To call it a ‘good salad', you need a few things, right?
You'll want a bed of fresh greens, a crunchy colorful veg. like carrots or red cabbage, maybe some twang from a green onion. Most folks throw in a tomato, mushrooms, cukes or whatever is on hand.
You're minding your weight so you skip the dressing or douse on a low-fat version.
That's a great salad, isn't it?
Well…not quite, turns out you need something more to make it a ‘good salad.'
Did you know your salad needs the right fat for your body to get all the nutrients from the veggies?!
New studies show that using a low fat dressing or fat-free dressing just won't deliver the most important vitamins and other nutrients you are looking for.
Researchers found that if you want 100% of the vital nutrients from your salad, adding the right fats is crucial.
This is because, when it comes to getting those bright colored plant pigments, fats play a major role in delivering for these nutrients. We're talking about orange pigments like betacarotene from carrots or red pigment, lycopene from tomatoes.
The right salad dressing is key to unlocking nutrients
A 2012 study showed that monounsaturated fats like olive oil promoted the highest absorption of beneficial plant pigments like carotenoids.
Mono-unsaturated fat was found to be most efficient, followed by polyunsaturates and saturated fat. The study found that even when low amounts of mono-unsaturated fats were added, you can still get enough nutrients from your salad.
This is good news if your watching your waist!
The same wasn't applicable for polyunsaturated and saturated fats, because more fat dressing was needed to absorb most nutrition from the salad.
So, what does this mean for salad lovers?
It means the type of fat solely determines the amount of nutrients derived from your salad.
For example:
Do you eat your salad with a lot of cheese? You may not be getting the 100%, unless you add a mono-unsaturated fat like olive-oil dressings or avocado. In this case, you'd want to cut back on cheese and replace it with avocado-based salad dressing.
Do you like to add nuts and seeds to your salad? Choose nuts that are high in mono-unsaturated fats like
- almonds
- peanuts
- pistachios
- seeds like sunflower.
Here are few things you should avoid doing to your salad
- Too little fat or too much fat
- Skipping healthy carbohydrate source – (more on carbs you should eat)
- Not using fresh organic produce
- Using commercial salad dressing
To get the best, make your own salad dressing. Trust me, it's really simple. Here is my favorite recipe with coconut oil.
Creamy Coconut -Avocado Dressing
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (organic)
½ large avocado
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Sea salt
Ground pepper
Pinch of turmeric
DIRECTIONS
Mash the avocado well and combine rest of the ingredients to make a creamy dressing and enjoy on your salad.
Enjoy!
No need to skip the salad dressing or reach for the tasteless low fat ones. Your tastebuds and your waist line will thank you.
Yours in health,
Danette
P.S. Please share this with your friends. What's your favorite salad dressing? I love hearing from you in the comments below.
