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Is salad on the menu for lunch? Make it your best one ever with these five tips: @Yoga_Journal

5 Steps to Seriously Superior Salads
Apply these tried-and-true cooking tricks to salad-making, and you’ll be making the best veggie-packed dishes ever.
July 31, 2021 Ivy Manning






Your go-to bowl of greens may be a good salad, but is it the best salad? Some of the best cooking tricks can be applied to salad-making. Here are five game changers that will help take your salads to a new level.
1. Season it
We season everything else, so why skip your salad? A pinch of coarse sea salt and a few grinds of pepper enhance the flavors in salads, too. But donโ€™t stop there! Spices can amp up the natural sweetness of vegetables both raw and cooked.ย Try thisย homemade toasted spice blend on salads to turn a ho-hum salads into the best salad with grilled shrimp, sprinkleย nutritional yeastย on slaws for a savory boost, or herby-tartย zaโ€™atarย blend on a cucumber tomato salad with feta.
2. Underdress
Err on the side of underdressing your salads. You need lessย dressingย than you think, and you can always add more, but you canโ€™t remove dressing from a soggy salad. As a general rule, add ยฝ tablespoon of dressing, gently toss, taste, and add more until the ingredients are very lightly coated. Another option for chronic over-dressers, pour out small amountsย  of dressing (about 1 tablespoon per person) into a small ramekin and dip your fork into it before each bite of undressed salad.
3. Hands on
Toss your salads with your hands in a large bowl, this helps coat all the ingredients with seasonings and dressing and itโ€™s gentler on tender greens. If youโ€™d rather not get your hands dirty, useย kitchen tongsย to even toss things together.
4. Balance textures
Try to choose a balance of elements โ€“ fluffy leaves, creamy elements like avocado or cheese, crunchy items like nuts or seeds, something substantial like roasted squash, meat, seafood and juicy/crisp elements like apple, tomato, or celery.ย  And remember, we eat with our eyes, so arrange elements artfully for a more satisfying meal. Clickย hereย for a handy chart on how to build a well composed, best salad recipes ever.
5. Herbs are salad leaves, too.
Herbs are a mainstay of salad dressing, but they are also delicious by themselves tucked into leafy salads. Fresh, tenderย herbsย like basil, cilantro, dill, basil, parsley, and mint blend right in with lettuce plus they add little pops of fresh flavor that are unexpected and make salads more interesting. Make sure to remove any tough or stringy stemsโ€ฆconcentrating on the juicy leaves instead.