Healthy Salads (1)

We are living in an era where overeating is the norm than the exception for most of our family, friends and colleagues.

I have recently started to introduce salads into my daily diet in an effort to reduce weight and stay healthy. I would like to share some of my experiences and recipes.

When to eat
I take salad for breakfast. Lunch is for socializing with colleagues and in an Asian community such as Singapore, salads are not readily available at local food establishment where people usually lunch. Dinner is at Mum's and what Mum cooks, you eat. Salads just don't feature in the Asian family dinner menu. So I take my salad in the mornings, in lieu of say a high-calorie noodle or rice dish. You'd be amazed that a blow of salad can be so satisfying that there will be no craving to snack before lunch!

What to eat
In order to have any chance of sustaining a long term carnivore-salad relationship, the salad must somehow be made palatable to the carnivore. If the carnivore is made to feel like a herbivore (cow), the relationship is destined to premature failure.
For me, I like First Choice's Farmer's Pick (prewashed and ready-to-eat) from Cold Storage or Pasar Baby Salad (also prewashed and ready-to-eat) from NTUC Fairprice. These brands contain a good mix of salad vegs and they are fresh, light and crisp. On top of the vegs, I will always add cherry tomatoes. These go great in salads.

Dress it up
I usually go for just a tablespoon of clear dressings. I like Balsamic Vinegar and Red Wine Vinegar dressings. I tend to avoid the more creamy stuff like thousand island.

Condiments
As the salad vegs can taste very blend to someone (aka the carnivore) who is used to a savory meal, consider to added small portion of other foods to improve to texture and taste of the bowl of salad. Candidates include a few slices of smoked salmon (omega 3 food), a few pacific clams, a few savory crackers (recently I've been adding SHAPES from Arnott's ), some walnuts, some sunflower seeds... you get the idea.. be creative!