Crucial Salad Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Salads are usually the go-to food for dieters and healthy eaters. If you look up salad images at food magazines, or on the Instagram, you are bound to find tons of delicious looking recipes that are full of colour and freshness. But the creations can often end up looking soggy and flat when you try them at home. Not to mention how some of the salads we eat as ‘health food’ are better classed as ‘junk’.

In this article, we’ll help you learn the secrets to a healthy salad that’s worthy of photographing.

3 Mistakes to Avoid

Below is a selection of the three biggest salad mistakes. These are quite common; so don’t beat yourself if you are guilty of making them.

1. Wash and Toss the Salad in the Bowl

It’s extremely important to properly wash your salad ingredients, but you shouldn’t add them in the bowl soggy. Place your greens on top of some kitchen towel for a bit and toss them around until dry before placing into your salad bowl.

2. Using Three Familiar Ingredients

Most people tend to stick to salad ingredients they know. Instead of creating beautiful and colourful salads with exciting combinations, they just add a bit of cucumber, salad leaves and some peppers.

But the salad shelves are full of vegetables and fruits, which should find their way into your salad. Discover new ingredients at farmer’s markets, where you can often have a taste of ingredients. Add a mixture of salads, herbs, vegetables and even fruits to your salad for tastier combinations.

3. Not Balancing the Protein, Fats and Starch

If you are eating salads as a healthier meal option, you can’t skip the above three ingredients. They will guarantee you feel full and have enough fuel for the day.

For protein, try not to add three different protein sources at once. Opt for one or two healthier protein sources such as lean chicken, lentils or beans. You should also consider seafood for those amazing omega-3 fats.

Your salad should also have fat, as healthy fats are important for your brain, hormones and skin. If you want, you can get both protein and fat from good dairy products like cottage cheese, goat’s cheese or mozzarella. But you should also drizzle some olive oil, balsamic vinegar to your salad. Finally, if you want to skip the oil dressing, use avocados or nuts as your source of fat.

Lastly, try including some starch to your salad, even just a handful. They can add more fuel to your body and enhance weight loss. Add a bit of chilled quinoa or some roasted corn. Red potato is another great salad ingredient to use.

How to Enjoy a Healthy Salad for Less?

The common argument against healthier foods, such as salads, is often that they cost too much. Sure, it is possible to break the bank with health foods, but you can also enjoy refreshing salads for less.
Here are three tips for lightening up your grocery bill when it comes to salads:

• Buy seasonal produce. Check out guides for vegetables and salads in season, as these tend to be cheaper to buy than off-season produce. Supermarkets often have a “Seasonal” product section on their online stores. Check out, for example, Ocado’s online store.

• Look for discounts. If you are shopping in-store, checkout the discount shelves for salad items. Often items with a sell-buy data on that day can end up costing nearly half as much as the same item with longer sell-buy date.Furthermore, online and in-store shops often accept different voucher codes, which can be useful. You shouldn’t overlook multi-buy salad products either. Just ask a friend or a neighbour if they’d like to share the deal with you! Organic food specialised retailers, such as Abel & Cole and Graig Farm, often have plenty of discount codes available as well.

• Stop buying chopped products or pre-made dressings. In most cases, chopping your own salad ingredients is going to cost you less money. Certain items, such as peppers and cucumbers, can even be chopped the day or two before use, so you will have the time.

In addition, opt out of supermarket dressings and make your own. Not only is this more fun, but it’ll also save your money. Simply mix some Greek yoghurt with spices and even a drop of honey for a heavier dressing or flavour your vinegar with some softer spices for a quick and flavoursome dressing.

With the above tips, you can enjoy better tasting, looking and healthier salads, and you won’t even need to spend a fortune. Don’t be afraid to try new things and remember to balance the ingredients in your salads.