Salad Recipe Information for Everyday Healthy Eating: Eat Better, Feel Better, Live Better

WHAT IS A SALAD ANYWAY?

Salad Definition:
- "any combination of raw or cooked vegetables, meat, seafood, and/or fruit, nuts, or cheese usually served with a topping (dressing) or a dip".

Boy that's simple - and it leaves us with endless creative possibilities.

There are many common salad ingredients which can be used in combinations for:

- green salads - mostly made with a type of lettuce as a base ingredient - added items could be raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, cooked meats, eggs, cheeses, etc. These are usually topped with a dressing that is either mayonnaise based (dressing) or oil-based (vinaigrette)

- vegetable salads - sometimes made with just raw vegetables but more often with blanched vegetables (to soften them up a bit), fruit (other than dried) is rarely added but nuts & cheeses are common. A sauce or dressing can be used for flavour and to bind the ingredients together.

- mixed green salads - This type of salad is usually composed of a variety of lettuces (of which there are many). Some are sweet and some are extremely tart. Most people prefer these dressed with a simple vinaigrette to release the flavours of the lettuces.

- fruit salads - these are so versatile that they can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack - virtually anytime at all. A fruit salad can be as simple as using a few different cans of canned fruit: such as a fruit cocktail or if time permits - a fresh fruit salad composed of seasonal fresh fruits can be made.

- fish/seafood salads - For those of us who live inland - seafood salads are a real treat - but with all the canned & frozen varieties available, this no longer needs to be the case. A bit of crab meat, even imitation crab can be added to a green or pasta salad for a more elegant meal.

- complete meal salads - By adding a few pieces of left-over meat, eggs, or cheese (for protein) any salad can become a meal-in-itself. Some countries have already been doing this for centuries - such as the antipasto salad from Italy.

- pasta salads - pasta salads have come a long way from just eating cold mac & cheese. By adding vegetables and dressings these can become a great side dish for BBQs, family gatherings and picnics.

and this is not even to mention all the different dressings and dips that are now available for you to choose from.

All salads have at least 2 or more ingredients which complement one another.

YOU too can create fantastic combinations just using left-over vegetables sitting in the refrigerator OR you can go extreme and prepare an exotic fruit salad. Whichever ones you choose - don't limit your creative juices - let them flow - use some of this information for creating a new salad and WOW your family or guests.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6529590