Summer salads
This
season tuck into some delectable greens to beat the heat
Summer is a month where you need to eat food that is fresh, refreshing and more importantly, something that will help you remain out of a hot kitchen! Salads are ideal when it comes to summer foods. They are quick to prepare, don’t need a lot of kitchen time and the health benefits trump the easiness of preparing them.
GO SEASONAL
Try and go for seasonal summer foods like capsicum, cucumbers, ice lettuces and tomatoes. They are readily available, high on natural nutritional content and also cost effective. Besides, include season veggies like Amaranth or Chauli leaves, popularly known as Saag, to add a bit of zing to your salad. They’re also a great source of protein. Even Arugula leaves or baby beetroot leaves can be added if you’re bored of the ice lettuce and cucumber combo.
INCLUDE FRUITS It’s a great idea to include fruits in your salads. Summer fruits like watermelon and muskmelon have many health benefits. Besides a high water content, which your body needs, they also add a high nutritional value to your diet. Another reason is, you can ditch the high calorie desserts and go for a healthy fruit salad instead. A mango and pineapple salad is a good option for those who possess a sweet tooth.
PROTEIN
If you miss meats in your diet and that’s the reason you avoid salads, a portion of boiled and marinated meats could provide you with the needed protein. Mostly athletes or those who are into bodybuilding will benefit from these, since a meaty salad provides you with a mix of vitamins as well as protein and gives all the complexity your diet needs. Use herbs like oregano, rosemary, and even some mild onion and garlic paste can be used to marinate meats and give it a nice flavour.
DRESSINGS
While supermarkets offer a wide variety of salad dressings, there is always an option of making dressings at home. This is beneficial for those who are looking to avoid preservatives in their diet.
1 Buttermilk herb dressing A
refreshing summer dressing for your green salad, this provides the needed
calories to your diet and is easy to prepare at home. Take one and a half cup
of buttermilk, one tablespoon of flavoured vinegar of your choice, a handful of
chopped basil leaves and half a teaspoon of minced garlic. Mix the ingredients
and use them in your green salad. This goes amazingly well with a spicier salad
since the tang adds to the strong flavour of the salad. You can also add some
pepper to increase the pungency.
2 Ginger Ponzu Sauce An easy dressing to make, this citrus based concoction can add the much needed zing to your blend of veggies. Inspired by Thai cuisine, all you need is less than half a cup of soy sauce, one tablespoon of freshly crushed and peeled ginger and one fourth cup of lemon juice. You can use this dressing on meaty salads including a fish salad.
3 Honey Dressing This is another easy dressing you can make at home and goes best with fruity salads. Take a cupful of yogurt, two tablespoons honey and just about two teaspoonfuls of grated lemon peel. Mix all the ingredients nicely until you get a rich, thick blend.
2 Ginger Ponzu Sauce An easy dressing to make, this citrus based concoction can add the much needed zing to your blend of veggies. Inspired by Thai cuisine, all you need is less than half a cup of soy sauce, one tablespoon of freshly crushed and peeled ginger and one fourth cup of lemon juice. You can use this dressing on meaty salads including a fish salad.
3 Honey Dressing This is another easy dressing you can make at home and goes best with fruity salads. Take a cupful of yogurt, two tablespoons honey and just about two teaspoonfuls of grated lemon peel. Mix all the ingredients nicely until you get a rich, thick blend.
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