5 Ways to Make Your Salad Better – improve taste, nutrition, and satisfaction

Anyone who doesn’t like salads just doesn’t know how to make them.

I know, I’ve been there. To me, salads could not fill me up, lacked favor, and were generally unappealing.

Vegetables aren’t delicious if they need to be covered up in another flavor to make them taste better.

With these 5 hacks, however, you can upgrade your salad from gross health nut food to a delicious feast real fast.

Make a meal you’ll want to eat, all while getting the vitamins and minerals you need to be well and healthy.

Plus, stick around for a bonus tip right at the end!

5 Ways to Make Your Salad Taste Better and Healthier

Here are 5 easy, amazing, and effective ways to change your salad for the better!

1. Add a Protein

Protein is essential in a salad, it’s what will fill you up and leave you satisfied.

Pick a protein to add to your salad! Choose from eggs, chicken, or meat to make your salad a meal.

You can even choose a plant Protein like kidney beans or chickpeas.

Adding some sort of protein will not only leave you full but add essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals to an already healthy meal!

2. Add Texture

Don’t underestimate the power of cronching.

Add texture to your salads to make it an unforgettable meal you actually want to eat!

This can be in the form of croutons, a common salad topping. To make it even healthier, however, try added nuts, dried fruit, or even berries.

Adding different textures will make your salad more interesting to the eyes and your appetite.

3. Play with Flavor Combos

Sweet and sour, spicy and sweet, salty and spicy, etc. 

Many flavor combinations are amazing in other meals, why not add that to your salad? 

Add hints of sweetness to a savory dish with fresh fruit, and add some spicy jalapeños or cayenne pepper.

Make a sweet dressing or make it sour with vinegar. 

The possibilities are endless! Playing with flavor combinations will make your salad more appealing, with every bite an adventure in your mouth!

4. Make Your Own Dressing

There are many advantages to making your own dressing!

You can add healthy fat to ensure you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in your healthy meal.

Plus, as stated previously, you can play with flavor Combos easily in the dressing! 

Add vinegar, sweetener, and soy sauce for a sweet and sour dressing, do a simple lemon olive oil, salt combo, or even explore more exciting options like peanut butter, soy sauce, and lemon for a Thai-inspired topping.

The dressing is the perfect way to take a bland lemon-coated salad and turn it into an amazing zesty lemon, thyme, and sea salt delight.

Plus, it will be much healthier than a store-bought dressing, as it will lack the preservatives, additives, and fillers some store-bought dressings have!

Store-bought dressing wishes it could be as good.

5. Serve Bigger Portions

While the leafy greens that make up a salad are nutrient dense, they are not calorie dense.

And while I’m not a fan of counting calories, I’m a fan of feeling full, satisfied, and full of energy.

The easiest, simplest way to make your salad worth it, to make it more of a meal, is to serve more.

Make sure your salad had healthy fat and protein, make sure you have enough leafy greens and toppings, heck, make sure you have enough dressing to coat everything well!

A salad could feel like a meal because it is one!

Bonus Tip 6

Turn Your Salad into a Smoothie

While I love salads, they are effortful. You basically need to change the flavor of greens to make them even remotely appetizing, adding flavor, texture, etc.

That’s not going to happen (at least not all the time).

So, it’s like I always say, why eat a salad when you can drink it.

Turn your salad into a green smoothie. Here’s the full recipe but it’s simple!

Add cups and cups of leafy greens, add frozen berries for thickness, sweetener, milk of choice, and some plain yogurt for smoothness! Plus, you can always just do almond or oat if you’re vegan.

This is a simple, quick, and easy way to get those vitamins, minerals, and fiber into your diet without having to suffer through a meal of kale.

Quick Salad Tips

Here are some last minute tips that didn’t make the top five, but are worth mentioning!

Add a Fat

Adding fat is important as it ensures your body can absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and many more!

Plus, healthy fat can keep you fuller, longer! 

Eat it Quick

Make sure you eat your salad relatively fast to avoid soggy coleslaw texture leafy greens!

Make Your Own Croutons 

This will very much level up your salad flavor but it is a lot of effort! 

The Takeaway 

Salads don’t have to suck.

You can do these simple tips to make the meal more filling, healthier, and even taste better!

Add Texture in the form of toppings, ay with different flavor combinations, and even make your own dressing.

Adding healthy fat and protein will ensure the salad feels like an actual meal and not a side.

Remember, health starts from within!

Give your body the building blocks it needs for wellness and wellbeing to flourish!