choose to live healthy [6]: light, healthy salad recipes

Salads can make a super healthy and low-calorie meal if AND ONLY IF they aren't loaded with bad fat (saturated and trans) and calories.

Unhealthy salads will...
1. be drenched in processed (ew) white, creamy dressings (like Ranch)
2. use lettuce with no nutritional value like iceberg lettuce
3. be overwhelmingly loaded with fried and processed meat
4. use lots of croutons or bacon bits
5. have cheese (saturated fat people!)

Healthier salads will...
1. be vegetable centered
2. contain lots of leafy greens like kate, spinach, argula, romaine, and cabbage (even though it isn't a dark, leafy green)
3. use a small amount of plant protein like legumes, lean grilled fish, or baked or smoked tofu
4. deserve of a light, healthy, AND delicious (bc who wants to eat something that doesn't taste good??) dressing that won't break the bank in calories. For me, I choose citrusy vinaigrettes, olive oil and vinegar and, if I do choose to use a white, creamy dressing, I make damn sure it doesn't contain dairy, palm oil (this type of oil is destroying rain forests people! for more info, read this article here), refined white sugar, and any ingredients I can't pronounce.

* A trick for lightening up bottled or creamy salad dressing is to blend a tablespoon of the dressing (per serving) with a tablespoon of canola or oil olive, apple juice, raspberry juice, orange juice, or champagne!

Get creative when you put together your salad! Jazz up your salad by adding lots of brightly colored fruits and veggies, textures like toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, and grains (quinoa, brown rice, bulgar) !!

Here are a few ideas to get you started thinking about creative salad inspirations:

For this salad you'll need:

- 1 Tbsp olive oil

- chopped red or yellow onion

- 1 tsp agave nectar (for caramelizing the onions)

- ground tempeh (from Trader Joe's)

- 1 packet of taco seasoning  

- dark, leafy greens (I used kale, arugula, spinach, and romaine)

- organic brown rice

- 1 tomato, chopped

- avocado

Do it!:

1. saute your chopped onion in a pan with the oil. let them get translucent then add a little salt and a teaspoon(ish) of agave to caramelize the onions.

2. add your crumbled tempeh – you may need to chop it, think taco meat sized pieces.

3. add about 3/4 of your package of taco seasoning. you can use more or less, taste as you go! if you don’t have taco seasoning use: paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder and a little more salt.

4. spread your tempeh-onion mixture on a bed of leafy greens. 

5. top with tomatoes and avocado. 

For this salad you'll need:

- spicy or regular tempeh (from Dave's Korean Food at Manhattan and Hermosa Farmers Market. regular tempeh from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods will be good too!)

- grilled salmon 

- dark, leafy greens (same combo as above)

- chopped tomatoes

- avocado

For the vinaigrette: 

Mix together 1 tablespoon olive oil, 5 tablespoons grapefruit juice, splash of orange juice, 1/4 tsp dried oregano, sprinkle of salt (celtic sea salt preferred! read the benefits of this type of salt versus table and sea salt here!)

Do it!:

1. Layer the tempeh, salmon, tomatoes, and avocado on top of the leafy greens mixture. 

2. Drizzle on your dressing and gobble it up!

Holy yum city! This salad HIT THE SALAD SPOT! It's warm, crunchy, sweet, salty, and full of flava'! 

For this salad you'll need:

- dark leafy, greens (same combo as always!)

- organic brown rice

- chopped tomatoes

- avocado

- steamed white fish or sole

- Brianna's Poppy Seed dressing

Do it!:

1. Layer on all the ingredients. It's that simple!

Hope these recipes and combos stir up some creativity in the salad department!