How to Make a Bitchin’ Good Healthy Salad

The truth is if you want to lose weight and/or be healthy, you need to eat more salads. Here’s how to make one that doesn’t taste like grass.

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Would you like to lose belly fat? Or have a toned and firm body? Or would you simply like to be healthier? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you need to eat more salads.

Even if you think you’re eating healthy food, you almost surely need to increase your vegetable intake. Mostly everyone needs to eat more greens, and you can’t go wrong when eating more vegetables anyway.

Veggies are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, so can’t get away with saying you just don’t like vegetables. You should eat more, period.

An easy way to get your greens is by eating salads, of course. It’s not hard to squeeze them into your daily diet. You can substitute other foods for salads- you can have a salad instead of pasta, you can have a salad for lunch, you can make salads ahead of time and eat one when you’re hungry, you can take a salad to the potluck. You get the idea.

Salads don’t have to be boring. In fact, they can be a lot more than just a bunch of lettuce leaves. Get creative! The only limit is your own imagination. Just make sure you’re making a healthy salad by taking note of these tips.

How to Make a Bitchin’ Good Salad

1. Don’t settle for iceberg lettuce

Why settle for boring old iceberg lettuce when there’s a world of greens out there? Try red leaf, green leaf, arugula, watercress, parsley, cilantro, spinach, kale, broccoli, beet greens, dandelion, chicory, frisee, or escarole. Cabbage is great too, it adds a nice crunch.

The darker the greens, the more nutritious they are, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

2. Add color

Next, you should add other chopped or shredded veggies. Just make sure they’re colorful! Tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, celery, radishes, beets, onions, mushrooms, sprouts, jicama, asparagus, radicchio, or whatever floats your boat.

If you want your salad to taste a bit sweet, you can add a little fruit- berries, cherries, apple, pear, peach, mango, pineapple, oranges, figs, kiwi, pomegranates, or anything that’s in season.

The more colorful, the more nutrients there will be in your salad so eat the rainbow!

3. Put in some protein

A salad can become an entire meal in a bowl as long as you add a bit of protein. Protein will also make you feel full so you won’t be hungry again five minutes after you finish eating.

Some good sources of lean protein are steak, chicken, tuna, boiled eggs, tofu, cottage cheese, goat cheese, beans, lentils, chickpeas, or quinoa.

Don’t go overboard, though. A little protein goes a long way.

4. Don’t forget the good fats.

You might have heard by now that not all fats are bad for you. Good fats will actually help you lose weight, and they’ll also keep hunger away for longer. Plus, good fats are tasty, so you definitely want to add them to your salad.

Pick one of the following: avocado, nuts, seeds, olives, or olive oil. You should also know that several sources of protein, like eggs, tofu, cheese and fish, also contain good fats.

The only problem is good fats contain plenty of calories, so keep portions small.

5. Dress it up.

Every salad needs a good dressing, and it doesn’t need to be store-bought.

Store-bought dressings are usually full of sugar, trans fats, and chemicals. In other words, you don’t want to put those in your body. Besides, you can easily make your own healthy dressing with olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, and herbs.

Check out my dressing recipe below!

6. Stay away from these ingredients.

You probably think any salad is healthy, right? Wrong.

It really is possible to gain weight by eating salads if you put it in all the wrong ingredients, so steer clear of these: yellow cheese, ham, bacon, sausage, croutons, chips, pasta, mayonnaise, store-bought dressings, and crispy (fried) stuff.

By the way, you should know many of the salads on restaurant menus contain the same exact ingredients I just warned you to stay away from, so order wisely.

Also, if you’re trying to lose weight don’t add raisins or dried fruit because those are too high in calories and sugar. And go easy on the potatoes and corn, since those can add too many carbs.

Keep your salad skinny and get slim!

As promised, here’s a healthy dressing recipe.

Homemade Salad Dressing Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• Juice of half a lemon
• Dash of herbs (oregano, thyme, basil, or your favorite herb)
• Dash of each- salt, pepper, and garlic

Mix all the ingredients and add this to your salad bowl. Toss well and enjoy!

If you’re not much into veggies, try to start by eating a salad once or twice a week. Then, gradually increase the amount until you are able to eat a salad everyday. You’ll be surprised how big a difference this will make!

So tell me, how was your salad?