Healthy main course salad

Many keep asking themselves what makes one salad savory great. Is it all the greens and fresh vegetables, richness in aromatic herbs, a tasty dressing, or a pinch of surprise? When it comes to salads, for the greatest majority of people they represent the pillars of healthy diets, thus making constant reinventing of tastes and ingredients one of their favorite pastimes. And the best time of the year for that is, of course, the summer. With abundance of different varieties at your disposal, you are bound to make a colorful and savory, yet extremely healthy miracle.

Always bear in mind that the line between a savory and savory and healthy is a rather thin one. Your healthy salad can, in a blink of an eye, turn into a real calorie nightmare with just one little spoon of the mayo dressing, croutons packed with calories, or a small portion of parmesan or some other variety of grated cheese. So, the best way to avoid this from happening is by taking one step at a time. This means that you should start from basics first and then do a slowly build up. One extremely good head start recommendation is – more dark the greens, the better and healthier. Under “dark greens” is meant the following group of vegetables – spinach, kale, Arugula, Swiss chard, which are also excellent sources of vitamin C, fiber, and calcium. As for the dressing, the best possible options include olive oil (high quality one), which is considered to be the best grounds for your salad since it is extremely rich in antioxidants. Other oils that are at your disposal include nut oils (beneficial for your heart) such as almond, walnut, hazelnut among others, as well as grape-seed oil and sesame oil.

Despite the fact that cheese is in most cases rather high in calories and fats, there are certain exceptions that can make your salad even more appealing. Cheese is also a rich source of calcium and proteins, but be careful and do not overdo it. Therefore, opt for those varieties with small fats count. This means that a bit of Parmesan will not do you much harm, even though it is a bit higher in calories and fats than other varieties. On the other hand, Mozarella, Feta and varieties of goat cheese are lower in cholesterol, fats and calories than the most cheese varieties out there.