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Healthy eaters know that maintaining a diet full of veggie-packed salads is the secret to a slimmer waistline.
When you find a delicious, low-calorie salad, it’s easy to think you could eat the same one for lunch every single day without getting tired of it.
But, eventually, you will—and you may even stop eating salads altogether! That’s why it’s so important to find the perfect salad combos.
With just a few simple changes, you can figure out which flavors and textures work together to keep you craving salads all day long.
Here are the top 4 must-know salad tips out there, according to Shape magazine:
- Mix-up different textures: Chef Zach Pollack, of Alimento in Los Angeles, told Shape that the perfect salad should always be made with a variety of textures. For example, Pollack purees and fries chickpeas for the restaurant’s chopped salad to give it an incredible combination of creaminess and crunchiness.
- Pair the right ingredients: According to chef Michael Costa, of popular restaurant Zaytinya in D.C., the one rule of thumb to remember is, “if it grows together, it goes together.” He told Shape that this easy guideline is based on seasonality. So, radishes, sugar snap peas, and artichokes work well in spring, while cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers make the perfect salad in summer. Once you figure out what’s in season every few months, you can always make sure your salads are packed with fresh flavors.
- Always use a bigger bowl: There’s nothing worse than shoving too many greens into a small bowl, Pollack told Shape. Tossing will get messy and, worse, your ingredients won’t get properly mixed into the salad to give you the full flavors.
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- Use the whole vegetable: Jeanne Chang, owner of Kye’s in Santa Monica, says stop throwing away your broccoli stalks! She told Shape that she doesn’t understand why people always toss the stalks after using the crowns. Wasting half of this nutritious veggie deprives you of different textures and flavors that keep the salad interesting. The same rule applies to celery leaves, carrot tops, and beet greens.
What do you think of these salad tips? Tell us in the comments!
Photo Copyright © 2011 NatalieMaynor/Flickr
