6 Secrets to making super healthy salads taste great

  • 2 Minutes Read
Katherine Isacks
Katherine Isacks, MPS, RDN, CDCES - Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)

Today's blog is dedicated to making super healthy salads. Let's be done permanently with stale iceberg lettuce, dried-out baby carrots, and drab tomato wedges topped with fabricated salty goo. Forever.

Super healthy salads

Here are our top 6 salad substitutions that result in super healthy salads that also taste amazing

1. Iceberg Lettuce Substitutions

Increasing your dark green leafy veggies is an incredibly easy way to create a foundation for super healthy salads. Mix it up! Although some varieties of greens are pricey - you can minimize cost by mixing them with less expensive greens (e.g. red leaf lettuce mixed with arugula and fresh chives). You can get many of these varieties at your local supermarket, farmers' markets, or at specialty grocers like Whole Foods. Of course, you can also grow your own.

2. Carrot Prep

Carrots are extremely nutritious and an excellent source of beta carotene, the plant's precursor to Vitamin A. Here's how to keep a carrot's flavor, texture, and nutritional value at its peak.

3. Tomato Substitutions

Let's face it, if you live in most areas of the world, you don't get fresh tomatoes very often. Instead of paying top dollar for out-of-season tomatoes, why not substitute tomatoes with these other ingredients that are also good sources of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals?

4. Cucumber Substitutions

Find that cucumbers are hard to digest? Just peel them! You still get nutritional benefits from the seeds and plenty of fiber inside. Or if you just want something a little different - something moist and gently crispy with a little bite - try:

5. Crouton Substitutions

We like the crunchiness of croutons but bemoan the lack of texture and flavor of the lifeless, low-fat croutons on the market. These simple substitutions will help you increase your fiber intake and possibly lower sodium.

6. Salad Dressing Substitutions

We typically think of salad dressing as the glue that binds everything together in the salad, but we also rely on it for flavor. Try tricking your taste buds into accepting these subs which will give you more nutrients for the calories compared to standard salad dressings.

Use your creativity to come up with your own combinations for super healthy salads!

Related content

How to build healthy main course salads for your weight loss plan
4 Healthy, refreshing, and super-easy summer salad recipes to use up all those veggies
Healthy lunch recipes for weight loss that take less than 15 minutes to prepare

Content was reviewed and updated by Brenda Braslow, MS, RDN, LDN, CDCES on April 14, 2022.

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Foods & Recipes->Salads
Apr 15, 2022

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