You can kick your salads up a notch – and add so much flavor AND nutrition - with these simple ingredients. The best part is that a little goes a long way with these extras – so you get flavor without a lot of calories.
1) Hummus – so many flavors to choose from. Mix it right into your salad along with a little olive oil and vinegar.
2) Toasted Nuts – amazing how toasting nuts really changes and enhances their flavor – toast in a pan or simply in a toaster oven. Just a few minutes will do, and keep a close eye on them because they go from done to burnt in no time. Try toasting walnuts, slivered almonds and/or pine nuts as a start.
3) Flavorful Cheese – crumbled feta, grated or shredded Parmesan – a tablespoon or two will do the trick. Yum.
4) Beets – shredded raw beets or sliced cooked beets add wonderful sweetness, flavor and texture to any salad – not to mention fiber, vitamins and minerals. Score!
5) Petite sweet peas – so easy to keep a bag of these frozen peas on hand (be sure to look for the petite sweet peas) and they barely need to be thawed. Throw them in your salad bowl first and by the time you've added everything else they will be ready to eat. Otherwise just run a handful of peas under a little hot water for instant readiness. Peas add flavor and substance – and fiber and other nutrients.
Happy eating!
Allegra Burton, MPH, RDN
Nutrition with Allegra
310-429-0205
Santa Monica, CA
