Salad to the rescue

No healthy meal is complete without a salad.

No healthy meal is complete without a salad. A colorful combination of fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, fragrant herbs, beans, sprouts, tofu, cheese, rice, pasta, meats, fish or poultry, nuts and seeds — a salad can be a perfect accompaniment or a complete meal in itself. Not only does a salad add visual excitement, it adds flavour, crunch and lends character to any meal. It can be served chilled or warm with a sweet, spicy or creamy dressing. The key to a good salad is at least three primary colours and simplicity in its flavour.

What makes a salad such an integral part of healthy eating is that you can eat as much of it as you want without worrying about calories. Depending on the other ingredients and kind of dressings, the content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates vary. Dressings usually are a clever balance between a tangy and sweet flavour.

To make sure the salad dressing is healthy, always choose cold pressed oils like extra-virgin olive or sesame and, for a sharper taste, mustard. Creamy dressings can be made lighter with hung curd and low fat mayo, ketchup and mustard. The tang can be provided with natural acids like malt vinegar, rice vinegar or you can simply add orange juice and lime. Throw in some toasted seeds like sunflower, sesame, flax, and nuts to add some crunch.

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Low on calories, loaded with fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, salads can help beat the flab without your needing to portion control. They can be treated as free foods with the exception of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other starches that need to be limited.
Salads are especially useful as they provide certain vitamins and antioxidants, which get destroyed on heating particularly like vitamin-B, C and folic acid. They also provide special disease-fighting plant pigments called phytochemicals (phyto means plant) that have antioxidant properties. These protect us from chronic degenerative diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cataract, and ageing. Phytochemicals have been also found to be helpful in obesity management. Green leafy vegetables are a rich source of omega-3 fats, the kind of fats present in fish, which are known to prevent heart disease. Owing to their high potassium and low sodium content, fruits and vegetables also help improve blood pressure control. Fibre plays a very important role in maintaining good gastro-intestinal health, reliving constipation, and maintaining normal blood glucose levels. Being rich in vitamin A, B complex, C, E, they help boost immune system and general well being.

One of the major concerns while making salads is their microbiological safety. Make sure that raw vegetables and fruits used in salads are thoroughly washed in salted cold water or potassium permanganate solution, if possible. If you have a garden, grow as many fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs as you can- organically. Over-ripe or bruised vegetables and fruits can be a source of infection. Make sure that you do not leave cut fruits and vegetables for long durations. In general, avoid eating salads outside the house or in cheap eateries.
Healthy portion of a good salad can help you get nature’s most bountiful source of nourishment, antioxidants. With endless varieties and novel combinations right from the good old Russian, coleslaw, tossed green and Caesar to exotic ones like Nicoice, and Greek, salads are surely a recipe to good health.