Have you ever had a bowl of freshly chopped vegetables topped with savory dressing? I’m salivating already. Really, having at least a serving of salad daily is a splendid idea. Salads are super nutritious. They prevent the onset of chronic and acute diseases and do more. You’ll know soon.
Salads provide protein which keeps the body energized. They also boost the production of red blood cells.
So what would Salads Do for you?
Supply Antioxidants
Antioxidants protect organs from the adverse effects of oxidation and free radicals. What piece of information can be greater than one that assures one of a cancer-free life? Adding vegetables bursting with vitamin C in salads just dies the antioxidant wonder. Squeezing a lemon or two in your salad gives extra vitamin C nourishment.
Maintain Eye Health
Because leafy green vegetables have got phytochemicals such as beta-carotene, they maintain perfect eyesight and prevent the risk of eye disorders such as dry eye or night blindness. Spinach, arugula, kale, or watercress all contain beta-carotene, and they lower the risk of age-related eye disorders. You want to try them, don’t you?
Boost Metabolic Rate
Metabolism gets slower as one ages, and leads to health complications. Salads boost metabolic rate as a result of the nutrients they contain. Salads have got potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, folate, zinc, and manganese, especially when they contain leafy green vegetables.
Improve Cardiovascular Health
Eating foods that contain less fat is just fantastic for heart health. A serving of salad provides vitamins and minerals that strengthen the tissues of the heart. What’s more? They don’t contain fats. And that good news because you’re sure that there are no chances of fat accumulation in the blood vessels.
Improve Skin Texture
Dehydration isn’t so cool for the skin. Do you have chapped lips and dry patches on your face? Then you just may be dehydrated. Do you want to be hydrated? Then start consuming salads on a daily basis! Cucumbers and cabbage have high water content, hence combat dry skin. Cucumbers, in particular, keep the skin moist and smooth. Go ahead to add some chunks of cucumbers to your salad.
Salads Strengthen Muscles
Vitamin K is popular for boosting bone density. Spinach has got vitamin K, and this makes it perfect for you.
Obtaining vitamin K through a natural source is more ideal. Why not add some fresh spinach leaves to that salad to get those muscles you desire?
Aid Digestion
Vegetables contain good amounts of dietary fiber, and these are necessary for easy digestion. Adding tomato, carrot, radish, avocado, and turnip greens to salad bowl give the body some great amount of dietary fiber.
Deal with Obesity
For health reasons, it is ideal for overweight people to consume foods with fewer calories. This is where salads come in. They provide essential nutrients that curb appetites and boost metabolism, thereby, losing some weight.
Interesting Salad Facts
- Salad comes from the Latin word “herba salta” or “salted herbs,” because they were seasoned with dressings containing lots of salt.
- Lettuce is a member of the sunflower family.
- Lettuce was a weed around the Mediterranean basin.
- Christopher Columbus introduced lettuce to the Americas.
- The original wild lettuce “Lactuca serriola” was known as “prickly lettuce” and grown for medicinal purposes because it contained a milky sap which has mild sleep-inducing properties.
- Lettuce is one of the most popular fresh vegetables in the US.
- The average American eats approximately 30 pounds of lettuce each year, which is five times what was eaten in 1900.
- Lettuce was first eaten by the ancient kings of Persia 2,500 years ago.
- In ancient Egypt, lettuce was considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac which made it sacred and attributed to the fertility God, Min.
- China is the largest spinach producer in the world with 90% of global production.
- The word “avocado” comes from “ahuacatl”, which means “testicle” in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. This must have been because of its shape and because of the growth in pairs.
- Iceberg lettuce got its name from the way it was shipped in old train carriages. Ice was piled on the cartons of lettuce to keep it cold. As the trains bearing the lettuce came through towns, people would call out with excitement, “The icebergs are coming!”
- The most abundant nutrient in iceberg lettuce is water — over 90% — keeping you hydrated.
- Why are salads served first? It was started by the Hippocrates, who believed that raw vegetables easily slipped through the system and did not cause an obstruction for food that followed.
- There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes, from small cherry ones to Ponderosa, which can weigh over three pounds.
- Cucumbers have the highest water content of any vegetable.
- Broccoli and cauliflower are the only vegetables that are also flowers.
- Salads with a prepared dressing, have more calories than a double cheeseburger or pizza.
- Cobb salad was invented in a Hollywood restaurant and named after the owner, Robert Cobb. The ingredients can be remembered using the mnemonic EAT COBB: eggs, avocado, tomato, chicken, onion, bacon, and blue cheese.
- Sometime in 1998, Caesar salad was illegal in California because it contained raw egg.
- Leonardo da Vinci was the first artist to depict salad in his paintings. In the Leda, 1504, a child, standing next to the goddess of fertility, poses with a bouquet of lambs lettuce.
Here’s a Salad Recipe: Cobb Salad
The dressing: What’s Needed?
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Colman’s mustard
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cups canola oil
The Salad: What’s Needed?
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 bunch watercress
- 1/2 romaine lettuce
- 1 small chicory
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes
- 2 boiled chicken breasts,
- 6 strips crisp bacon
- 1 avocado
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 small bunch chives, minced
- 1/2 cup Roquefort cheese
How’s the Dressing Done?
- Combine the vinegar, water, salt, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, and mustard in a blender and let them all combine for a short while. Stir in the olive and canola oil.
- Chill for at least 4 hours in a sealed jar or bottle before using.
And the Salad?
- Put the watercress, romaine, iceberg, and chicory in 4 adjacent lines at the bottom of a wide, shallow wooden salad bowl.
- Put the tomatoes and chicken in alternating adjacent lines, crosswise, over the lines of greens.
- Sprinkle the bacon over the salad evenly. Put the avocado around the edges of the salad.
- Sprinkle the eggs, chives, and Roquefort evenly over the salad.
- Before serving, shake the dressing. Add a cup of the dressing and toss thoroughly.
Another Recipe: Chicken Salad
What’s Needed?
- 3 cups cooked chicken
- 3/4 cup celery stalks
- 1/4 cup red onion
- 1/4 cup parsley or dill
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayo (I used avocado oil)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper
How’s it Made?
- Add pecans to a small skillet, and toast on low-medium heat. Stir until it’s fragrant and brownish.
- Transfer it to a cutting board, let cool a bit, then chop coarsely.
- Add toasted pecans, mayo, celery, onion, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper, chicken, parsley, yogurt, to a medium bowl. Stir gently to mix.
- Refrigerate and serve with greens, quinoa, brown rice or make a chicken salad sandwich with whole wheat bread. Yummy!
When will you begin to try different salad recipes? The time is now: Enjoy tastes and nutritional benefits.
