benefits of green salads

Friday, September 20, 2013

benefits of green salads

Benefits of Green Salads

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benefits of green salads

BENEFITS:

Low in calories and high in fiber.

Some varieties are high in beta carotene, folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and potassium.

DRAWBACKS:

Often eaten with large amounts of oily or high fat creamy dressing.

benefits of green salads

Green salads are often part of a healthy dinner, and although many vegetables may be used in it, lettuce is by far the most popular ingredient. According to a recent government survey, lettuce is the nation’s third ranking vegetable crop; in fact, Americans now consume an average of 30 pounds of lettuce a year, a five fold increase since 1900. Two basic reason accounts for this rise in consumption, health conscious, Americans are consuming more fruits and vegetables, and low cost lettuce and other fresh salad greens are now available year round, thanks to modern refrigeration and food transportation. Weight watchers are especially partial to salads; they are low in calories yet filling, since they are high in fiber. Unfortunately, a large green salad that contains only 50 calories can quickly become more fattening than a steak if it’s drowned in a creamy high fat dressing. There are, however, many tasty low fat alternative dressings, herb vinegar mixed with a little olive oil, a sprinkling of herbs and lemon juice, or nonfat yogurt combined with garlic, chopped parsley, and lemon juice.

benefits of green salads

GOOD NUTRITION:

Some types of lettuce and other salads green contain high amounts of beta carotene, folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium, but the amounts vary considerably from one variety to another. In general, those with dark green or other deeply colored leaves have more beta carotene and vitamin C, than the paler varieties. Romaine and Boston lettuce, for example, have three times as much vitamin C and much more beta carotene than iceberg lettuce.

Such salads greens as arugula, chicory escarole, Mache, and watercress are all more nutritious than lettuce, many people also find them more flavorful, and they are becoming readily available in restaurants and markets. Some, such as chicory, escarole and watercress are slightly bitter, yet they provide and interesting flavor and texture contrast when added to a salad of lettuce and other types of greens.

Arugula, a member of the same plant family as broccoli, cabbage, has a tangy, peppery flavor when grown during the cool spring and fall months, and a stronger, mustard like taste of harvested during the summer. This is one of the most nutritious of all salads greens; 1 cup provides 2 mg of beta carotene, 45 mg of vitamin C, 150 mg of calcium, and 0.5 mg or iron, all in a serving that has only 12 calories. Watercress, another cruciferous vegetable, is also a nutritional winner: 1 cup contains a mere 5 calories, yet it provides 1.5 mg of beta carotene, 15 mg of vitamin C, 60 mg of calcium, and .05 mg of iron. Deeply colored lettuces and salads are also high in BIOFLAVONOIDS, plant pigments known to work with vitamin C and other ANTIOXIDANTS to prevent cancer causing cell damage.

Lettuce and salads can be mixed or combined with a broad spectrum of raw fruits or vegetables, cold pasta, or chunks of chicken or tuna to make a low calorie, high nutritious main dish. Raw spinach is often used as a salad green, although cooking makes some of its nutrients a bit easier to absorb a spinach salad still provides good amounts of beta carotene, folte vitamin C calcium and iron.

benefits of green salads

TYPES OF SALADS GREENS:

There are dozens of different varieties of lettuce and salad greens, some of the more familiar are listed below.

Arugula, which resemble dandelion green, is strongly flavored and tastes best when grown in cool temperatures.

Belgian endive, a slightly bitter relative of chicory, is grown under a soil cover to produce a small head of light yellow or white leaves. It adds an interesting texture and flavor to salads; it can be broiled or steamed and served hot.

Butterhead, which includes Boston and bibb lettuces, forms loosely, packed heads of tender, mildly flavored leaves.

Chicory and escarole are related green with a somewhat bitter taste. They are nutritious but not widely used because of their assertive flavors.

Iceberg, a crisp, tightly packed head lettuce, is the most widely consumed salad ingredient in the United States of America, but it provides less nutrition than most other varieties of lettuce and salads greens.

Looseleaf, includes green and red oak and green and red leaf lettuces, as well as other types that do not form heads.

Mache, or lamb’s lettuce, has small delicate leaves. This expensive green is often sold in gourmet shops.

Romaine has long, crisp, dark green leaves that from a loose head, also called cos lettuce, it is used to make Caesar and similar salads.

Watercress, grown in cold stream beds in the late winter and early spring, it has a sharp flavor and is used mostly as a garnish or in soups.