Salads and Yogurts

The poster child of health foods is the salad. My salads include bright colored peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc., but the master of ceremony is always the greens. A variety of greens offer a variety of benefits. The best salad greens for your health are a must. I always believed that iceberg is the least healthy of the leafy greens, but one of the best greens are dandelions and beet greens.


What makes a healthy salad unhealthy are the dressings used. Commercially prepared salad dressings are loaded with sugars, fats, sodium, and other unhealthy preservatives that destroy the purpose. Salad dressings should contain olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic and other vinegars. Add spices like sea salt, black pepper, turmeric, basil and oregano, to name a few.


With the yogurt health movement in full steam, it pays to know how to navigate the yogurt aisle. My yogurt choice is Chobani plain Greek  yogurt first thing in the morning. Since I have been consuming yogurt I've become more lactose tolerant, if you can believe that!

The Power Of Leafy Greens

Food is what I consider to be the foundation of health. Speaking for myself, at one time I was hitting the gym religiously and still had a gut. Case in point is when I would take on any all-you-can eat specials!


Today, I make sure I pick the best greens and other ingredients for my salad. My salad dressing is simply oil and vinegar, and sometimes some lemon juice. I try to limit my sodium by using spices such as turmeric, black pepper and garlic salt.


We are in the middle of a kale revolution, as everyone seems put kale on their shopping list. Here are some ideas for kale salad. Because of its affect on the thyroid and high vitamin K content, kale should be limited to 3-4 times a week.


I am practically addicted to this greens and beans recipe. I tend to mix the greens and will use kale, spinach, beet greens, chard, etc., in one pot full!


Knowing your leafy greens and their nutritional value may or may not teach you something. For instance, I did not consider broccoli a leafy green but I did know that iceberg offers minute nutrition. More on the health benefits of the healthy leafy greens here.

Super Salads

I'll start off by telling you that there is no healthier salad dressing than vinegar and extra virgin olive oil(EVOO). The vinegars can be red wine, distilled, apple cider, etc., vinegar. For a semi sweetness add more oil. For more bitterness add more vinegar. Lemon juice can also be added or as a vinegar replacement. If you are looking for other healthy dressing options, find them here.

Replace salt with a turmeric, garlic salt, black pepper, combo. These are super spices that combined with greens and vegetables have a super antioxidant affect.

I talked about the greens. If you want to make a heart-healthy salad. Experiment with adding salmon, nuts, berries, beans, and rice. For the grains, try wrapping it in a whole-wheat tortilla, or bake the tortilla and use as chips for a taco salad, with a salsa dressing. I wouldn't recommend that you use all three meats(fish, poultry, lean meats) in one salad, but alternate using the fish as the better choice meat.

Tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, broccoli, mushrooms, will all supercharge your salads. Add onions, bell peppers, hot and sweet peppers, etc., the list is endless.

My suggestion is that if you want to make a salad to fit your needs, such as weight loss or energy, you Google "energy foods" or "weight loss" foods and build your own.

Think you can put together a brain salad? You can even create an aphrodisiac salad!