How to Always Make the Best Salad
- mae
- Mar 12, 2022
- 2 min read
Salads are amazing so many ways. They are versatile, nourishing, healthy, filled with fiber, and delicious. Plus, you can make salads from random things and leftovers in your fridge. Just like oatmeal, you can customize your salads any way you desire, and if you make the salad a certain way, they become a balanced, satisfying meal. What do I mean by this?
Read my tips below to know my tried and true method of creating a nourishing salad.
#1 - Choose your favorite base, but don't stop there.
Your base is like the greens of the salad: your lettuce, cabbage, kale, arugula, etc. (these are your non-starchy carbohydrates)
Then, add a little something to it. This can be premade/pre-seasoned chickpeas, cous cous, or quinoa (these are your starchy carbohydrates)
BOTH of these types of carbohydrates are good for your health.
#2 - Add in any leftover vegetables from your fridge that need to go.
This happens to most of us. We buy a surplus of a vegetable and leave it in the fridge for who knows how long. So, use that vegetable in the salad! If it needs to be sautéed, then sauté it (like bell peppers, spinach, onion, and zucchini). If it needs to be peeled, then peel it (like cucumbers and carrots). If it needs to be chopped, chop it (like tomatoes).
#3 - The Fun Part: Add in leftover protein
If you have some extra protein from the night or a few nights before, like tofu, chicken, beef, or lentils, use those in your salad! They will add a great balance to the vegetables that are already in your bowl.
#4 - Use the juices/sauces from your leftover protein as your dressing.
This is where it all comes together. The juices from the protein you used make an excellent dressing for your salad. It will complement the protein AND add flavor to your vegetables. If you used a less juicy protein (like fried tofu), you can make your own dressing and complement the salad right in the moment.
#5 - Mix it all together
Take a picture if you need to. I definitely do whenever I make a balanced salad. Then, my favorite part, mix.
Final Message
Eating is about balance. I recommend that each meal should have a source of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. Salad covers all the bases. But of course, as always, listen to your body.
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