3 Salad Recipes: Eating with colours

Salads are one of the most varied dishes that we, as humans, eat because we can include great variety of ingredients and create many combinations. A great way to create proper combinations and utilise the nutrients is to use a food colour guide, as in the case of fruits and vegetables, colours may indicate that vitamins or other benefits are contained. So enjoy the benefits of salads and fill your meals with a variety of colour!

Red Colour: Red fruits and vegetables contain lycopene, which makes them a very good source of antioxidants and also helps prevent the development of cancer. Some fruits which contain it are: watermelon, tomatoes, grapefruit and plums.

Watermelon Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups of watermelon
• 1 cup of Cherry tomatoes
• 8-9 leaves of Romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup of Walnuts
• 1 cup of cucumber

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup of vinegar
• 1/3 cup of Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper (sufficient amount)
• 1 tbsp. of mint

Preparation

1. Chop the watermelon into medium cubes or use something to give a round shape to the fruit servings.
2. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
3. Chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces so that it is not difficult to consume.
4. Chop walnuts in coarse pieces to bring lots of texture to the salad.
5. Cut the cucumber into slices or strips: You can leave or remove the seeds.
6. Combine all ingredients in a dish.

For the dressing:

1. Mix all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl.
2. Beat with the help of a small whisk or you can mix all the ingredients in a blender.
3. Add to the salad and mix well.

Yellow foods: Full of xeanzantine and lutein which promote eye health, helping to avoid certain problems such as cataracts or vision loss. The pineapple, peppers and corn are examples containing these nutrients.

Yellow pepper salad

Ingredients

• 2 yellow peppers
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/3 cup of yellow corn
• 1/2 Onion
• 3 tbsp. of chopped coriander (cilantro)

For the vinaigrette:

• 2 tbsp. of vinegar
• 1/3 cup of Orange juice
• 1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup of Olive oil
• 1 Serrano chili * optional
• Salt and Pepper (sufficient amount)

Preparation

1. Cut the peppers, remove seeds and cut into strips or into medium pieces.
2. Chop the tomatoes into cubes or quarters.
3. Lightly sauté the kernels of yellow corn, or if you prefer cook them in a little water, drain and reserve.
4. Slice the onion and mix all ingredients in a bowl.

For the vinaigrette:

1. Mix vinegar, balsamic vinegar and orange juice with the olive oil.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Remove seeds and chop the chilli finely.
4. Add to the vinaigrette and mix until incorporated.
5. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette.

Purple: Fruits and vegetables of this colour have high levels of anthocyanins and bioflavonoids which help reduce problems associated with the cardiovascular system. Aubergine (eggplant), red cabbage and blackberries are examples of purple fruits.

Red cabbage salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups of red cabbage
• 1 red pepper
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 Onion
• 1 cup of pineapple
• 4 celery sticks

For the dressing:

• 3 tbsp. of mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. of cream
• 3 tbsp. of vinegar
• 1 tbsp. of sugar
• Salt and Pepper (sufficient amount)

Preparation

1. Finely chop the cabbage and carrot.
2. Remove seeds from pepper and slice it thinly.
3. Slice the onion and chop the celery.
4. Mix pineapple with the remaining ingredients.

For the dressing:

1. Mix all of the dressing ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
2. Dress the salad with dressing.

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