My Salad Collection.......

Looking for something healthy and tasty? Well, in my opinion, salads are the best option you have. They are easy, healthy and with the right dressing they will be yummier than anything. Before we jump into the recipes, why don't we just go through some facts about salads? 

Salad itself is considered as a meal. Usually it contains raw vegetables and sometimes is served as a cold meal when added pasta or is served hot. Ingredients used to make the salad vary depending on the type of flavour and appetite of the consumer. Salads can be served at different times during a full meal as an appetizer, side dish, main course, palate cleansing salad or dessert salads. The word "salad" is a derivation from french word "salade" meaning salty because mainly they were seasoned with sea salt. History reveals that the first consumption of mixed vegetables and dressings was by Greeks and Romans. What we call "Chef's salad" was then called the Salmagundi. It shows how much salads have evolved within a short period of time. 

Why should we eat salad?

1. Fibers

Green salads are considered more healthier. Mainly because a salad consist of raw vegetables that contain Cellulose parts which are commonly known as fibers. Fibers are an essential part of a diet as they help digestion of other nutrients, prevent high cholesterol levels and avoid constipation. 

2. Loose weight

As I said earlier, salads have a high amount of fibers. Did you know that fibers can prevent additional weight in your body? That means you can loose weight faster too. 

3. Antioxidants

Dark green vegetables and yellow, orange colour vegetables in your salad can improve your antioxidant levels in blood as they contain many powerful ones like vitamin C and E, folic acid, lycopene, and alpha- and beta-carotene. Antioxidants are essential for your body to repair damaged tissues, get rid of free radicals that will cause cancers and stay youthful. 

4. Satisfy you hunger

Once again we come to the fact regarding your weight. If your hunger is satisfied and if your stomach feels full for a long time you don't have to repeat your meals. That means less food intake. Less food means you are shedding the extra calories you used to take. You won't have to depend on all the high cal snacks you used to eat whenever you were hungry anymore. 

5. Easiest way to boost your nutrition level

Your doc always complains that you don't get enough nutrients? Solve your problem with simple change in your meal. All you have to do is take a portion of salad each day and experience the results within days. People who often complains about loosing hair and weak hair can add green leaves to their salads. Green leaves help your hair growth making them thicker and longer.

These are only few healthy facts about salads but you can experience unlimited number of healthy benefits just by starting to eat this simple meal. One of the best things about salads is that, you don't have to go with the recipe. If you are busy and hardly can find time to make one don't worry. You can use whatever you can find in your fridge. Here are some traditional and new salad recipes you may wanna try.

Caesar Salad


Ingredients

For the dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 anchovy fillets, drained, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon juice



1/2 bread loaf, cut into small cubes roughly 2cm
2 tbsp olive oil
4 bacon, thinly sliced
1 chopped hard-boiled egg,
1 large cos lettuce, leaves separated, torn
40g Parmesan cheese grated



Method

1. Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°C. Take a baking tray, line with a baking paper and place the bread. Sprinkle the oil all over and bake for about five minutes until golden brown. 
2. In a bowl, add Mayonnaise, anchovy, garlic and lemon juice and mix well. Add pepper to taste. 
3. Heat a frying pan to cook the bacon. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp and brown. Remove the excess fat by paper towels. 
4. Place lettuce in a large serving bowl. Add bread croutons, bacon, egg and cheese. Toss to combine. Serve mixed with the dressing.

Panzanella

Ingredients

8 slices crusty Italian bread, toasted, cooled

500g baby red capsicums cut into halves without seeds 

100ml olive oil

2 cucumbers cubed

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

2 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tbs water

Method

1. Preheat your barbecue grill or a substitute. In a bowl add 2 tbsp olive oil and capsicums and toss to coat. Cook on grill, turning occasionally, for 12 minutes or until soft and the skins start to wrinkle. Set aside to cool slightly. Coarsely chop.
2. Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces. Place the bread, capsicum, cucumber, onion and basil in a serving bowl.
3. Combine the vinegar and remaining oil in a small bowl. Drizzle over the salad and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the water. Toss until well combined.

Mexican salad

Ingredients

4 flour tortillas

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 corn cob, husk and silk removed

420g can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed

1 medium avocado, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/2 small white onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C. Take a muffin pan and apply olive oil on 4 holes. Gently push 1 tortilla into each prepared muffin hole. Apply a little bit of oil on the top too. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven. Cool in pan.
2. Heat a chargrill pan over high heat. Cook corn, turning, for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Cut kernels from cob.
3. Place corn kernels, beans and avocado in a bowl. Combine sweet chilli sauce, lemon juice and oil in a jug. Add to corn mixture. Toss to combine.
4. Combine tomato, onion and coriander in a bowl. Transfer tortilla cups to plates. Divide corn mixture between cups. Serve with tomato mixture.

Cucumber & Pineapple Mix Salad

Ingredients

100g White young cucumber cubed

100g red tomatoes cubed

70g Pineapple cubed

70g Big onion cubed

salt and pepper to taste

juice of a lime

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and finally add the lime juice. Keep it aside for 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients

3 cups of cooked chicken meat, skin on, coarsely chopped (seasoned with salt, pepper, vinegar and cooked)

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup of chopped red onion

1/2 to a whole apple chopped

1/3 head of iceberg head lettuce, sliced and chopped

5 tbsp mayonnaise

2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
2. For the dressing take a separate bowl and combine the mayonnaise salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mix the dressing in with the salad ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

2 cups dry macaroni

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped spring onion 

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar

1/2 cup of mayonnaise 

a small pinch of paprika

ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated

Salt to taste

Method

1. Cook macaroni, as directed on its package. When it reaches al dente state ( firm yet cooked thorough) remove from heat, drain and rinse with cool water until room temperature.
2. While macaroni is cooking, put chopped onions into a small bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice or vinegar over them. 
3. Combine cooked macaroni, onions, and all other ingredients in a large serving bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.

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