15 Healthy Fall Salad Recipes - Simple Roots (2024)
By AlexaLeave a Comment
Vegetables.
Love them or hate them, we all know we need more of them.
But here’s the deal I have with vegetables; If we dread them, avoid them or wish we were eating something else, then we might as well eat something else. The reality is if we can’t find a way to eat more vegetables and actually enjoy them {<- That’s the winning ticket} then we might keep eating them.
I mean how often do you find yourself sticking with something when you don’t necessarily love it?
Think running, you either love it or hate it. If you hate it you most likely will never do it. Or if you do try it out, it won’t stick.
Okay, okay so the point is, I have this strong passion for helping you find ways to eat vegetables and love it.
Including salads… which can often seem so drab.
So here are my quick tips to finding ways to love vegetables.
{Psst… don’t forget to also check out my post on How To Easily Eat 10 Servings of Vegetables a Day + 58 Healthy Vegetable Recipes.}
Buy what is in season.It seems like a no-brainer but it is most common for us to repeatedly eat the same vegetables over and over. Remember satiety comes from change and what the change in season is. In the summer we are more likely to crave cold salads for satiety where the cooler months we definitely need something warm and hearty. Fortunately, seasonal produce tends to represent the season well. So stick with what is in season!
Use layers.Just like a good wardrobe, a good meal is found in layers. This means having different textures, flavors, food groups and temperatures all on the plate at the same time. Layer and layer and layer and ending with a good sauce or dressing is really the recipe for success.
Don’t forget a grain.I know, we live in this anti-carb society but the fall and winter months our bodies actually crave more carbohydrates for satiety reasons. I’m not telling you to binge on carbs but rather not forget the power of a bit of quinoa, lentils or wild rice can have on a salad.
Change the cooking method.Pick out a handful of vegetables, grains and protein sources and vary the cooking method. Add some steamed, roasted and slow cooked sources to each salad to provide different flavors and textures.
Prep ahead!In the midst of hunger I can assure you a salad is probably going to be the last thing on your mind. Especially when you have to drive by what seems like 20 fast food restaurants just to get home at the end of the busy day. Don’t wait to think, buy and prep a salad until you are starving, prep them ahead! Yes, the best salads are the ones that can be prepped in advance. Or at least the components of the recipe. I can assure you, if you have at least a handful of the ingredients prepped ahead, it will be easier to stick to the plan.
Speaking of planning….
If you’re in need of a great source for not only planning your life (day organizer, and life planner) but also don’t want to forget the power of your own health on how much you get done, including MEAL PLANNING check out this new resource we’ve created for you!
There is power in one tool that can help you live your best life and we think this is it!
The only way I eat healthy while being the primary care taker of three young girls, home keeper, business owner, babysitter and wife is this weekly planner! And it was created with a lot of love, thought, knowledge and experience so you too can find the power in planning.
Ironically, this is all coming from what one would consider the least organized person ever. But that’s why it was created, because even the unorganized need organization. We just need the space to do it with our strengths instead of the normal rigid style we are used to seeing.
You can snag a free weekly planner page that has the meal planner included HERE!
In the meantime, here are those amazing fall salad recipes I’ve been promising:
Crisp greens like romaine, iceberg lettuce, bibb lettuce, and cabbage provide plenty of crunch and texture. They are great for adding bulk to your salad. Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale provide vitamin A, vitamin K, folate, Vitamin C.
They have the most nutrients. Case in point: Kale and spinach have over 10 times more immune-boosting vitamins A and C than iceberg lettuce. Not a fan of those? Turn over a new leaf: Boston, bibb, and romaine lettuces have a mild flavor, while arugula and watercress have a peppery bite.
Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.
“Crunchy noodles are like eating chips,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D.N., creator of BetterThanDieting.com and author of Read It Before You Eat It. All they add to your salad are calories (around 120 per half cup) and fat (half of those calories, at around 60 grams).
Salads are loaded with fibres, and when you add a good amount of fibre in your daily meal plan, it can definitely target your belly fat and help it move away faster.
Can you lose weight by eating a salad every day? "Eating salads on a daily basis as part of an overall healthy lifestyle may support gradual weight loss over time," says Karnatz. "This is because leafy greens are low in calories and high in volume and fiber, which will keep you satisfied for longer," she adds.
Tuna is a lean meat. It's relatively high in protein, but low in calories, which means that it keeps you full longer and stops you from eating more. In one study, adolescents who regularly ate lean fish like tuna for several weeks lost an average of two pounds more weight than the control group that didn't eat fish.
"The most important thing for me in a salad is crisp, fresh greens," says Chef Joseph Buenconsejo, with whom I co-own Rooted Seeds Catering in Danbury, Connecticut. "They add texture and are the body of the salad." When shopping for salad ingredients, look for the freshest produce you can find.
Every salad component should taste good enough to eat on its own, so season your leaves, your dressing, and your add-ins (raw veg, roasted veg, croutons, nuts, and protein), tasting for salt and acid as you go. Toss, taste, and—maybe, just maybe—season again.
Romaine lettuce: This lettuce is high in nutritional content. A traditional salad base, romaine lettuce contains healthy amounts of the minerals magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. It also has high amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin K.
Go (dark) green: "When it comes to salad greens, the darker the leaf, the higher the nutrient content," says Armul. Emerald–hued leaves have the most vitamins and minerals, so it makes sense to choose ones like spinach, kale or collards instead of, say, iceberg lettuce.
If you're shopping for a bagged salad, you're doing a great thing for your health. Nonetheless, be mindful of the sodium content. While vegies contain next to no sodium, a salad's sodium content can increase drastically when dressing, noodles, cheese and croutons are added.
Address: 2033 Gerhold Pine, Port Jocelyn, VA 12101-5654
Phone: +8524399971620
Job: Central Manufacturing Supervisor
Hobby: Jogging, Metalworking, Tai chi, Shopping, Puzzles, Rock climbing, Crocheting
Introduction: My name is Edmund Hettinger DC, I am a adventurous, colorful, gifted, determined, precious, open, colorful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
