A happy individual enjoying a vibrant and colorful salad captures the idea of wellness in many ads and campaigns. Salads also appear on most menus, buffet lines and store shelves. This focus on salad opens up endless possibilities of incorporating a salad into the daily diet of a teenager. With the easy access and promotion of salads, a teen may wonder, is it healthy to eat a salad every day?
Eating a salad everyday can improve the health of a teenager. It’s healthy to eat salads every day and it’s a great way to increase vegetable intake. Salads boost intake of health promoting vitamins, minerals, beneficial food components, fiber and water. However, one must take care to limit salads containing a large number of add-ins high in saturated fat, sugar or sodium. These types of salads can impact health negatively when eaten in excess. Teenagers should focus on including salads full of dark, leafy greens, other vegetables, healthy fats and lean protein.
Continue reading to discover more about salad benefits, ideas and tips.
Should Teenagers Eat Salad Every Day?
The USDA currently recommends that adolescents eat 2.5-3 cups vegetables daily. These recommendations result from studies showing an associated decrease in chronic disease and other negative health outcomes with adequate fruit and vegetable intake.
In 2017, only 2.1% of teenagers surveyed in the national and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBSs) met these recommendations. This statistic means around 98% of teens do not receive the important health preserving nutrients found in vegetables.
Salads are an easy and enjoyable way to help teenagers consume the suggested servings of vegetables. However, these recommendations can easily be met through other ways. If a teenager finds salads enjoyable, then eating a nutrient full salad every day can play a role in a health promoting eating pattern.
Benefits of Eating Salad:
1. Vitamins and Minerals
Those leafy greens and other vegetables are vitamin and mineral powerhouses. The vitamins and minerals vary widely in type and quantity per salad green or vegetable. The following list describes a few of the more common and abundant vitamins and minerals found in a salad.
- Vitamin A– An antioxidant necessary for a strong immune system, vision, reproduction, cell growth and communication.
- Beta Carotene– Converted to vitamin A by the body, this powerful antioxidant promotes healthy eyes and skin.
- Vitamin C– Another antioxidant that helps repair tissue, forms collagen and supports a good immune system. This vitamin also increases absorption of iron, another important nutrient.
- Vitamin K– This fat-soluble vitamin aids in blood clotting and strong bone formation.
- Potassium– As a main electrolyte in the body, this mineral supports a healthy heart and other organs, assists with muscle function and is essential to the nervous system.
- Folate– This mineral is crucial to healthy formation and growth of cells. Adequate intake is especially important for women in childbearing years as low intake can cause birth defects.
- Iron– Not only important for growth and development, iron also helps transport oxygen through the body. Inadequate intake can make a teenager feel tired throughout the day.
2. Antioxidants, Phytochemicals and Polyphenols
Dietary choices are one way in which teens can lower the risk of developing a chronic disease. Antioxidants, phytochemicals and polyphenols work to promote lifelong health, fight inflammation and decrease development of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Fruits and vegetables remain some of the best sources of these highly beneficial food components. These food components are another reason a supplement can never take the place of eating actual fruits and vegetables.
3. Fiber
Fiber aids in good digestion, feeds the good gut bacteria, helps regulate blood sugar, promotes satiety and prevents certain chronic diseases. All these benefits make the significantly low number of teenagers meeting fiber recommendations a concerning statistic.
Teenagers should look to consume around 25-30g fiber per day. Some of the best sources of fiber include vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and legumes. Beans tend to top the charts with fiber content and make a great salad addition.
4. Healthy Fats
Dressings often accompany a good salad. Some individuals may shy away from using dressings due to their higher calorie and fat content. However, not only do dressings improve taste, but they also create a more balanced and health promoting dish.
Healthy fats found in vinaigrettes, plant oils, avocados, olives, nuts and seeds are important for a growing teenager. These fats increase absorption of nutrients, provide energy, increase fullness factor, help control blood sugar and improve brain, heart, skin and hair health.
5. Improved Appetite Regulation
Salads can contain a hunger crushing combo that help a teenager feel satisfied between eating occasions. The fiber from the vegetables, protein from add-ins like beans, nuts, cheese and seeds, and healthy fats all help keep hunger at bay.
Overall the benefits of salads make these dishes a great choice to assist with health goals.
What if Teenagers Don’t like Salad?
If teenagers do not like salad, does this dislike prevent them from taking advantage of all the benefits? The simple answer is no.
Salads create an often enjoyed and easy way to incorporate nutrient dense foods into a meal pattern. However, these same benefits come from eating nutrient dense vegetables, regardless of whether they are in a salad, or not.
A teenager who does not like salads should look to include fruits and vegetables in other ways. For example, vegetables and legumes make great additions to soups and other entrees. Teens should experiment with cooking vegetables to find what they prefer. Adolescents can roast, steam, air fry, stir-fry, or even just eat vegetables raw.
There are many other creative ways to eat veggies besides just salad. Another option is transforming a bowl of salad greens to a more enjoyed dish. Adding some avocado, corn, beans and cheese creates a satisfying taco salad while adding olives, vinaigrette and feta cheese makes a great Greek styled salad.
How to Create a Satisfying Salad:
A simple bowl of salad greens with some vinaigrette compliments a meal well. Yet, always eating just salad greens does not take advantage of all the health benefits and satiating feelings a salad can provide.
First, incorporating healthy fats into a salad allows for the best absorption of all the nutrients contained. Certain nutrients such as vitamin K, A, D, E and antioxidants like Carotenoids require fat for absorption.
Unsaturated fats found in fatty fish, plant oils, olives, avocados, nuts and seeds promote health more than saturated fats. Saturated fats should be eaten less frequently. These fats include creamy dressings, butter, lard, tropical oils, meats and dairy.
Second, add in color. Salad greens pack in many great nutrients, but lack nutrients other vegetables might offer. Try adding flavor, color and nutrients with roasted sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower. Fruit can also add depth of flavor with a sprinkling of berries, apples, pears or orange slices.
Third, think about protein. A salad can become a delicious meal with the addition of protein and complex carbohydrates. Protein keeps teenagers feeling full, supports growth and development, and plays a role in many key functions of the body.
Good protein options include seafood, lean meats, eggs, cheese, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Forth, complex carbohydrates provide the body with energy, fiber and other nutrients. These foods may not always come to mind when creating a salad but can add great texture and flavor.
Complex carbohydrates include foods like sweet potatoes, corn, whole grain rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain tortillas and quinoa.
Fifth, stay aware of nutrient quality of salads. Many pre-packaged or restaurant salads contain far less of the nutrient dense foods and more of foods high in sugar, saturated fats and sodium. Certain salad ingredients should be eaten only in moderation such as creamy and sugary dressings, cheese, croutons, tortilla strips, fried foods, bacon, and other more processed ingredients.
Finally, go with creativity. Salads offer countless options from a simple bowl of greens to a satisfying mix of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Try adding roasted vegetables, squash, radishes, cheese, nuts, seeds, and crushed crackers.
Salad Ideas:
- Garden salad: a blend of mixed greens with a variety of veggie and fruit toppings. Add in some nuts and seeds for variety.
- Chef salad: tossed lettuce with hard-boiled eggs, meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese.
- Cobb salad: made with chopped salad greens, bacon, tomato, chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado.
- Greek salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta cheese, and olives.
- Taco salad: shredded lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, ground beef or turkey, cheese, and other diced veggies.
- Waldorf salad: fruit and nut salad with fresh apples, celery, grapes, walnuts, with lettuce and dressing.
- Fruit salad: made with a mixture of diced fruits.
- Bean salad: made with garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green beans, onions, and more.
Make your own salad with a base of greens and add favorite vegetables, fruits, protein, complex carbs and healthy fats. If you don’t like salad, you need to try more salads because there is a huge variety.
Tips for Safe Handling/Storage of Salads
When picking lettuce greens, inspect them before purchasing. Greens should look crisp and bright. Avoid mushy, limp, dried out or discolored leaves. A musty, rotten smell can also indicate older produce.
Try to place lettuce in refrigerator as soon as possible. Lettuce stored without moisture and at 35-40 Fahrenheit will usually stay good for about 7-10 days.
Produce should also always remain separate from higher risk foods such as meat and eggs. Keeping them separate from fruit can also help them last longer.
When preparing to use salad greens, make sure to wash the leaves. Unused leaves should be dried and placed in an open plastic bag. Paper towels can improve storage as well.
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