6 secrets to making super healthy salads taste great

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

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

To elevate your salad to the truly nutritious meal component that I know it can be, let's cover some basic substitutions to get you there.

Iceberg Lettuce Substitutions

An incredibly easy way to create a foundation for super healthy salads is to increase your dark green leafy veggies. 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 Market or at specialty grocers like Whole Foods. Of course, you can also grow your own!

Red leaf lettuce

Green leaf lettuce

Spinach

Romaine

Mesclun (or baby greens)

Arugula

Endive

Frisee

Escarole

Radicchio

Fresh cilantro, parsley, or basil leaves

Fresh chives or dill

Mustard greens

Carrot Prep

I have a great disdain for dry, whitish-sheen whole baby carrots casually plopped onto my salad or lying helplessly neglected at a poorly maintained salad bar. However, 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.

Store in refrigerator in an airtight container vs. unsecured bag.

Wash and peel your carrots. More mature carrots can have bitter peels.

For maximum crispy sweetness and palatability, SHRED the peeled carrot.

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?

Sweet peppers: higher in Vitamin C than tomatoes

Beets: raw, peeled and shredded

Strawberries

Cucumber Substitutions

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

Radishes: try shredded or thinly sliced from different colors and varieties

Celery: try dicing to help with a manageable texture

Zucchini: no need to peel - just slice or chop

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.

Homemade whole grain croutons

Homemade whole wheat baked pita chips with olive oil and rosemary

Leftover whole wheat pizza crust (save crust edge for salad instead of throwing away)

Roasted chickpeas

Crushed water crackers or whole wheat crackers

Roasted nuts

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.