7 Components to Festive (and Nutritious) Seasonal Salads

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Although summer boasts fresh, raw veggies, the fall and winter months offer their own share of hearty, healthy, immune-boosting, disease-fighting fare. The holiday season is also the flu season, so now is NOT the time to give them up – we need as much as we can get to stay healthy all the way into next year.

But let’s make winter salad-making fun and festive too.

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Here are my 7 components to match a salad with the season:

1. Use combo greens - Mix basic salad greens (spinach, romaine, Bibb) with spicy bitter greens (arugula, mustard, endive) or colorful choices (radicchio, red cabbage, frizee) to add flair, texture and taste that isn’t too overbearing. Use them in smaller amounts to accentuate the base ingredients.

2. Take advantage of “thermogenic” spices - These are compounds that warm the body and increase metabolism. Salads can be cooling in nature, so balance this action by adding warming spices to dressings. These include: cayenne, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, turmeric, cumin, coriander and mustard seeds. See: Wilted Spinach Salad with Curried Dressing and Spiced Walnuts

3. Draw upon winter fruits - There’s only one time of year when we can get away with using certain fruits like cranberries, pomegranate seeds and persimmons. Do ‘em up by adding them fresh or dried into your salads and dressings. See: Red Leaf with Shaved Persimmon and Pomegranate-Balsamic Vinaigrette and Glaze

4. Add fresh herb “boosters” - Herbs are known to add flavor, but even a small amount can boost nutrition 10-fold. Don’t underestimate the power of fresh herbs. Snip them right into the salad or mince them into dressings.

5. Bring back wilted salads - Wilted salads are especially festive in the winter months. Not many people do this anymore, so it’s also a crowd pleaser. Wilting breaks the greens down just a bit, making them easier to digest, yet retains nutritional value. See: Wilted Spinach Salad with Curried Dressing and Spiced Walnuts

6. Make hearty slaws - Salads don’t always have to be green and leafy. Take advantage of thicker, denser veggies of the season, for example, cabbage. Rotate for variety (Savoy, red, Napa). Celery, carrots and many root vegetables also make excellent (and healthy) slaws. See: Carrot, Parsnip and Cranberry Salad with Tahini-Ginger Sauce

7. Spice and candy your own nuts/seeds - The commercial ones are over-roasted with oils that have been damaged from high heating. It’s easy to make your own, and you can flavor them with your favorite spices (as well as with natural sweeteners of your choice). See: all above recipes.