{"id":1294,"date":"2021-05-06T13:50:47","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T13:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=1294"},"modified":"2021-05-06T13:50:47","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T13:50:47","slug":"salad-toss-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/06\/salad-toss-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Salad Toss Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County<\/p>\n<p>The Truth Contributor<\/p>\n<p>While tossed salad might be a popular way to eat salad, a salad can be designed in so many ways that we could eat different combinations throughout the whole month of May &#8211; National Salad Month. Even the Merriam-Webster dictionary notes how vast the types of salad can be. <strong>Definition of salad<\/strong>: any of various usually cold dishes: such as (a): raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing or (b): small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing.<\/p>\n<p>While you can easily make a salad for one or two people, The UC Davis Department of Nutrition also shares ways for families to enjoy salads with these easy tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Welcome creativity from everyone. Let all individuals, including children, build their own salad with toppings of their choice.<\/li>\n<li>Use all different types of greens. While lettuce is a common ingredient, there are many types of leafy greens such as spinach, kale, red lettuce, and arugula. Some greens taste bitter or sharp compared to others. Try a mixture of familiar lettuce with some new, leafy greens.<\/li>\n<li>Add some crunch to your salad: Include toppings like sunflower seeds, almonds or walnuts for healthy protein.<\/li>\n<li>Choose dressings with healthy oils or make your own vinaigrette.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is easy to create your own vinaigrette dressing depending on your tastes and what ingredients you have on hand. The main \u201crecipe\u201d follows a ratio of 3:1 of oil to acid (vinegar or fruit juice) with some added flavors like herbs or onions. Whether you are making a small amount or a large amount, you will follow that 3:1 ratio of oil to acid. For example, for a small amount of vinaigrette dressing, use three tablespoons oil to one tablespoon of acid. Add a pinch of seasonings such as fresh or dried herbs, garlic or onion. For a larger batch, use one cup of oil to 1\/3 cup acid and a teaspoon of each different herb and seasoning. What ingredients do you use most often? You can try, <strong>oils<\/strong> such as canola oil, olive oil, or vegetable oil. <strong>Acids<\/strong> are often vinegar (different flavors including apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar), and sometimes fruit juice (lemon, lime, orange). Add the ingredients to a jar with a tight lid and shake well to mix.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the 3:1 oil to acid, a variety of flavors can be created depending on what herbs or onions or garlic are added. To make it a creamy dressing add mayo, plain yogurt or avocado. If you have plenty of vinaigrette dressing for salads, it can also be used as a marinade for vegetables and meats.<\/p>\n<p>The five MyPlate food groups can be an inspiration for a large, tasty salad. The following ideas are from Utah Extension\u2019s Create A Meal resources: <em>Create a delicious salad from simple foods. Just choose an item from each category. Each salad serves four adults. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Choose one base:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lettuce or salad greens: Romaine, spring greens, arugula, etc. (four to six cups)<\/li>\n<li>Whole wheat pasta or noodles (two to four cups cooked)<\/li>\n<li>Brown rice (two to four cups, cooked)<\/li>\n<li>Potatoes (2two to four cups, cooked)<\/li>\n<li>Whole grain: Cooked quinoa, barley, etc., or dense bread torn in bite size pieces and toasted. (two to four cups)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Choose one protein:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 (15 oz.) can or two cups cooked dried beans (pinto, black, kidney, black-eyed pea)<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd pound cooked ground beef<\/li>\n<li>1 \u00bd cups cooked and diced meat (chicken, turkey, ham, beef, fish, pork)<\/li>\n<li>2 cups chopped hard-boiled eggs<\/li>\n<li>1 -2 (6-8 oz) canned beef, chicken, tuna, salmon, or other fish<\/li>\n<li>1 (12-16 oz) package extra firm tofu, drained and marinated in soy sauce and fruit juice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Vegetables!<\/strong> Tomato, cucumber, broccoli, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, squash, etc. Choose any combination:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 cups fresh vegetables<\/li>\n<li>2 cups frozen vegetables, thawed and cooked<\/li>\n<li>1-2 (15 oz) cans of vegetables<\/li>\n<li>4 Fruit (optional)<\/li>\n<li>Apple, orange, raisins, dried cranberries, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Choose one or more flavors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00bd &#8211; 1 cup diced onion, celery, green pepper<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc cup sliced olives<\/li>\n<li>\u00bd cup salsa<\/li>\n<li>2-4 Tablespoons fresh herbs or 1-2 teaspoons dried herbs (oregano, basil, cumin, chili powder, thyme, rosemary, sage, etc)<\/li>\n<li>Salt and pepper to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Choose one dressing<\/strong> (optional)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Choose a topping<\/strong> (optional):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As mentioned earlier, try \u00bc cup slivered almonds, chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds<\/li>\n<li>2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese<\/li>\n<li>\u00bc cup grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Select a food from each category or use your own favorites. Combine all ingredients except dressing and toppings in a large salad bowl. Either dress salad before serving or allow family members to add dressing and toppings as desired. <\/em>Whether you make a small side salad or a full meal, enjoy the different colors and tastes during National Salad Month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County The Truth Contributor While tossed salad might be a popular way to eat salad, a salad can be designed in so many ways that we could eat different combinations throughout the whole month of May &#8211; National Salad Month. Even the Merriam-Webster dictionary notes how vast the types [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[52],"class_list":["post-1294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1295,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294\/revisions\/1295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1294"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=1294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}