A tasty, healthy and, importantly, light and beautiful salad does not have to be prepared according to the recipe. There is a simple algorithm, following which you will "collect" a vegetable snack from what is in your refrigerator. Of course, provided that you are a fan of a healthy lifestyle and have a stock of appropriate products. If even mice are crying over your bins, you still have to visit the store first.
The base for the salad can be any leafy greens such as arugula, spinach, frisze salads, iceberg lettuce, romaine and Mitsuna, and watercress. In spring you can take leaves of young nettle, dandelion, quinoa. Chopped young cabbage, both white and red, is also suitable. Remember that radicchio salad tastes bitter, while rocket and mitsuna salads, like watercress, are peppery. They should only be used as part of leaf mixtures.
Add grated raw carrots, chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes to the base. For hearty, winter salads, use peeled boiled potatoes. Decorate the taste of the dish and inflorescences of cauliflower or broccoli, which should first be slightly boiled, and then doused with cold water. So they will not lose color or crunch. Daikon, a Chinese radish, gives a spicy taste to salads.
Boiled or baked chicken or turkey breasts, shrimp and crab meat are not the only healthy protein products ideal for light, healthy salads. It can be boiled lentils or beans, almonds or walnuts, quail eggs.
To keep your meal complete, don't forget about healthy fats. They can be feta cubes, grated hard or semi-hard cheese, sunflower or pumpkin seeds rich in useful fatty acids, "fat nuts" - pine nuts, peanuts, cashews.
You can "bloom" the taste of salads with soft raisins, pickled red onions, olives, dried cranberries, pieces of sour apples and, of course, spicy herbs. Curly parsley leaves are ideal for most salad mixes.
The dressing helps to "collect" the taste of the salad into a whole. It can be a vinaigre sauce made with balsamic or apple cider vinegar, yogurt sauce, a sauce based on peanut butter, or a simple but aromatic vegetable oil - olive oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil, and many others.
For a solid salad that's enough for one or two eaters, take three cups of "basic" greens, a cup of chopped vegetables, half a cup of chopped protein foods, and two tablespoons each of healthy fats, dressings, and flavors.
