Healthy salad recipes have an unfair reputation for being a little boring at best and unsatisfactory at worst. This could have to do with the fact that we sometimes treat salads as an obligation or punishment – something we should eat to “be healthy” rather than something we want to eat for both pleasure and nourishment.
In reality, a healthy salad can (and should!) Be as filling and enjoyable as your favorite sandwich or pasta – made from a structured mix of flavorful and nutritious ingredients that you really like. If you want your salad to be a filling meal (instead of a side dish or starter), choose a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the form of vegetables, grains, fruits, beans, legumes, cheese, meat, fish, eggs, vegetable proteins (Like tofu), nuts, seeds and oils, Abby Langer, RD of Toronto, previously wrote for SELF. Using a creative variety of hearty ingredients ensures that your salad gives you enough energy and excitement to be a real meal.
We have put together 40 ideas to create delicious salads. These healthy salad recipes are based on a range of staples and seasonal products and are largely substitute-friendly. (For example, if you’re not a kale fanatic, swap in some other bold leafy greens like kale or Swiss chard; or if you don’t have quinoa, use whatever grain you have on hand.) Be vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or light can be adapted to it. And almost all of them are suitable for some level of meal prep. (Just wait with something wet or warm, like dressing or hot croutons, until you are really ready to eat to avoid accidental drenching.) You will be happy to have a salad that you would actually look forward to, done to eat in the refrigerator.
A note on the word healthy here: We know that healthy is a complicated term. Not only can it mean different things to different people, it’s a word that is quite charged (and sometimes charged) thanks to the influence of the diet industry on the way we think about food. At SELF, when we talk about healthy foods, we are primarily talking about foods that are nutritious, filling, and filling. But it also depends on your preferences, your culture, what is available to you, and a lot more. We selected these recipes with these basic criteria in mind while attempting to address a wide variety of nutritional needs and taste buds.
