Salad Awareness Day July 9th, 2011

Why do we need a Salad Awareness Day?

Have you had your salad today? Eating salad almost every
day may be one of the most healthy eating habits you can
adopt – and one of the simplest, experts say. Eating salads
is a super-convenient way to work in a couple of servings
of vegetables and/or fruit. Green salads are on the menu of
almost every restaurant. You can even buy a side salad (with
Romaine lettuce, carrots and tomatoes, available with fat free
or reduced-calorie salad dressing) for a buck at many
fast food chains these days. And you can make a green salad
at home in 5 minutes, armed with a bag of pre-washed salad
greens, a few carrots or other veggies, and a bottle of light
salad dressing.
Not only that, but salads are cool, crunchy, and fun to eat
(lots of textures, colors, and flavors). Most people enjoy
eating salads – even kids! You can customize them to include
the fruits and vegetables that appeal to you the most, and
whichever ones you have on hand.

-Excerpt from By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, WebMD Weight Loss Clinic

Health Benefits Of Salads

According to Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat To Live the one food
that research has shown is most highly associated with
longevity is leafy greens…in other words salads. This may
come as a surprise to you, but leafy green vegetables are the
most nutrient packed foods available to us.
Think about it, how do the giraffe, hippo, elephant, gorilla
and cow get so big? Where do they get all the protein they
need to create those big muscles? They get it from the leafy
green vegetation they eat. All protein starts with the process
of photosynthesis in green plants.
The added health benefits of green salads are that they are
raw. To the leafy greens we use for our salad base we add a
lot more fresh, raw vegetables. In Eat To Live, Dr. Fuhrman
reports that a review of 206 studies showed raw vegetable
consumption to be our strongest defense against cancer of
any foods.
http://www.ezhealthydiet.com/green-salads.html

Oriental Salad

Ingredients:
2 Cup sliced or shredded cabbage with cone #4 or #2
½ cup snow peas
1 can Chinese baby corn
1 can water chestnuts
2 carrots shredded with cone #2
½ cup green onions diced
¼ cup red pepper sliced thin
Dressing:
¼ cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chinese chili paste
Preparation: Drain chestnuts and baby corn, slice chestnut
into small slices. Please vegetable ingredients in a bowl and
toss. Add dressing to salad and let marinate for about an
hour. Serve with rice.

Refreshing Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
½ cantaloupe
½ honey dew melon
1 banana
1 pear
½ lemon
½ lime
Preparation: Process cantaloupe and melon using the No.3
cone; banana using the No. 5 cone; apple and pear using the
No. 2 cone. Using the No. 1 cone, grate zest of lemon and
lime. Lemon and lime provide the juice which is the dressing
for the salad and keeps the fruit from turning brown. In a
large bowl, gently toss fruit and mix. Serve chilled.
Variations: Try adding papaya, pineapple or pecans to
your salad. Easily customize this dish to fit your unique
taste preferences.

In Health,