• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest

Shift Nutrition

Sydney Dietitian & Nutritionist

  • About
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Mains
    • Salads
    • Snacks
    • Sweet Stuff
  • Media
  • Work With Me
    • Recipe Development
    • Food and Nutrition Writing
    • Nutrition Consulting
  • Contact

August 26, 2015 By Skye Swaney Leave a Comment

The 5 Step Formula for Amazing Salads

How To Make Amazing SaladsAs predictable as it may be, I love a good salad.  They are definitely one of my favourite things to ‘cook’ – and not just because they are quick and healthy but because you can be really creative and basically just make them up as you go along. Plus, I love all the different textures and flavours you get from a salad. But as much as I like to freestyle when it comes to salad making,  I find that following this formula always leads to great results.

lentil beetroot salad nutrition1. Choose a bulking ingredient. This will make up the majority of the salad volume-wise but will likely be the least exciting bit. For example:
Rocket
Baby spinach
Mixed lettuce
Kale
Rice
Pasta
Quinoa
Kidney, cannellini beans, lentils or chickpeas

2. Choose a protein
This is the backbone of the salad, where you can take it from a side to a meal in itself. If you do just want a side salad, feel free to leave this out. Otherwise, try one of these:

Sweetcorn and blackbean saladChicken – pan fry a chicken breast and slice or shred
Beef – as above
Salmon – bake or pan fry and flake
Bacon – sliced and fried until crispy
Egg – hard boiled and sliced or poached
Beans or chickpeas
Lentils.
3.Choose a highlight ingredient – this is the fun bit. I always try to use at least one really interesting ingredient a salad which can take it from everyday to a bit gourmet. The highlight ingredient is the star of the show, the salad’s selling point, so make it a good one!

Ideally it should be something either a bit exotic or with a texture that contrasts the rest of the salad. Some of my favourite highlight ingredients are:

persimmon salad nutrition Wild rice
Goats cheese, feta or blue cheese
Candied walnuts
Olives
Any sort of toasted nuts – almonds, pine nuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans
Avocado
Dates
Fennel

4. Choose a colourful ingredient.
The best looking salads are colourful ones. So make sure you choose something that will stand out and make the salad look beautiful. Some great colourful additions are:

Pumpkin (cut into cubes and roasted)
Pomegranate seeds
mixed bean salad nutrition Cherry tomatoes
Red capsicum
Beetroot (roasted and quartered)
Spanish onion
Pink grapefruit
Strawberries
Figs

NB: The highlight and colourful ingredients can be the same thing!

5. Choose a dressing
I tend to use the same dressing for most of my salads which is really quick and easy to make:
1/3 cup olive oil + 1/4 cup lemon juice or balsamic/white/red wine vinegar + 1 teaspoon mustard and 1 teaspoon honey

For something a bit fancier I might use pomegranate molasses or a flavoured vinegar and olive oil.
Or if its an Asian style salad I’ll use a combination of lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, sweet chilli sauce and maybe a bit of soy sauce.

Ultimately, the secret to a great salad is to have contrasting colours, flavours and textures so it looks and tastes great. And remember, the best thing about salads is that there are no rules. You’re unlikely to completely stuff it up so be creative!

Want some salad recipes? Here you go

roast pumpkin feta salad nutrition

It's only fair to share...Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Google+
Google+
Share on Yummly
Yummly

Filed Under: Nutrition

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want Delicious Healthy Recipes Straight To Your Inbox?

Recipe Categories

  • Breakfasts
  • Mains
  • Salads
  • Soups & Starters
  • Snacks
  • Sweet Stuff

Latest Recipe

Miso Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Dressing

Categories

  • Nutrition
  • recipes

Recent Posts

  • One Tray Mediterranean Lamb & Halloumi
  • Roasted Kale, Pumpkin & Almond Salad
  • Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • 15 Minute Apple Strudel
  • Quick Chicken San Choy Bow

Recipes

  • Breakfasts
  • Mains
  • Salads
  • Soups & Starters
  • Snacks
  • Sweet Stuff

Follow

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest

Instagram

  • Whole grains aren’t just full of fibre, they also have 25 other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, protein and even antioxidants! In fact, they’re such nutrition stars they deserve to have a whole week dedicated to them, which they do, and it’s this week! So happy #wholegrainweek (and yes, that is a toasted broccoli and cheese sandwich....🧀) @grainslegumesnc #lookforthewholegrain #lovewholegrains#healthy#healthylifestyle#nutrition#dietitian#meltedcheese
  • Goodbye beautiful Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿😢#Scotland #aviemore
  • Day trip to the Isle of Skye and the best lunch at @thethreechimneys 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿#Scotland #isleofskye #travel #dietitian #nutrition
  • Sampling the local produce @glenmorangie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🥃#whisky #Scotland #highlands #travel
  • This guy seems to be a big fan of Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #scotland #travel #dietitian #nutritionist #scottishhighlands #travelpics
  • A week spent exploring the highlands of Scotland 😍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿#Scotland #isleofskye #inverness #dingwall
  • An incredible day yesterday exploring @cobramestate who were the most amazing hosts! It’s fantastic to see such passionate people working hard to raise awareness of the very underrated health benefits of extra virgin olive oil, and so fun to hang out with a great bunch of likeminded people @jescoxnutritionist @drjoannamcmillan @mishbridges @eatprayworkout @fionatucknutrition @libbybabet @sarah.roocroft @thebitingtruth @commandosteve @doctorginni @shivaunconn @uberhealth (and thanks for the pic @eatprayworkout!) 😊😊#cobramestate #extravirginoliveoil #nutrition #ausharvest #FirstHarvest
  • Perfect setting for a perfect lunch! 😊👌Thanks for an amazing day  @cobramestate and @drjoannamcmillan
  • #TBT to last month's trip back to my home town for the Yoplait x @geckosports event talking to parents and kids about healthy snacking habits! Thanks for having me @yoplaitaustralia, I had a blast! #PetitMiam #spon #healthykids #healthysnacks #dietitian #nutrition #melbourne
  • Happy International Banana Day!! I don’t think there’s any fruit more deserving of its very own day, where would we be without this perfect snack, smoothie addition and pancake topper! Big thanks to all the bananas 🍌🍌🍌Recipe for these 3 ingredient flourless banana pancakes is on my website, link in bio 😊#internationalbananaday •
•
•
•
•
 #delicious#delish#amazing#yum#hungry#instafood#foodpics#health#healthy#eating#dietitian#nutrition#nutritionist#amazing#foodie#healthychoice#wholefoods#healthylife#plantbased#healthyrecipes#superfoods#healthyeats#healthyfoodie#eatrealfood#foodphotography#banana#pancakes#brealfast#healthysnack#dessert
  • ....aaand after a lovely long weekend it’s back to the grind again! If you’re struggling with post Easter dinner inspiration, get my tips on nailing weeknight food prep for @thecollectivehub, link in bio🍳🍅🥦🍝(or get the recipe for this very tasty Mexican Egg hash on my website!) •
•
•
•
•
#delicious#delish#amazing#yum#hungry#instafood#foodpics#health#healthy#eating#dietitian#nutrition#nutritionist#amazing#foodie#healthychoice#wholefoods#healthylife#plantbased#healthyrecipes#superfoods#healthyeats#healthyfoodie#foodphotography#foodprep#dinner#dinnerinspo
  • This Saturday I’ll be talking to parents and kids at the @yoplaitaustralia & @geckosports event about all things nutrition! We’ll be tasting some Yoplait Petit Miam pouches and I’ll be letting everyone in on my 7 secrets of healthy snacking for kids. Visit the GeckoSports website for tickets if you’re in Melbourne! (Link in bio) 
#spon #healthysnacks #dairy #healthykids #PetitMiam

Follow Shift Nutrition

Facebook

Shift Nutrition
  • About Skye
  • Recipes
  • Blog
  • Contact

Made with in Australia