Go bananas with your salads! Who says salads have to be boring? There are a number of ways to dress up your salad that could make its desirability quotient hit the roof. Don’t believe? Read on!

Is your salad really healthy?

A common notion is that if you are eating a salad it is healthy but depending on what you put into it, salads can be calorie bombs too. Heavy cream based and store bought dressings (like mayo) taste great but defeat the purpose of eating healthy. For dressings use olive oil lemon juice, garlic, spices - keep it light. 

Try this – Power packed salad 

Raw Energy 

The enzymes found in raw vegetables are healthy for you. Besides the usual mix of lettuce and other salad leaves, try vegetables that are not traditionally found in salads like zucchini, baby broccoli, baby spinach, green beans and peas. A lot of varieties are very tender and sweet, raw. 

Try this – Greek salad 

Do not forget the fruit.  

Fruit is a great addition to any salad. Even without a recipe, you can get creative with grapefruits, oranges, avocados, apples, grapes, pears, peaches, etc. In fact to set a limit to the list of ingredients for a salad is next to impossible. Add contrasting tastes and colours to really make the flavours pop. 

Try this – Watermelon, olive and feta salad 

Healthy crunchy nutty 

Almonds, walnuts, pinenuts, sunflower seeds, basil seeds, chia seeds, raisins, pistachios, melon seeds all have a unique taste of their own and can be a healthy addition to any salad. Go one step ahead and caramalize them for a whole crunchy sweet new dimension. Also do not miss out micro greens - finish off your salad with a handful of them and you’ve got taste, texture,  health and presentation all taken care of in one little step. You read all about them here

Try this - Chilli Bean Salad with Caramelized Walnuts

The next day salad 

A salad is best eaten fresh, but using leftovers in your salad doesn’t make it stale. Fresh greens as a base and add up last nights leftover grilled chicken or seafood, or even roasted potatoes and pasta. You can experiment plenty with dressing also – maybe use some herbed butter instead of olive oil and a dash or orange juice instead of lemon. 

Try this –Macaroni Salad 

Temperature control

You can serve salads warm or cold. Salads like pasta or a potato salad can be served either ways, to suit your mood and the temperature outside. If you are making a salad with a leafy base of salad greens, keep them chilled. It makes for a fresher and crisper salad. 

Try this - Warm Quinoa Salad with Grilled Paneer

Presentation is key

You eat with your eyes first, so make sure your salad is pretty looking. Pick cutlery with care – the bowl in which the salad is being served should be large enough to hold the salad comfortably. Do not cut up the ingredients so they are so big that they need to be cut while eating the salad and not so small that the juices and flavours are lost. 

Try This – Sunflower Green Salad

For more exciting and out of the box salad recipes browse through sanjeevkapoor.com 

Also connect with us on chefsanjeevkapoor.blogspot.in n read about what’s cooking in Sanjeev Kapoors kitchen

Recommended recipes-

Warm Potato Parsley  Salad,  Carrot and Sprout Salad,  Chicken Tikka Salad,  Paneer Sesame Salad,  Singhada Salad,  Panzanella Salad,  Chinese Style Egg Salad,  Grilled Peach and Paneer Salad,  Watermelon and Papaya Salad,  Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomatoes