5 Things You Need to Know Before Making Your First Salad

More and more Filipinos are getting into their self-care era. This involves working out, sleeping well, and eating healthy.

If you’re one of the many looking for hearty alternatives to your usual diet, you should try adding salads to your list.

Salads are not only healthful meals, they’re also very healing. Studies show that eating dishes with a variety of veggies and fruits may have a positive impact on your brain and mental health.

To help support your self-love journey, here are 5 awesome salad-making tips and tricks for the absolute beginner. These will make you fall in love with healthy cuisine, starting with its most basic dish.

1. Start with your favorite flavors

Salads have four components: the base, dressing, garnish, and body. From there, you can build tons of combinations of your fave greens, fruits, and toppings.

To make sure you enjoy your first voyage into salad-making, you should start with ingredients you know you’ll love. For example, if you’re super into broccoli and tofu, you can find a great salad recipe online with those two things.

If you start with a recipe whose ingredients are completely alien to you, your first salad might not be as delightful as you want it to be.

For your first salad dishes, try out the ones you know you’ll adore. From there you can experiment with new combos and pairings!

2. Don’t forget to wash your produce!

First things first- make sure you give your greens and fruits a thorough wash before you put them in your salad.

The vegetables and fruits you put in your salad dish are raw, so they don’t get to be disinfected during cooking. To ensure that you’re not ingesting germs, you can try out two methods.

You can do it old-school- washing produce under a running faucet. You can also soak them in water with food-grade disinfectant before consuming.

3. Incorporate salads into your diets gradually

The average Filipino diet consists of (usually) a meat-based ulam and a side of rice. That’s a filling combination that’s been served for years.

Changing that diet suddenly to only eat a bowl of salad might not sit well with you (or your stomach!). Take your time- consume salads as a side dish or as a midday snack.

This will help both your mind and body adjust to your new culinary routine. Plus, it will help build discipline, which will eventually turn into a habit.

4. Experiment with textures

One of the many fun things about salads is that a bite contains multitudes of flavors and textures. A simple dish can turn into a whole new culinary adventure with the right ingredients.

If you find your salad bowl filled with crunchy elements, try adding soft, chewy ones and vice versa. That will give your dish an enjoyable variety- something that’s hard to find in other types of meals.

5. Yes, meat belongs in salads too

A common misconception about salads is that they’re exclusively made of plant-based ingredients. But actually, tons of salad recipes are made tastier with meat.

Meat like chicken or even tuna adds a huge boost of protein (and flavor!) to your dish that makes any mealtime exciting and healthful.

If you’re looking for a recipe, try this Tuna and Apple Salad recipe using San Marino Corned Tuna. Deliciously energizing, this dish will surely give you the motivation to power through long days, especially if made with San Marino Tuna! Each can of San Marino is very filling as it’s just full of tuna goodness!

Self-care is serving good food for yourself

Self-care routines are different for everyone- but eating healthy is a crucial component of all of them.

Taking care of your mind, body, and energy takes commitment to consume food that is beneficial to you. And a good dish to start with is the humble salad.

For more easy and affordable cooking ideas, checkout CDO’s recipe page here. There you’ll find creative and exceptional dishes that will bring out the chef in you!

You can also purchase salad-friendly CDO and San Marino Corned Tuna products from your nearest grocery stores. You may also order them online via CDO Home Delivery, Shopee, and Lazada.