24 Jul How To Make The Perfect Salad

Salads can be a tasty, nutritious addition to your diet at any time of the year. It’s simple to build a satisfying salad once you are aware of the key components to include.

To make a salad that’s satisfying and nutritionally balanced, you need more than just leaves. Below we share the five key elements. If you’re following a low carb diet, you can skip the carbohydrates. Simply bulk your salad up with more fibre-rich vegetables instead.

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Here is our guide to building a nutritionally balanced salad.

5 KEY ELEMENTS TO BUILD A HEALTHY SALAD FOR WEIGHT LOSS

VEGETABLES

Leafy greens like baby spinach, rocket and watercress make a great salad base and are rich in beneficial nutrients. But while leafy greens are nutrient dense, they aren’t particularly substantial, so consider adding to your leaves. Try grated or spiralised vegetables like carrots and courgettes. Leftover roasted vegetables like peppers, butternut squash, cauliflower and red onions will really help to add substance to your salad. Tomatoes and bell peppers are a source of antioxidant vitamin C, particularly beneficial in the summer as vitamin C helps to protect against UV-induced sun damage. Cooked and cooled broccoli also works well. You can batch cook vegetables like broccoli and roasted vegetables and use them in your salads over two or three days.

PROTEIN

A portion of protein will turn your side salad into a main meal that will fill you up and keep you satisfied. Hard boiled organic eggs are a great choice. Alongside other animal proteins like fish and meat, they are a complete protein (meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids). Other good options include:

ORGANIC MEAT

You can buy organic sliced meat, or used leftovers from a roast or BBQ.

FISH

Poached fish fillets work well. You can buy ready-poached salmon fillets from most supermarkets. While it’s important to be mindful of over consuming tuna due to its mercury levels, don’t overlook other tinned fish. Sardines and mackerel are both great sources of omega 3.

SEAFOOD

Prawns are an obvious choice, but it’s worth exploring other seafood too. Try pre-cooked packs of calamari from Marks & Spencer or tinned mussels in olive oil.

SOYA

Tofu and tempeh are good vegan options. You can marinate your own or find pre-marinated products.

Aim for around 30g of protein per meal, which typically equates to around 150g of a protein rich food outlined above. If you want to get more specific about optimising your protein intake, check out our article: Perfecting Your Protein Intake.

HEALTHY FAT

Fats have many important roles in the body. They are essential for helping us absorb fat soluble nutrients – vitamins A, D, K and E – as well as playing key roles in cell growth and renewal. Don’t make the mistake of avoiding fats for health reasons, just make sure you’re picking the right ones. Fats are also often amongst the tastiest additions to your salad. Try chopped avocado, unroasted seeds and nuts and high quality cold pressed oils. Extra virgin olive oil has many well established health benefits and makes for a simple dressing all by itself. Choose a cold pressed extra virgin olive oil in a dark glass bottle.

CARBOHYDRATES

Choose whole, unrefined carbohydrates that provide vitamins and minerals which white, refined versions are often stripped of. Brown rice, new or sweet potatoes and pulses are all good options. Pulses like beans, lentils and chickpeas are also a great source of fibre for supporting healthy digestive function. Merchant Gourmet offer a wide range of ready-cooked, whole food carbohydrate options. If you are following a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, you can skip the carbohydrates. Try cauliflower rice instead.

DRESSINGS

Dressings are an area to be cautious around. Avoid the ultra-processed, low fat shop-bought dressings and whip up your own instead. Base yours on cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and flavour to your liking with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, herbs or mustard. Alternatively, you could try a harissa dressing with a little coconut yoghurt, harissa spices and sundried tomato paste. (This works especially well on a salmon salad.)

OPTIONAL EXTRA: TOPPINGS

Want to finish off your healthy salad with a little va-va-voom? Add a tasty topping that will score some extra health points such as pomegranate seeds, sprouted seeds, fresh herbs, kimchi or sauerkraut. We love this raw garlic and dill saurkraut from Vadasz. Pick something that complements the flavours in your bowl.

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