Make Your Salad a Meal
Adapted from Arthritis Today®*, the health magazine published by the Arthritis Foundation.
It's a fact: If you're overweight, your knees pay the price. One way to eat better and lose weight is to put salads front and center on the dinner menu more often. Creative and strategic combinations of vegetables, fruits and proteins make salads satisfying and tasty and ensure they are packed with nutrition but not calories.
How do you make a meal out of a salad?
- Start with a foundation of salad greens. Experiment with nutrient-rich darker greens like arugula (a tangy, peppery flavor) and spinach, and mix them with butter lettuce (creamy and sweet), lamb's lettuce (sweet and nutty) and radicchio (slightly bitter).
- Then add a hearty base: Leftover cooked pasta, rice or barley or sliced cooked potatoes or beans work well.
- Next, add protein - leftover grilled chicken, fish or lean meat; canned light tuna, salmon or sardines; or chopped hard-boiled eggs, nuts or legumes.
- Finally, top with fruits and vegetables. A colorful salad is a healthful salad, so try to add a veggie or fruit from each of these major color groups:
| Red |
Red peppers, tomatoes, apples, oranges, cherries, strawberries, watermelon, beets, plums, purple grapes |
| Yellow |
Cantaloupe, mango, peaches, papaya, pineapple, squash, corn, sweet potatoes |
| White |
Bananas, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, parsnips |
| Green |
Avocados, green apples, green grapes, kiwi, honeydew melon, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, celery, green onion, green pepper, zucchini |
