The only problem with salads is that sometimes people add a lot of cream-based, fattening dressings to the good stuff, thinking it is the only way to make it tasty. Ditch this idea and let this section show you how to make super-healthy salads that your taste buds will thank you for!
Healthy salads can be of 2 versions. One is healthy salads which are low in fat and on the other hand healthy salads which are high on fat but have healthy fat ingredients. Both these kind of salads are healthy.
Healthy low fat Indian Salads
Salads can be interesting the low calorie way too! It is only the art of replacing right ingredients and combining flavourful herbs and spices to make an appetising salad.
For those who are on a low calorie or low fat diet, can begin with a simple salad like cabbage salad. A tangy dressing with black salt, lemon juice and red chilli and coriander powder, olive oil, asafoetida and black salt is the magic spell that transforms simple cabbage into such a singularly wonderful cabbage salad recipe! Try it to believe it. Pour the dressing over cabbage that is combined with green chillies and coriander, mix well and you are good to go!
Cabbage Salad
And if you are looking for a creamy salad which is nourishing, then Cucumber Capsicum and Celery Salad is the perfect pick for you. The low-fat curd dressing is delicately flavoured with basil and mustard powder. The fruits, vegetables and low-fat curds have few calories, but contains a lot of fibre. Such salads should be had before a meal as they are filling, to avoid overeating during the other courses that follow.
Cucumber, Capsicum and Celery Salad
Kachumber are all time favourite Indian salads. With tinge of a whole lot of spices, salads like cabbage and carrot kachumber cannot fail to entice Indian palates. It is a healthy addition to an obese, a heart patient’s and a diabetic meal. The reason is its amazing nutrition factor. With 49 calories, 2.2 g of fibre and 5.3 g of carbs, this salad helps to keep you full for long hours. Veggies ranging from cabbage to carrot and not to forget the lemons. are a storehouse of antioxidants like vitamin A, vitamin C and flavonoids and anthocyanin, help in removal of harmful substances from our body called free radicals. These antioxidants also lowers the risk of infection and inflammation of the body due to eating processed foods.
cabbage and carrot kachumber recipe | kobi and gajar kachumber | Gujarati cabbage and carrot sambharo | stir fried cabbage and carrot
While these are vegetable based salads, it is very easy to combine vegetables with fruits to make an interesting and colourful salad bowl too! Apple being sweet goes very well in minty apple salad recipe which makes a very quick healthy salad. Apple as known to all ranks high in fiber. This fiber has many benefits. Firstly, it keeps you full for long hours and thus beneficial for those aiming for a trimmed waistline. Moreover, those with high sugar and cholesterol can also include apple in the form of Apple Pudina Salad in their diet, as fiber helps to keep these levels under control. Fiber also helps to keep the gut healthy and prevent constipation.
Minty Apple Salad
Fruits too are very easy to be enjoyed as a salad. Mint Watermelon Salad is an example of using sweet fruits cleverly. Healthy Watermelon Mint Salad which has watermelon as its main ingredient is low in calories and full of water, thus is good for weight loss too. Citrulline in watermelon has been studied for its effect on heart function and it was revealed that it improves heart function and helps in the treatment of heart failure. Watermelons are a good source of Vitamin C and vitamin A which help in neutralizing free radicals thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.
Mint Watermelon Salad, Indian Style
Sprouts in Indian Healthy Salads
Sprouts are easy to digest. Sprouting increases the availability of proteins so include them in your salads. They also abound in many other nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals along with a range of antioxidants to boost our immunity.
How To Sprout Moong, Mung Beans
Moong sprouts are the most common and appreciated bean amongst many of us. Learn how to sprout moong at home and then use it interestingly to weave into a Sprouted Moong Salad. All you need to do is add in common ingredients like onions, cabbage, tomatoes, carrot, coriander and little lemon juice and black salt. Toss and relish this simple yet tasty recipe. The veggies make it nutritive and lemon juice adds the tangy hint to the salad. You can serve it immediately or refrigerate it for an hour and serve.
Sprouted Moong Salad
Another common bean is chick peas, what we commonly refer to as kabuli chana. One of the most nutritious beans - chickpeas are rich in iron, protein and folic acid. Curds enrich this tangy Indian chickpea salad with mint dressing with more protein and calcium while coriander and mint increase its vitamin A content. So we have got you a salad with such a combination that is chickpea salad with mint dressing.
Indian Chickpea Salad for Weight Loss
Try our tasty mixed sprouts salad as it contains a mix of different sprouts which is much healthier than a single sprout. Fibre and protein are two key nutrients that this sprouts salad for weight loss provide. Obese people, diabetics and heart patients all can benefit from these nutrients and aim at managing blood sugar levels and blood cholesterol levels. Radish is a good source of vitamin C- a nutrient needed to have strong gums and a strong immunity. Tomatoes, on the other hand, are rich in lycopene and vitamin A – both of which are antioxidants and help in reducing oxidative damage to cells in the body. All these together help to maintain the health of organs.
mixed sprouts salad recipe | healthy sprouts salad | sprouts salad for weight loss | Indian sprouts salad benefits
Health Indian Salads for work - a meal by itself
Here are some lunch salads which are healthy and nourishing options in a bowl. Some of these salads may seem to be high in fat, but they are healthy. They contain good fat like full fat curds, olive oil, almonds, avocado etc. which keep you full for long hours.
Kale masoor office salad is one such salad with a mix of carrots, mushroom, cucumber, cabbage and a healthy dressing. The flavour is further enhanced by the lemony, herby, garlicky dressing. Chopped onions added to the dressing further enhances the flavour and mouth-feel of the salad. Kale is bursting with the goodness of beta carotene, vitamins K and C , lutein, zeaxanthin and iron . Feta cheese and masoor are loaded with proteins, while vitamin rich capsicum promotes the formation of collagen and improves skin health.
Kale, Masoor Veg Antioxidant Healthy Office Salad
Then we have the rocket leaves, zucchini and red pumpkin salad which gives you all the nutrients required. It is chock-full of anti-oxidants and nutrients like vitamin C. Feta cheese gives you a good dose of protein while rocket leaves give you iron, and flax seeds contribute cholesterol-lowering omega-3 fatty acids.
Rocket Leaves, Zucchini Red Pumpkin Healthy Lunch Salad
Jowar is a gluten free grain packed with b vitamins, magnesium and calcium to be used in jowar kale palak antioxidant salad recipe. This super-duper lunch salad, loaded with the goodness of millets, veggies and greens, is bound to gain you lots of compliments and enthuse your colleagues also to make a healthy shift towards salad lunches! You will find that the Jowar Kale Palak Veg Antioxidant Healthy Office Salad is quite filling too, so you won’t reach out for any junky snacks soon after your meal.
Jowar Kale Palak Veg Antioxidant Healthy Office Salad
Use Dalia in Healthy Indian Salads
Broken wheat (dalia) is fibre rich, high in magnesium and iron and forms a great base for healthy salads. This broken wheat salad recipe is combined with carrots, tomatoes, mint, spring onion greens and a low fat curd dressing. Being loaded with high fibre and nutrient dense veggies and dressed with a low fat curd dressing, this salad is, by all means, one of the best-suited salads for people with heart disease or high blood cholesterol levels.
Bulgur Wheat Salad
You can also try using couscous. Similar to dalia, it is most commonly used to make Indian style couscous. The ingredients accompanying the couscous pull in sufficient Vitamin C to enhance the absorption of iron and improve blood circulation. The use of olive oil in this Indian style couscous is beneficial as it is a good source of MUFA (mono unsaturated fatty acids) which helps reduce inflammation in the body. It is one of the healthiest oils to use in making salads. Mint, one of its main ingredients, though used in small quantities lends a fresh herby touch to this salad. It will also keep you full for a longer time due to high fibre and not spike your blood sugar levels.
Minty Couscous
Enjoy our Healthy Indian Salad Recipes, Indian Vegetarian Healthy Salad Recipes and other healthy salad articles below.
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