Three delicious salads you can whip up in minutes with chickpeas, chicken and lettuce

When done right, salads can pack in equal amounts of goodness and flavour. Source: Emma/Flickr

Regular salads with just a bunch of veggies chopped up can get boring pretty soon. Especially if you are making a switch to healthy eating, salads become a part of your daily meals. It then becomes important to have several options at hand, so you can have some amount of variety in your food. And just because you’re eating healthy, doesn’t mean you cannot have tasty meals. With the right kind of dressing, seasoning and herbs, a simple salad of a handful few veggies can become an explosion of flavour. A vital step here that would really help is learning to make your dressings at home since store-bought dressings are full of chemical colouring, additives and calories – even the ones marked as “low fat”. Most salads don’t require cooking and only need simple chopping and cutting. Just make sure to ensure your ingredients are fresh. Once you know a few basic recipes, mixing up different vegetables, herbs, meats and the occasional fruit along with the dressing is really a cakewalk. Here are three healthy, tasty salad recipes that you can toss up at home. Eat them as a meal or as a side with fish or veggies, they are simple, versatile and really easy to make.

 

Chickpeas are a great source of plant-based protein and have a slightly sweet taste that enhances the flavour of the overall dish. They’re also high in fibre which means you’re gonna stay full for long and not feel like grabbing a snack. Zucchini too has some amount of protein, has a good amount of fibre but is low on calories, making it ideal for those trying to lose weight. With folate, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C and a whole lot of essential micro-nutrients, a combination of zucchini and chicpeas in your salad is an absolute winner. Watch how to make this salad; the dressing is light, flavourful and refreshing.

The Mediterranean diet has long been exalted as one of the most ideal to maintain a healthy ticker. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, bring your cholesterol in check or simply looking to eat healthy, there’s nothing better than a salad that uses fresh ingredients like tomatoes, lettuce, feta cheese, peppers, olives and olive oil. The olive oil helps to build the level of good cholesterol content thanks to its high mono unsaturated fat content and is great for the skin and hair as well. Feta cheese, though high on sodium and saturated fat, can be used in moderation as it is a wonderful source of essential vitamins and minerals. Plus, we love the sharp, bold flavour and it definitely goes a long way to increase the palatability of your salad. Learn how to make a classic Greek style salad and make healthy eating delicious as well.

 

For those who cannot give up their meats but still want to eat healthy, making a switch to chicken will help. As a lean protein source, a single serving of chicken packs in about 25g of pure protein as well as fairly substantial amounts of vitamin B and selenium – remember to remove the skin though, since its high on fat. When paired with herbs like garlic and a lot of greens, a chicken-based salad is a balanced meal that provides all the major food groups, yet is light and flavourful. Watch how to make a garlic chicken salad here.