Gone are the days where a salad equals some limp lettuce and a plain tomato! Salads now come in wide varieties and colours and can include a huge, tasty range of ingredients to keep us motivated to stay healthy. If you’re bored of your lunch or just want to try a salad with a difference check out these 5 Top Ways To Spice Up Your Salads!
1. Add a new ingredient
Tried pomegranate seeds or sweet potato? There are so many little extras you can add to your salads to liven them up. Pomegranate seeds are great for an added zing and crunch or if you’re a sweet potato fan like me why not steam some the night before and chop it up for your next day’s lunch! For added fibre try chickpeas, couscous or steamed veg like broccoli and cauliflower. Adding something new every now and then will keep you excited about being healthy. As they say, variety is…
2. Layer it up
If you haven’t seen the new salad craze then just Google ‘jar salads’ and you’ll get well over half a million results! All you have to do is get a good sized jar and layer up each of your salad ingredients with the dressing at the bottom. It looks pretty which makes it more appetising, especially if you use lots of different veg to create a rainbow. When you’re ready to eat it tip it upside down so that the dressing spills down over the salad and voila!
3. Make your own dressing
Anyone can rustle up a quick salad dressing and they are usually much healthier and tastier than ones you can buy in the shops. Why not try Jamie Oliver’s super easy French, yoghurt, lemon and balsamic dressings here. Not only will it give your salad a different flavour, but it will be much cheaper than buying dressings every week.
4. Get creative
Go a bit crazy and mix a variety of ingredients together that you wouldn’t normally think would blend. How about strawberries and parma ham? Or if you love Mexican food (who doesn’t!) then why not take all the ingredients that would go in a burrito, like peppers, onions, rice, salsa and a dollop of sour cream – there you have a delicious new salad that tastes indulgent but is actually good for you!
5. Grow your own
There are few things more rewarding in life than growing the food that you actually put on your plate. For those of you who have some green space and a bit of spare time on the weekend you can grow your own leafy vegetables, tomatoes, herbs and anything else you fancy. By doing this you’ll not only save money but you’ll feel awesome and more connected to Mother Earth when you go to eat your lovely home-grown salad the next day!
We hope this has inspired you to spice up your salad and to continue to feel motivated about eating healthily.
If you ever feel yourself getting bored of ‘health’ food then make sure you jazz up your meals, otherwise you run the risk of turning to junk food instead. Salads are meant to be delicious, colourful and nutritious so don’t settle for anything less! Let us know how you get on with these tips or your own recipes and why not Tweet us pictures of your salads to @KeepFitKingdom!
