These days, it’s easy to feel like we are being healthy by being gluten free, dairy free, soy free, or whatever. But those dietary restrictions can be deceiving. It’s been proven time and time again that the bulk of our diet should be greens, fruits and veggies and lean meats. (If you’re vegetarian, scratch the meat). But either way, greens should be in our diet every day. Adding a handful of spinach to your smoothie each morning is a great way to incorporate some, but our bodies need more than that.
It’s pretty fair to say that salads have improved their reputation over the last decade or so for no longer being the last option on the menu chose. There are tons of truly mouthwatering salad recipes that beg to make their way to your plate at meal time.
- Leafy Greens
Leafy greens are the highest source of natural-sourced vitamins, minerals, macronutrients, fiber, and even protein that you can find. Leafy greens and other salad toppings have metabolism boosting properties. If its skin hair and nails you’re looking to improve, energy levels, protein and muscle gain or leanness, leafy greens are a must in your diet.
2. Fat Loss
Weight loss is not the goal, especially if you are working out every day. But fat loss is. So often, diet and meal plans are implemented telling us to “avoid this!”, and “don’t eat that!” and so on. Surely this will aid in weight loss, but is that the goal? After all, you are a human being that takes up space in the world and the universe is glad you’re here, no matter how wide or small and weight loss isn’t necessarily a good thing unless it’s the right kind of weight. Yet if you have excess fat, this can become damaging to your very cells, heart, energy levels, lymph system, organs, self-esteem and overall well-being. Salads contain all foods that your body can use as fuel, usable energy. If done right, your salads can give you just amount of fuel that is needed and not have to store anything it can’t use as fat. Thus, over time, you will lose fat and gain all the health goodness that salad ingredients have to offer.
3. Custom Nutrients
At any given point in time, your body may be lacking nutrients. The sign of acne, fatigue/low energy, being overweight or ill in any way is a sign that your body need something. The best way to get vital nutrients into your body is through food. Salads give you the opportunity to customize what your body needs, making it truly not just food for fun but food for function. so if it’s Omega 3’s you lack, add salmon or nuts. If it’s fiber, add flax seeds. If it’s good fats, add avocados, and so on. It’s a great reminder that each kind of food serves a specific and unique purpose in our bodies, salads a great way to practice this type of functional eating.
4. Convenience & Simplicity
Not only are salads extremely healthy for you, but they are convenient and simple. Once you decide what kinds of salad you want to make, you can head to the produce section, stock up on all your organic goodies and then meal prep your little heart out. Once you do, you can arrange into containers, grab on the go for work or whatever outing you have planned for the week. No re-heating required.
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