Does your body need to bounce back from a tough workout? Do you need more nutrients to recover from a cold? Or maybe your mental health needs a pick-me-up from a bad day? A Clinical Nutritionist says there are different salads to target different health issues.
"What's great about these salads is they are packed with vitamins and minerals. Things that are really going to make you feel good and help your immune system," Christina D'Amico, a Clinical Nutritionist, said.
She said if you've had a really hard workout, there's a recovery salad you should try.
"It's super important to make sure you are fueling up with carbs and protein right after you work out," she said.
D'Amico said to start with a bed of lettuce, then top it with simple carbs, which digest slowly and make us feel full.
"Half a cup of quinoa, then we're going to add in some strawberries," she said.
She said to then add tuna or shredded chicken.
"This is going to aid in muscle recovery as well, so we can come back stronger in our next workout," D'Amico said.
She recommends a tad of poppy seed dressing to top it all off.
If a cold or flu has got you down, D'Amico said you need to fill up on vitamins and minerals to support your immune system. She said to start with a bed of spinach.
"You're going to have a lot of Vitamin K and calcium and iron from this," she said.
She said to make sure you're really taking care of your health, add oranges, carrots, and chopped peppers to get some Vitamin C and antioxidants,
D'Amico said shredded chicken and chick peas are good proteins for this salad, topped off with a balsamic vinaigrette.
If you're having a bad day and need of a mental health boost, D'Amico said a healthy, savory salad can help. This salad features a bed of butter lettuce with shredded chicken and hard boiled eggs for protein. They have amino acids that D'Amico said will help put a crummy day in the rear-view mirror.
"We're going to top it off with some Parmesan cheese, and then we're going to still make sure that we are getting the taste of the rainbow with some chopped tomatoes," she said. "And candied walnuts. So healthy fat with the walnuts, and then a little bit of sweet with the candy on top."
Before you top that salad with crushed bacon and Caesar dressing, D'Amico recommends putting dressing in a cup on the side so you can dip your fork into it as you eat and keep it healthy.
