Easy Substitutions for Healthier Salad Ingredients

  

Most health conscious people (including myself) love a great salad! Colorful salads made with a variety of vegetables are “supermeals” packed with nutrition, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and enzymes. Experts say that eating salad almost every day may be one of the healthiest eating habits you can adopt – and one of the simplest. If you frequently eat green salads, you will likely have higher blood levels of a handful of powerful antioxidants which help protect your body from damage caused by free radicals.

However, unfortunately not all salads are created equal. For example, take the “Snickers salad” which is made with…you guessed it…Snickers bars, among other foods such as cream cheese, powdered sugar, apples, and Cool Whip. It is probably obvious to most that this salad is not one of the healthiest out there, to say the least. Some salad ingredients, however, may be a little more difficult to spot. Let’s look at how we can make better ingredient choices to increase the nutrition density in your salad.

1. Mayonnaise – Commercial mayonnaise contains eggs, oil, salt, vinegar, artificial flavors, and usually some type of sugary sweetener. It is an easy way to add unwanted fat and calories to a salad.

Try this instead: Greek yogurt can be substituted in some recipes. If you are looking for a creamy salad dressing or topping, try blending avocado, lemon juice, water, and herbs together. It is delicious!

2. Croutons – Croutons are often a highly processed food. Many contain refined oils, artificial colors and flavors, as well as salt, and high-fructose corn syrup.

Try this instead: Add a few tablespoons of raw almonds, sunflower seeds, or even kale chips over your salad for a nice crunch.

*Eating a little good fat like olive oil, avocado, and nuts helps your body absorb protective phytochemicals like lycopene from tomatoes and lutein from dark green vegetables.

3. Processed meats (bacon, bacon bits, ham, etc.) – Processed meat like bacon and ham add fat, calories, sugar, and salt to an otherwise light meal.

Try this instead: Add a leaner meat like grilled chicken, turkey, or salmon. Sautéed shiitake mushrooms, cooked beans, lentils, nuts, or seeds can make a “meatier” salad. You could even top a salad with a veggie burger patty. Grains like brown rice and quinoa are also great additions.

4. Processed cheese – Processed cheese is high in saturated fat, calories, and salt. A little cheese is fine, but when you can no longer see the lettuce under all the cheese topping your veggies, that’s where you can run into problems.

Try this instead: Goat cheese, feta, and mozzarella are great alternatives to processed American cheeses. If you don’t eat dairy, you can get a great cheesy flavor from sprinkling some nutritional yeast on your salad which will also help pump up your vitamin B12 intake.

5. Fatty dressings – Creamy dressings like ranch, french, and 1000 island are all loaded with calories from unhealthy fat. The fat-free versions are usually packed with sugar to make up for the lack of fat…make sure you read food labels and ingredient lists!

Try this instead: Topping your salad with a fresh or homemade salsa is a great way to get a flavor punch (and extra veggies!) to your salad. Mashed avocado with lemon juice and herbs is another great option to get that creamy texture. You can also combine olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for a simple, delicious dressing. 

*A study from right here at The Ohio State University found that people who added 2 ½ tablespoons of avocado to a salad of lettuce, carrot, and spinach absorbed 8 times more alpha-carotene and more than 13 times more betacarotene (both are thought to protect against cancer and heart disease) than those in the study eating salads without avocado.

Make an effort to include dark leafy greens and a variety of colorful chopped or whole veggies to your salad. Get creative and add healthy, flavorful/crunchy extras like nuts, seeds, and fresh herbs to make it more interesting. Happy eating!

-Lauren Aeh, Dietetic Intern, OSU Human Nutrition