By Allegra Burton, MPH, RDNWednesday, 17 May 2023 

People often think that eating a salad for a meal will leave them feeling hungry and unsatisfied. On the contrary, if you add the right mix of ingredients so that your salad is balanced and packed with not only vegetables, but also protein and some healthy fat. A balanced salad is filling and can help you maintain steady blood sugar and energy levels far longer than a less healthy meal choice. The fiber, protein and fat in a balanced salad are what keep us feeling satisfied.

This was my salad today:

Vegetables:

• Baby spinach

• Avocado

• Carrots

• Cauliflower

• Persian cucumber

• Mini orange bell pepper

Protein:

• Smoked turkey

• Walnuts

• Hummus

Healthy Fat:

• Walnuts

• Some from the tahini in the hummus

• Drizzle of olive oil

Other optional additions:

• ¼ cup of leftover grain such as brown rice or faro

• Cut up some leftover sweet potato

• Add some crumbled feta cheese or sprinkle in some shredded parmesan

• ¼ cup beans or lentils

Protein options:

You can swap out any other protein for the smoked turkey – canned tuna or salmon, tofu, crumbled veggie burger, some grilled chicken or steak or salmon, hard boiled egg, beans or lentils - whatever you have around.

Nuts and seeds:

Vary your salad nuts and seeds – walnuts one day, slivered almonds the next. Pistachios work nicely. So do sunflower seeds.

Dressing:

Keep it simple with olive oil and vinegar or lemon, or try a tahini dressing or even just hummus and some vinegar as dressing.

Vegetables:

Variety is key so experiment with putting different vegetables into your salads – raw or cooked, such as leftover roasted vegetables.

Stay tuned for more salad ideas!