When people think of salads, they think of greens, greens and greens. The fact is that salads have much more to offer in terms of colours, flavours and nutrition. They can be a good choice for those who want to eat clean or simply have a healthier diet. But there are also other reasons that keep even more people jumping onto this salad-eating bandwagon:
#1 Salads Are Delicious
Each ingredient that goes into a salad has its own unique quality, bringing a rich burst of flavours along with its rich nutritional qualities. Salads are delicious and knowing that they are also good for you, adds to the delicious factor.
#2 Salads Are Visually Satisfying
Your eyes eat your food before you do. Salads often come in vibrant colours and every salad bowl never looks the same. These layers of beauty contain various colours and textures, which make the salads visually appealing and satisfying. How do you resist food that are instagram-worthy?
#3 Salads Are Tummy-rific!
Contrary to common misconception, salads can be satisfying for your tummies too. A good bowl of salad can make you full without making you feel too guilty. The amount of calories present in a bowl of salad is definitely less than the calories present in a burger or pizza. You won’t have to worry about the calories as much as that fried chicken wing you were craving for last night.
#4 You Eat What You Love
Most salad bars allow customers to choose and customise their own salad bowls. This means endless possibilities of yummy colourful salads. You get to choose what goes into your salad — vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, peas, and not forgetting — the dressings! Fresh fruits and vegetables are delicious, so mixing them in an array of different combinations to create a salad ensures exciting meals. Who says you can’t get creative with what you eat?
#5 All The Vitamins You Need
A bowl of salad can provide you with all the vitamins you need for the day. You are what you eat, so eating salads can be a good opportunity to learn more about what goes into your food. Choose ingredients that are high in vitamins and minerals to go into your salads, such as:
- Lettuce: Vitamin A (immunity)
- Tomato: Vitamin C (fights infection, boosts iron absorption, maintains healthy bones, gums and skin)
- Spinach: Vitamin K (strong bones, heals wounds, assists blood to clot)
- Broccoli: Calcium (builds strong teeth and bones, assists blood to clot, assists nerves to carry messages, help muscles to contract and move)
- Carrot: Alpha- and beta-carotene (antioxidant that helps protect against cancer and heart disease)
- Almond: Iron (maintains healthy blood)
#6 Keep You In Shape
Salads can also help to cut down fats for people who are trying to lose weight. If you’re looking for a healthier lifestyle, yet love to snack, you can try having a bowl of salad instead. A bowl of salad can make you feel extra full, while helping to control your unhealthy cravings and prevent you from overeating.
#7 Improve Skin Tone
The high levels of water found in fruits and vegetables improves hydration in your body, which is necessary for youthful skin tone and various basic bodily functions.
#8 Power Up Your Muscles
Inorganic nitrate, which is abundant in spinach, is found to result in muscles using less oxygen. It helps to improve the performance of the mitochondria – little structures inside your cells that help to produce energy, as well as inform and power your muscles.
#9 Protect Your Heart
Romaine lettuce contains two key nutrients in significant levels that help to protect the heart muscle: folate and fibre. High levels of folate have been shown to lower the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Soluble fibre has been shown to reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol.
#10 Improve Your Health
Salads help protect the body from diseases such as cancer and heart disease because they are high in fiber which improves digestive health. The raw fruits and vegetables in a salad also are antioxidants. To up your health factor game, it is as simple as adding a hand full of blueberries and walnuts to a salad.
SaladStop! offers the largest selection of fresh ingredients and locally inspired dressings in Asia. Promising their customers more than freshness, SaladStop! also recognizes the importance of health awareness, and have their dedicated in-house nutritionist and experts from Camden Medical Centre to help tailor the SaladStop! experience to every customer. Staying true to their motto ‘Eat Wide Awake’, the team searches for the best possible ingredients to feed the human mind, body and soul; while taking into consideration the environment and animal welfare.
“Eating should be more than just being good to your body, but everything around you.”
