Member Area

Modern Family Living :: The online magazine for the modern family living and lifestyle

Friday
Jul 30th
Home arrow Departments arrow Diet and Nutrition arrow Salad Ingredients - Selecting The Right Ones
Salad Ingredients - Selecting The Right Ones  E-mail
Written by Kerris Samson   

When it comes to making the perfect salad, you first need to learn a little bit about the different types of foods, which can be used. Many salads today will be a combination of several different ingredients each providing their own unique texture and taste the final salad. In this article, we will take a look at various different salad ingredients that you can use and which will help you hopefully to make the perfect salad every time.

1. Leave Plants - Into this group comes lettuces and other green leaved vegetables. In a large number of cases people when making a salad will use an iceberg lettuce. But instead why not try something different. Go for a butterhead lettuce whose leaves are more tender than the iceberg or for something that has a much coarser leaves try a cos one instead. But which ever one you choose will provide you with a whole new dimension in the texture to your salad.

For those of you who are fed up or bored with lettuce in your salad there are plenty of other alternatives to choose from. You could try a plant that was originally grown in Italy known as Arugula and which will offer a much more tangy, mild peppery taste to the flavor of your salad. Otherwise another alternative to replace lettuce in your salad is a plant from Asia which has a slightly bitter taste but is often used in cooking by the Chinese called Bok Choy.


2. Fruit & Vegetables - Instead of sticking with the more traditional fruits and vegetables in your salads why not try to be a little more adventurous. Apples are certainly ideal and can easily combine with a number of different other salad ingredients also. If you are looking to make a more unusual salad which incorporates the Bok Choy we mentioned above previously why not mix this up with some bean sprouts, cucumber and spring onions and then drizzle with a light coating of sesame seed oil which you have mixed with some soy sauce.

Other fruits and vegetables that you may want to include in your salad in place of tomatoes, cucumber and green onions are broccoli, beans (red, black, green or kidney ones) and carrots. Also, you can further add more flavor to your salads through the use of herbs and spices including not just garlic, but basil, rosemary and cilantro.

3. Fish and Meat - Although a lot of people feel that a salad should purely consist of vegetables and fruit many people incorporate meat or fish to provide them with a complete meal. Some of the most famous salads people now eat such as Caesar's incorporate healthy amounts of lean meat or fish into them. But if you choose to use such foods in your salad do not use too much.

However, you may want to include cheese rather than meat or fish into your salad. Plus a great way of adding some additional texture or crunch to the salad you are making is through adding croutons or nuts to it. If you choose to use nuts in your salad then go for the likes of walnuts, almonds or peanuts in it and preferably avoid those that have been ready prepared (such as pickled walnuts) or which are coated in salt.

When looking for the right salad ingredients for your salad it is vital that you go for the freshest ones possible. Avoid any kind of vegetable or fruit, which has markings on them or where the leaves have begun to wilt. Plus it is important before you place these ingredients together you thoroughly wash them although some come ready to use and in packaging they will have additives and chemicals on them which help to preserve them.

At SaladFacts.com provides information regarding salads and their nutritional values. If you would like to learn more about making tasty dressings for your salad ingredients click here .

by Kerris Samson