Up your salad game this year with these easy, healthy and seriously delicious recipes perfect for lunches, summer cookouts, and dinner parties and can be on your dinner table in no time! Each one can double as a main or side dish as well!

It is recommended to have about 4 salads a week but the more, the better. Here’s why:

• Source of fiber: Those leafy greens and raw veggies are a superb source of natural fiber. The fiber helps to control blood sugar also helps with weight loss as well as aiding in the prevention of bowel disease.
• Load of vitamins and minerals: Combining a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in a salad is a great source of vitamins and minerals.
• Carotenoids are a class of compounds synthesized from the yellow, orange and red pigments of plants. This includes vitamin A and its entire varied compound forms: beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin. All of these have substantiated positive effects, plus antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits within the body.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of mixed raw or roasted seeds like pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and ground flax or chia to boost your daily intake of good fats. Experimenting with different kinds of oils in your dressings will help with this too. These foods also help the body to absorb all of the protective compounds, phytochemicals, and lutein.
• Low vitamin K levels have been linked with low bone mineral density in women. For healthy bone growth, a recommended full daily serving can be found in just 1 cup of watercress (100%), radicchio (120%) or spinach (170%).
• The carotenoids found in the green leafies like spinach, Romaine and Red Lettuce help the eyes to adjust from bright to dark, and to filter out high intensity light levels, protecting them from the formation of damaging free radicals.