Making an Entrée Salad

Summer is the perfect season to make salad your main entrée. With the abundance of great produce you can create enjoyable meals that are fresh, local and seasonal. A salad as your lunch or dinner entrée is a perfect way to follow My Plate’s guidelines and make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Here are some tips on how to make your main dish filling and delicious.

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1. Choose a protein

Since your salad will be the main course, it is important to make sure you include a good source of protein. Protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. We need protein to make enzymes, hormones, and other chemicals in our body. Main course salads may include protein in the form of meat, like chicken, thinly sliced beef or pork. Or the salad may contain seafood like salmon, shrimp, or tuna. For those of us who do not eat meat, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan protein options. Tofu, eggs and legumes will provide ample protein for your meat free salad. Not only do beans and legumes boost protein and fiber in your salad but they also provide potassium, folate and zinc. In fact, ½ cup of rinsed and drained cooked chickpeas has almost 20% of your daily fiber needs and 10% of your protein needs. Lentils are a perfect protein source as well, especially in Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern inspired dishes. Lentils are not only a great source of protein, they are also high in fiber, folate and thiamin. Try a combo of beans and corn for a delicious Southwest inspired salad that is both vegan and high fiber.

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2. Pick the Base and Add Fruits and Vegetables

For the base of your salad, there are numerous leafy green options to choose from. Red leaf lettuce and green leaf lettuce are both excellent choices. Green leaf tends to be slightly crisper whereas red leaf typically has a softer texture. Spinach and baby kale are among the most nutrient-dense options, but some people, especially kiddos, often prefer a milder tasting lettuce. Romaine, butter lettuce and iceberg lettuce are all excellent, mild flavored lettuce options. Romaine and iceberg are both quite crisp in texture. Like red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce is silky and smooth. Another popular leafy green that works well in salad is arugula. Arugula has a peppery flavor that goes great in an entrée salad. Look for any of these lettuce varieties at your local grocery store or farmer’s market!  

You can choose to add vegetables to your leafy greens or you can skip the leafy greens and make vegetables the base of your salad. There are numerous vegetable options to choose from. Some vegetable options for your entrée salad include: cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, radishes, mushrooms, avocado, artichokes, olives, watercress, beats, beans and hearts of palm. Fruits like apples, oranges, grapefruit, peaches and berries go great with salad. Adding fruits and vegetables increases your salad’s nutritional value. More fruits and vegetables equals more fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Many salad recipes include roasted or grilled vegetables. Vegetables that have been roasted or grilled have a unique taste and texture that can elevate your dish. Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, green beans and sweet potatoes are all excellent for roasting or grilling.  

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3. Select a Dressing

Whether you want your salad to be sweet, tangy, spicy or savory you'll likely want to pick a dressing. Dressings are usually made with a fat, an acid and some spices. Dressings are completely customizable so you can create your own dressing depending on your preferred taste. Olive oil is the most common oil used for salad dressings. However, you can use grapeseed oil (which is a great source for Vitamin E!), almond oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil or even avocado oil. Fat is an important component in your salad because it is satiating which means that it will help you feel full. Fat is also important for absorbing vitamins like vitamin A and K. The acid in your salad can come from vinegar or citrus. Balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar are all great acid options. Lemon, lime and orange juices can also used as the acid to be mixed with oil and spices to make a delicious citrus dressing. Season your dressing with fresh chopped herbs, minced garlic, minced shallot, salt, pepper or any other spices that match your theme.

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Other ideas: Add seeds, nuts or whole grains

Nuts seeds and whole grains can enhance your salad by increasing the nutritional value, taste and texture. Quinoa, farro, barley and brown rice are delicious grain options that will increase your salad’s protein and fiber content. Nuts and seeds provide a crunchy texture, rich flavor and they also boost the salad’s caloric content because they contain fat.

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Mediterranean Salad with Toasted Chickpeas and Roasted Garlic Dressing

Makes 4 servings
Recipe adapted from Melissa Griffiths

Ingredients:
For the toasted chickpeas:

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the dressing:

• 1/2 large garlic bulb
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• Black pepper to taste

For the salad:

• 4-5 cups salad greens (baby spinach, baby kale, Swiss chard, and/or Romaine would all work well in this salad)
• Roasted chickpeas
• 1 cup grape tomato halves
• 1 cup sliced cucumber
• 1/2 to 1 cup Kalamata olives (drained, pits removed)
  
• 1/2 to 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained

Directions:
For the roasted chickpeas:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drain the chickpeas and rinse with cold water. Spread rinsed chickpeas on a paper towel and use another paper towel to blot them dry.
2. In a bowl, combine chickpeas, olive oil, salt, garlic, and pepper. Stir until chickpeas are coated with the oil and spices.
3. Place the seasoned chickpeas on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the outsides are crispy and darkened.
4. Remove from the oven and let them cool at least 10 minutes.

For the dressing:

1. Peel off the excess papery skin from garlic without separating the cloves.
2. Slice the tips off the top of the bulb exposing the ends of the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and wrap into a package. Put in a baking dish and bake until the garlic is soft, 40 minutes to 1 hour. Unwrap and let cool slightly.
3. Squeeze the garlic pulp into a blender or food processor (discard the skins). Add the remaining oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper and blend or process until smooth.

To assemble the salad:

1. Place your greens on the bottom of your serving dish. Place the roasted chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and artichokes on top. Toss with roasted garlic dressing. Serve. 

 
Nutrition per serving: 390 calories; 24g fat; 10g protein; 37g carbohydrate; 9g fiber; 640mg sodium
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~Sara, Dietetic intern