Tired
of eating the same salad, day after day? Hit up your supermarket, food co-op,
or one of the many winter farmers’ markets for some new, seasonal ingredients.
Getting creative with new flavors and textures is also a great way to sneak
extra nutrients into your salad bowl. Here are a few alternatives to
typical salad fixings that you can use to revamp your next salad on any Phase
of the South Beach Diet:
- Skip
the iceberg lettuce and choose more nutrient-dense greens, such as baby
spinach, romaine, arugula, or a spring mix like mesclun. You can also toss fresh
well-trimmed and cut up kale with some lemon juice, salt, and pepper, let it sit
for an hour or so, and then shave Manchego cheese or Parmesan over it. A salad
option for Phase 2 is to prepare a Sicilian citrus salad, using orange or blood
orange slices and a vinaigrette made with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon
juice or juice from the oranges, salt, and pepper.
- Take advantage of your
barbecue (you can still fire it up in the winter) and grill eggplant,
artichokes, squash, fennel, or shiitake mushrooms with a basting of herb-infused
extra-virgin olive oil.
- Add sliced avocado or
olives for a touch of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. You can also slice up
a hard-boiled egg and use some cornichons or anchovies as an alternative for
olives.
- Toss in grilled salmon,
shrimp, or tofu, rather than grilled chicken.
- Top with some chopped
pecans or almonds, or a handful of sunflower seeds, instead of buttery
white-bread croutons.
- Make your own salad
dressing with a mix of extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar,
garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh herbs. Trying a new
store-bought dressing is fine, too, as long as it doesn’t contain more than 3
grams of sugar per 2-tablespoon serving.
See all South Beach Diet Tips