Salute to Salads

Overview

Salads date back to the earliest Mediterranean cultures B.C. The Greeks and Romans mixed various greens with salt, olive oil, vinegar and herbs. The word salad derives from the Latin word sal, which means salt. Today many people still think of salad as green leafy lettuces mixed with these same ingredients. However, the word salad refers to many different kinds of vegetables, fruit, and grain combinations.

Warning: Many people think salads are very healthy. After all there are always lots of vegetables
or fruit. That is true. However, pay attention to the dressing ingredients and the serving size
to truly ensure optimum nutrition and calories.

Nutrition and calorie tips

• Watch out for hidden calories in dressing. Dressing made with mayonnaise and sour cream has much higher calories than dressing made with yogurt or olive oil.
• Pay attention to serving size. Particularly when purchasing pre-packaged salads.
• Choose oil & vinegar or reduced fat dressing
• Learn to make your own dressing – use non-fat yogurt instead of sour cream.
• Reduce use of mayonnaise
• Consider lemon or lime juice as ingredients
• Rely on the vegetables and fruit, spices and herbs added to your salad for flavor rather than masking the flavors of bland wilted lettuces.
• Try organic and freshly picked ingredients when possible, the flavors are much different than ingredients sitting in a refrigerator or shelf for a long time.
   

Quick Salad-making tips

• Wash greens before storing. Remove the core. Hold the head, core side up, under cold running water. Drain well on paper towels or spin in a lettuce spinner. Wrap loosely in plastic wrap or plastic bag. Refrigerate.
• Tear greens into bite-size pieces. Never cut soft lettuce or spinach leaves with a knife, this will cause leaves to turn brown. Firm lettuce such as romaine, iceberg or cabbage can be cut with a knife.
• Add seasonal ingredients – pears & apples in fall, dried cranberries and nuts during the holidays, oranges in the winter. Tomatoes only in summer season for best flavor
• Don’t use too much dressing. Dressings are used to moisten and season foods. Too much dressing can make leafs wilt and distracts from the flavor of the fruits and vegetables.
• Toss salad ingredients. Don’t over stir.