Connie Raines

A Garden Salad- The Salad of Champions



Posted: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

by Connie Raines
Connies Herbalife Biz

 

A great way to increase your vegetable and fruit consumption is to regularly enjoy a fresh,green garden salad. For busy health and fitness conscious individuals, eating salads is a simple, convenient way to incorporate in your diet plan a meal that is not only delicious but healthy, too.

A Garden salad is simply a variety mix of green, leafy lettuces such as crunchy, nutrient-rich Romaine and baby spinach, arugula and kale. Add red cabbage and radicchio for flavorful texture and color. To your naturally healthy greens include a wide assortment of raw vegetables. Include cucumbers, red and yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions, avacados, carrots, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower. Make your salad colorful and fun. You can toss in some herbs like dill or cilantro to really wake up your taste buds. For extra protein, put in grilled or roasted chicken breast.

Fruit can also add a flavor surprise to garden salads. Try adding fresh strawberries, sliced apples, red seedless grapes or blueberries. Citrus fruits are at their peak during winter months. Orange or grapefruit slices work great particularly with dark greens like spinach. Add tropical flavor with fruits like mangos, fresh pineapple or papaya. In the fall, top with fresh pomegranate seeds. Consider adding some dried fruits like cranberries, apricots, and golden raisins. One cup of garden salad with assorted vegetables has about 11 calories, 8%fat, 74% carbs, 18% protein.

If you'd prefer a fruit salad you can mix any combination of fresh fruits that you like.Usually strawberries, pineapples,grapes, raspberries, apples, kiwi, all make an outstanding salad in any time of year. Just rinse your fruits well, peel or remove stems and cut into bite sized pieces. Combine all the fruit in a large bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for an hour. A fruit salad is great as a healthy dessert or snack.



A word about salad dressings: BEWARE! You can prepare a great salad that's loaded with healthy ingredients and then add way too many extra calories from the salad dressing. You may choose to switch from using high fat salad dressing to healthier vinaigrettes. Here's a simple recipe for Balsamic Vinaigrette:

* 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

* salt

* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

* 2 tablespoons olive oil

* Freshly ground black pepper

In a glass bowl, mash together the garlic and salt to taste. Add the vinegar and oil and whisk together. Add pepper to taste. Pour over the salad and mix well.

Enjoy
Connie Raines, R.N. and Independant Herbalife Distributor. Her goal is to equip people with useful information which will inspire and empower them to live a healthy lifestyle. May GOD bless you as you walk the path that leads to good health and longer life! Visit her website at http://FeelingGreat.HerbalHub.com. Learn how to achieve your goals for successful weight loss, increased energy, and overall good health from a great tasting, clinically proven weight loss program! See the Results, visit today for your good health.
This Article has been viewed 204 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.