7 Salad Upgrades We Learned From the Pros

Are you on board for the #10SaladChallenge? Good luck! To help you get started, we asked health experts to share their tried-and-true tips for prepping, storing, and making the meal more flavorful. Here’s a little salad inspiration from those who make em’ best!

 To vary the flavors and keep it refreshing during hot summer days, add fruits to the salad! My favorites are blueberries, strawberries, or mango. It will add some sweetness, keep those taste buds refreshed, and give you a serving of fruit!”

-Derek Durkin, ACSM certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor at Barry’s Bootcamp
“Gather the largest variety of preferred, colorful ingredients — specifically, vegetables and fruits — then chop everything up as small as possible. Now there will be a burst of flavor in every forkful! Doing this makes adding dressing, which is often high in calories, an afterthought and really unnecessary.”

-Dian Griesel, Ph.D, co-author of “TurboCharged: Accelerate Your Metabolism, Get Lean Fast and Leave Diet and Exercise Rules in the Dust”

“The key is to keep prep time minimal and fun! To make salad prep easier, keep certain staples in Ziploc containers in the fridge so you can mix and match your salad creations in a blink of an eye — Cooked quinoa and hard boiled eggs, grapefruit slices, raw nuts, and individually packed baby carrots, sliced apples, and shredded cabbage. Then pack six spill-proof containers on Sunday, each with a different healthy salad dressing. Each day, grab one at random with your salad and surprise yourself with a yummy dressing at lunch!”

- Franci Cohen, MA, personal trainer and certified nutritionist

“Don’t turn your salad into dessert – ditch the candied walnuts, dried fruit, and other sugary toppings. And don’t drown your salad in creamy or sugary dressings; make your own or stick with olive oil and vinegar.”

- JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS, author of the three Best Seller, “The Virgin Diet”
“Tired of boring diet dressing on your salad? If you don’t have time to make your own, then use just a spoon of your favorite dressing and dilute it down with balsamic vinegar. You can slash your calories in half.”
- Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA,RDN,CDN, the writer behind the Everyday Health Column, Nutrition Intuition
“Salads don’t have to include lettuce. There are an infinite number of delicious cold and warm grain-based salad recipes out there, using barley, quinoa, farro, and other fiber-rich whole grains as the base. Add chopped veggies, nuts, fresh or dried fruit, maybe a little cheese, and some dressing and you’ve got a super tasty and very portable salad. While lettuce-based salads tend to wilt if you pack them the night before, grain-based salads hold up perfectly!”

- Johannah Sakimura, MS, the writer behind the Everyday Health column, Nutrition Sleuth
“It’s always nice to have one last element to give your salad that extra oomph. To keep it light, add a splash of citrus juice, some fresh minced herbs, or a spoonful of salsa. Think outside the box and add things that remind you of your favorite meals. Love sushi? Add some wasabi to your dressing and top the salad off with pickled ginger. Craving breakfast? Toss a poached egg on top of your greens. Favor fast food? Have a cheeseburger inspired salad with lean ground beef, shredded cheddar, and a squirt of yellow mustard.”
-Suman Tohan, LDN, RDN, Medifast dietician.

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