Salads are a go-to meal for many people. They’re easy to make, can be packed with protein and fiber, and are full of nutrients. But even though they’re healthy, salads can get boring if you eat them every day.
If you’re looking for ways to add more vegetables to your diet, consider trying these options:
- Use a spiralizer to make noodles out of carrots or zucchini. You can also use it to make ribbons out of cucumbers and beets. This is a great way to add some extra flavor and texture to your salad without adding extra calories or fat from dressings or cooked pasta noodles.
- Add some roasted nuts or seeds as a topping for your salad. Nuts are high in fat and calories, so don’t add too many at once (one tablespoon will usually be enough). Roasted nuts have been shown to have more health benefits than raw ones because roasting brings out their natural oils and makes the nutrients easier for your body to digest.
- Chop up some fresh herbs and mix them into your next bowl of grains or beans for extra flavor and nutrients. I love adding fresh basil, parsley, cilantro, dill and mint to my salads for extra flavor and nutrients!
- Steam your veggies instead of boiling them (which leaches nutrients from the food). Steaming preserves more vitamins than boiling water does because it doesn’t require as much exposure time for the veggies to reach their boiling points (boiling water needs about 10 minutes at 212 degrees F).
- Try different greens. Different greens have different flavors so try different types of lettuce or cabbage instead of just iceberg or romaine lettuce all the time! Greens like spinach and kale have more nutrients than iceberg lettuce so they’re worth a try if you’re still eating mostly iceberg lettuce salads every day.
