Salads have now become an integral part of our diet. With the health conscious lot heading for raw foods, particularly salads, taste and flavor has to be added in order to make sure that people love eating them. Without salad toppings, salads would taste bland and be simply uninteresting.

Salad toppings are a hot favorite among health enthusiasts. In fact, the type of salad toppings made from several ingredients has been conceptualized, and these are indeed nutritious and tasty at the same time.

So, what are your salad ideas? If your idea of a topping is cheese and mayo, you will have to change your mind! Salad toppings have been modified today, and there are lots of additions that can contribute to good health. With new wholesome topping options available, you will enjoy your salad more than you ever.

Here’s what you can choose for salad toppings:

Beans

Beans are highly nutritious, and you can include moderate amounts of beans as salad toppings. Half a cup of beans contributes to 100-150 calories, together with 6-7 grams of protein and fiber. You can make a creamy Caesar salad with beans, an orange and black bean salad, and a tabbouleh cob salad as well. Beans are the perfect choice for salad toppings for all these salads.

Seeds

Beans and seeds can be added together to form the best salad toppings. If you love nuts, seeds can be a great alterative for you. Though needs and nuts usually contain the same amount of calories and fat, you can get more seeds in a 2 tablespoon serving, which means it will be more satisfying and crunchy too. Seeds contain high levels of zinc, and some seeds also contain iron. You can try the roasted squash salad with pumpkin seeds and bacon, an arugula, sunflower seed, and grape salad, and many more.

Edamame

Edamame is a typical legume that contains a lot of protein and no saturated fat. These are quite filling and also refreshing at the same time. Edamame are baby soybeans, and there are many ways in which you can use this nutritious ingredient as salad toppings.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus Fruits make for excellent salad toppings as well. Grapefruit and oranges add to the tangy flavor of the salad and are very low in calories. Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, and you can use them in combination with shrimp and chicken to make tasty and healthy salads.

Salad toppings and dressings are now readily available all over the world. However, you should find a Aurora Natural that makes nutritious salad toppings. Also, look for organic or natural ingredients for added health benefits.

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Just as too many cooks spoil the broth, too many add-ons can spoil your salad. The perfect way to make a healthy salad is to choose your salad toppings carefully and to make sure that you know the nutritive value of all the ingredients. Your salad toppings should not turn out to be a diet disaster; rather, you should be able to strike a balance.

The basic idea of salad toppings is incomplete without cheese and mayonnaise. However, health conscious Americans are switching over to healthier options such as extra virgin olive oil and fat-free toppings. There are definitely some good salad toppings that have been ignored but are the powerhouse of essential nutrients.

Have a look:

Roasted Flax Seed as a Tasty Salad Topping?

Adding an extra serving of veggies and a spoonful of roasted flax seed over a mixed bed of greens can be delightful, and the nutritional value of flax seed is amazing. Flax seed is on of the richest source of lignans (as antioxidant) of any nut or seed and has been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease and breast cancer.

Did you know that Fennel can be Wholesome?

Well, fennel is one of the most overlooked veggies of all time. It belongs to the family of parsley, dill, and coriander, and is loaded with fiber, folate and vitamin C. Very few of us have used this ingredient as a salad topping, but you will surely come across a company that makes nutritious dressings using fennel.

If you don’t want to look so far, buy fennel from the supermarket and make your own salad. Fennel and chickpea salad, escarole and fennel salad with pears, and fennel and pomegranate salad with grilled chicken are just some of the great salad options out there.

The Low-Calorie, Low-carbohydrate Veggie Choice-Artichoke

Very few of us would even think of artichokes as one of the accompaniments for salad toppings, but they are. Artichoke is one of the top 50 antioxidant rich foods in the world today. Try to find out the raw variety instead of the jarred artichokes and make tasty salad toppings. Artichokes go well with shrimp and can be perfect for your taste buds too.

Whole grains and Their Wholesome Goodness

Different forms of whole grains such as barley, couscous, and other fiber-rich toppings add protein to your salad toppings. You can use your favorite veggies and blend them with some whole grains and lime juice. This makes for a tasty and wholesome salad as well. Also, the fiber content is very high.

Salad toppings are meant to enhance the flavor of salads only until recently. However, today salad toppings can be made more nutritious and while pampering your taste buds as well. If you’re looking for the best all natural salad toppings on the market try, Aurora Natural. Aurora Natural offers a variety of all natural salad toppings that add crunch to your salad, and nutritional benefits at the same time.

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Most salads are healthy and an excellent way of getting all the necessary vitamins and minerals. However, the use of the good old salad formula comprised of your run of the mill vegetables can get really boring. That is one of the reasons why having salad toppings is essential to make your salads tastier. However, all that is tasty is not always healthy!

The “Goods” of Salad Toppings

Topping your salad with some add-ons can actually motivate you to eat healthier, but then again, eating too much of the same thing is not always fruitful. Thus, moderation has to be maintained even when you eat natural foods.

Some salad toppings or dressings done with cheese and nuts are usually recommended, as the body needs some amounts of fat for absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins in the vegetables. They definitely add some protein and bulk to the salad, which is great for your health and make for a wholesome meal too. Adding fruits to your salad will contribute to the fiber content.

The “Bads” of Salad Toppings

Salad toppings are usually loaded with fat and calories. There is a certain risk associated with binging on salads with oodles of toppings, considering the fact that most dressings have a high fat content.

It needs to be known that salads made in restaurants contain a lot of calories- something that you would otherwise avoid like the plague.

When you are choosing salad toppings, you need to remember that being in control is of prime importance, and that the dressing should complement the salad- not the other way round!

Salad toppings are widely available these days; almost every grocery store or supermarket will have countless brands of salad toppings and dressings. Making a choice is entirely your call. A company like Aurora Natural produces low calorie and low fat based salad toppings, and would definitely be the choice of a healthy eater.

Looking at the Label is Important

It is very important to look at the label of almost anything that you buy, particularly edibles. Salad toppings are only supposed to enhance the taste of your salad, and so, your choice should be:

• Low fat
• Low cheese
• Raw nuts
• Dry fruits
• Roasted flax seed

There are many choices availabe when it comes to salad toppings, but moderation always seems to be the key ingredient even when it comes to eating salads.

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