful of Radicchio cut into thin ribbons

• A few cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half

• 2-3 small salad peppers, seeded and cut into thin rounds

• A bit of cucumber (I prefer English cucumbers because they have fewer seeds), peeled, sliced and cut into fourths

• One hard-boiled egg cut into quarters

• 2 Tsp of shredded parmesan

• 1 piece of cooked salmon (poached, baked, or grilled and seasoned with lemon juice, coarse salt and pepper)

Dressing

• A splash of good quality Extra Virgin cold-pressed olive oil

• A splash of Balsamic vinegar (I prefer white balsamic for this recipe)

• 1 tsp of chopped fresh dill

• A pinch of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Combine desired amount of olive oil, vinegar, and chopped dill in a shaker or jar with a lid, and shake vigorously until well blended.

Combine lettuce and vegetables in a bowl and pour dressing over salad and toss.

Add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste, and gently mix under salad.

Place salad and egg quarters on a plate in an attractive arrangement.

Place salmon on top (you can substitute canned tuna for salmon).

Et voilà and Bon Appétit!

What’s your favorite salad?

Sources: medlineplus.gov, healthdigest.com