Building a Great Salad

1. Start with your favorite greens – try some new ones too
   • Soft, flavorful spring greens: Arugula, spinach, chard, mustard or beet greens 
   • Crisp, low-calorie greens: Bibb lettuce, romaine lettuce, or other leaf lettuces; sliced cabbage, radicchio, or endive, to add crunch without calories.
2. Add a variety of flavors/nutrients with roasted or raw vegetables from each color category 
   • Red: Tomato, radishes, chopped red onion, sliced red peppers, cubed beets  
   • Orange: Shredded or thinly sliced carrots, slivered orange peppers,  
   • Yellow and White: Diced sweet onion, quartered yellow tomato, sliced yellow beets, quartered or sliced mushrooms, finely chopped shallots, cauliflower, white asparagus, 
   • Blue or Purple: shredded purple cabbage, slivered purple peppers, eggplant, blueberries 
   • Green: Thinly sliced green onion, chopped green tomato, chilled peas, broccoli, seeded and sliced cucumber (skin removed), Brussels sprouts, diced celery. 
3.  Add healthy fat to be more satisfying – use reasonable serving sizes 
   • Olive Oil: 1-2 tablespoons 
   • Nuts (almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, etc): 10-15 nuts depending on size 
   • Seeds (sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds): 1-2 tablespoons 
   • Avocado Oil: 1- 2 tablespoons 
   • Olives: 5 -10 olives 
   • Avocado: ¼ to ½ of an avocado  
4. If using salad as main course, add protein to stay fuller for longer, and build muscle 
   • Meat: Leftover lean steak, grilled chicken or turkey, shredded roast pork, seasoned extra lean ground turkey, sliced deli roast beef 
   • Seafood: Salmon, tuna (fresh or canned), shrimp, sardines, anchovies 
   • Cheese: Mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan, feta, gorgonzola, bleu cheese, etc. 
   • Hard boiled egg 

          Deli meats – not the healthiest – be careful here and look for “no preservatives” 

• Add fresh chopped herbs for flavor (or dried herbs)
  • Tarragon 
  • Chives 
  • Basil 
  • Cilantro 
  • Parsley 
  • Dill