Photos by Wes Kroninger
Few summer meals are as fresh, flavorful and filling as a salad. They’re a great way to get a few servings of vegetables in at lunch or dinner. And if you select your ingredients wisely, they can be nutrition powerhouses – packing a ton of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into every forkful.
We designed these three simple salads, each with a specific purpose in mind, to demonstrate how easy it is to create a meal targeting your personal health goals.
Mediterranean Immune Booster
Calories: 297, Fat: 12g, Dietary Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 3.5g, Protein: 36g (without dressing)
Spinach, 2 cups: Spinach is high in vitamin C (14 percent of the recommended daily amount), vitamin E (3 percent) and zinc (1 percent). Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps the body fight off bacteria and viruses, among its other essential roles.
Red Bell Pepper, ½ cup: A single red pepper has almost three times more vitamin C than an orange – not to mention nearly a third of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, which helps keep mucosal surfaces (think the inside of your mouth, nose, stomach, etc.) in tip-top shape.
Roasted Sunflower Seeds, ½ oz.: A half-ounce of these tasty seeds has 5 percent of the recommended amount of zinc. Zinc deficiency can affect the ability of immune cells to function properly, making it easier for the body to contract illnesses.
Lean Beef, 3 oz.: We chose top round, one of the leanest cuts of beef, and seared it in garlic olive oil before finishing it in the oven. Beef is an excellent source of iron (15 percent of the recommended daily value), as well as selenium (40 percent), a mineral that works with vitamin E on a cellular level.
BONUS
Mushrooms (not pictured): To rev up the immune-boosting properties of this salad even further, we recommend adding some cooked mushrooms, which are high in both vitamin D and zinc.
Garlic Yogurt Dressing: This dressing combines the probiotics of yogurt with a delicious kick of garlic, which has been shown to kill bacteria, viruses and fungi in laboratory tests. (recipe, p. XX)
Eastern Protein Powerhouse
Calories: 306, Fat: 6g, Dietary Fiber: 9g, Sugars: 19g, Protein: 36g (without dressing)
Cabbage, 2 cups: We chose cabbage as the base for the Asian flair it would bring to this salad. Choose Bok choy for a higher concentration of vitamin A or red cabbage for its antioxidant properties.
Chicken Breast, ½ skinless breast: For its calorie-to-protein ratio, chicken is a great choice. Half a breast has 27 grams of protein, which is great for keeping your energy up and helping you feel full longer after a meal. Tofu would be a good vegetarian substitute, though much lower in protein.
Soba noodles, ½ cup: These traditional Japanese noodles are made from buckwheat, giving them a surprising 3 grams of protein – and three grams of fiber – per half cup.
Edamame, ¼ cup: Steamed soy beans add two grams of fiber and nearly 6 grams of protein to the salad.
BONUS
Egg (not pictured): A single hardboiled or scrambled egg would add 17 grams of protein.
Peanut Dressing: Our sweet and spicy dressing has 2.3 grams of protein per tablespoon. (recipe, p. XX)
Heart Health
Calories: 315, Fat: 29g, Dietary Fiber: 8g, Sugars: 7g, Protein: 27g (without dressing)
Arugula, 1.5 cups: While not quite as much of a “superfood” as spinach, arugula does pack a nutritional punch, with 15 percent of the recommended vitamin A, 6 percent vitamin C, 44 percent vitamin K and 6 percent folate – a water-soluble B vitamin that some studies have shown may lower homocysteine levels in blood and reduce artery wall thickening.
Salmon, 4 oz.: The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon may reduce inflammation, which can damage blood vessels and cause heart disease. Omega-3s may also lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels and decrease the risk of heart failure.
Avocado, ½ fruit: The healthy fats in avocado – 10 grams of monounsaturated fat per half – can help lower LDL cholesterol levels.
Roma tomato, four slices: Lycopene, which gives tomatoes their coloring, is an antioxidant. A host of studies have shown tomatoes to be beneficial in a variety of ways; notably, the nutrients in them protect lipoproteins and vascular cells from oxidation, which may be the cause of atherosclerosis.
BONUS
Almonds (not pictured): Nuts such as almonds and walnuts are also high in omega-3s.
Orange Vinaigrette: One of the phytochemicals in oranges, hesperidin, has been show to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol in animal studies. Olive oil is considered a healthy fat, and balsamic vinegar has polyphenols, which at least one study showed inhibited oxidation of LDL cholesterol. (recipe, p. XX)
Dress it up!
All our dressings were created by tossing all the ingredients in a cup at once and blending with a hand blender. Enjoy!
Garlic Yogurt Dressing
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- black pepper to taste
Peanut Dressing
- 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped ¼ tsp. red pepper
Orange Vinaigrette
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
juice of one orange (approximately ¼ cup)
