Super Simple Salad Selecting

my salad from Plaza Cafe's salad bar

One of the greatest things about dining at UC San Diego restaurants is that there is a salad bar available all day long with fresh produce, about half of which is organic and/or local.  I love salad so it never feels like a sacrifice to make it "a meal" - although these days I'm so hungry that I usually eat a salad and some protein and maybe even dessert...whoops, maybe I shouldn't disclose my sweet tooth!

Anyway, there are all sorts of ways to make a healthy salad. The picture above is my current favorite super simple salad selection - spinach, chickpeas, baby carrots, sunflower seeds and ranch dressing. Ok, so you might say, "why is the dietitian eating ranch?" I'M HUMAN, PEOPLE. Ranch is d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s and when eaten in moderation, all foods can fit into a healthy, active lifestyle. I try to alternate salad dressings to allow a little "room for ranch." What I mean by that is that I might have oil and vinegar on my salad on Monday, an undressed salad on Wednesday (yes it can be done - my strategy is to include one marinated veggie like artichoke hearts or something like cottage cheese), and ranch on my Friday salad.  Generally the oil-based salad dressings are healthier than the cream-based dressings so choose more oil & vinegar, Italian dressings and vinaigrettes while making ranch, bleu cheese, and caesar dressings more of a treat.

What are some healthy strategies for your Super Simple Salad Selections?

• fill your salad bowl with many different colors of veggies - the colors often correspond to different nutrient contents in the veggies
• get your dressing on the side and dip your fork into the dressing prior to each bite versus slathering on a bunch of dressing that you might not want
• eat your salad slowly - savor the different textures and flavors of the veggies
• use a salad bar to try new items - you can select just one beet, for example, to see if you like it (ok, so no one likes beets...that's why they're not on our salad bar...but I thought it was a good example for life)
• mix fruit with your veggies - my fave fruits to add to green salads are mandarin orange slices, dried cranberries and and strawberries.

Make Your Own Salad Anyday!

Each Dining Services restaurant has a salad bar available every day. The pictures here are the salad bars at Plaza Cafe (Revelle College) and Pines (Muir College.)

The following items on Dining salad bars are ORGANIC: carrots, black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, broccoli, cucumbers, olives, romaine lettuce, spinach, spring mix and tomatoes.

There are many ways to make a healthy salad but here are a few tips:

1. Choose many different colors of vegetables

2. Choose oil-based dressings over cream-based dressings OR opt for oil & vinegar

3. Include beans, hard-boiled eggs or sunflower seeds to make your salad more hearty

4. Try salad bars all over campus to keep you from getting bored AND walking to a new location is good exercise!

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables!

College students often admit to me that they do not eat enough fruit or vegetable. To help get your daily dose of fruits and veggies, try to have at least one fruit or vegetable at each meal and snack. Also visit the salad bar where you can eat many different varieties of vegetables with your meals.

Make sure to take advantage of the salad bars' many organic options, including spring mix, romaine lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black beans, olives, spinach and tomatoes.

Apartment residents may also want to pick up some vegetables from the Places & Markets to chop and prepare in your own kitchen.

Organic Items on the Salad Bars

Dining Services has the following organic items on the salad bars on all campuses:

• romaine lettuce
• spinach
• spring mix
• cucumbers
• broccoli
• baby carrots
• tomatoes
• olives
• kidney beans
• garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• black beans

We also have some organic salad dressings. The picture here is Cafe Ventanas' salad bar. Mix and match your salad fixings for endless meal variety. Choose mostly oil-based salad dressings or, if you really love creamy, ranch-type dressings, just go easy on the amount.