6 Ways to Take Your Salads from Dull to DELICIOUS

Big Fresh Salad

So, you like salads and know they are good for you, but they can get kinda boring after a while… am I right?
I eat a big green salad pretty much every day. Eating a big green salad daily is a fantastic way to pack in phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants… the good stuff!
Unfortunately, many people get bored of salads. This is because they’re doing it all wrong.

Below are 6 tips for keeping your salad routine “fresh”:

  1. DRESSING DRESSING DRESSING
    A delicious dressing is paramount to the enjoyment factor of any salad, and helps to vary tastes so you don’t get bored. However, I HIGHLY recommend that you make your own dressing because the majority of standard bottled salad dressings are full of crap that you don’t want to put into your body (unhealthy oils, preservatives, cheap salt, sugar, and some ingredients I can’t even properly pronounce). But have no fear, making your own at home is quick and easy! Salad Dressing 101:
    I. Start with a healthy oil like extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, MCT oil or cold-pressed hemp oil.
    II. Add an acid. You can use fresh lemon or lime juice, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, etc. or a combination of these.
    III. Season. Add a little quality salt like Himalayan or Celtic sea salt and some fresh pepper to taste.
    IV. Flavour. From this simple dressing base (which is actually good enough on its own in a pinch), possibilities are actually endless.
    You can add: fresh or dried herbs and spices, fresh juices like orange, maple syrup, miso paste, tahini, nutritional yeast, goat cheese, hemp seeds, sundried tomatoes, olives, garlic, chives etc. I have made a tonne of different kinds of dressing and have not yet disliked one. To blend my dressings, I like to use my mini blender. For a beautifully creamy, vegan dressing you can add 1/4 cup raw cashews or hemp hearts and blend.
  2. Pick Your Protein
    Whether you are vegetarian or not, in order to make your salad filling (and delicious) enough to fuel you for more than an hour, you should add some kind of delicious protein. Grilled salmon, turkey, chicken, grass fed steak, tempeh and eggs are all great. Variety is key.
  3. ADD Some Nuts or Seeds (optional) 
    Fancy up your salad with a variety of nuts or seeds; my faves for salads are pumpkin, hemp, sunflower, walnut, almond and cashews. The good fat will keep you satiated longer.
  4. ADD Some COOKED to your RAW
    Raw veggies are full of enzymes, so they are awesome, but I love throwing in some cooked veggies into my salads to switch it up; sweet potato, beets, asparagus, zucchini, butternut squash… the sky is the limit! Leftovers from the night before are a great addition.
  5. VARY Your Greens
    Your salad does not have to be just spinach or just romaine lettuce. That’s lame.
    I like to use a variety of greens in each salad to keep things fresh. Consider using fresh chopped herbs like parsley, cilantro or dill as part of your greens blend, as well as napa cabbage, bok choy, kale, frisée, watercress, sprouts, and any other baby greens you can find (as they will be the most tender).
  6. AVOCADO
    I didn’t even have to say “Add Avocado”. Just avocado, that is all. Because avocado is the most delicious addition to salads ever, and it’s full of nutrients and creamy good fats that will keep you full. So just say yes to avocado.

Feel free to experiment with whatever you love most. Bonus additions: dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries, goat cheese or feta cheese. Choose organic whenever possible.

Green Salad with Salmon and Sweet Potato Coconut Breaded Chicken and Cranberry over Kale and Romaine Salad  Sprouts, Butter Lettuce, Avocado and Cherry Tomato Salad Kale Salad with Macadamia Nuts and Apple

Green Salad with Bacon, Chicken, Avocado and Herbs Mixed Greens with grass fed stew beef, sweet potato and avocado
Enjoy!

Laura Franklin, CNP, FMCHC

Laura Franklin, CNP, FMCHC

Functional Medicine Health Coach & Holistic Nutritionist at Health Upgraded
Laura Franklin is the owner of Fresh & Frank Wellness and curator of freshandfrank.com.
She is here to preach what she practices and help you to prepare amazing whole food meals from scratch, grow your own organic food and optimize your lifestyle and environment to promote the most vibrant, glowing and energetic you.
Laura is currently based in Dundas, Ontario, Canada but works remotely with people from all over the world!
Laura Franklin, CNP, FMCHC

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