5 salads rich in proteins, complete and vegetables

Salads are the quintessential healthy dishes and an effective way to include more vegetables in our daily diet. If we also add proteins to make protein salads, we turn them into a unique and nutritious dish.

How to add protein to salad

In these salad recipes we have followed some basic rules when it comes to making a complete, healthy and nutritious single dish:

Vegetables and more vegetables, raw or cooked: The base of any salad, even if it is a protein salad, is vegetables. You can include green leafy vegetables (the darker, the richer they are in protein) and complement them with raw vegetables (cabbage, carrots, beets, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower…). They can also be steamed, sautéed or directly included baked vegetables.Legumes, without fail: We want our protein salad to also be healthy, so we will basically use vegetable proteins. Legumes, being a source of protein, are a essential ingredient. The options are many: soybeans (tofu or tempeh), chickpeas, lentils, white, pinto, red beans… And you can add cooked, sautéed with spices or baked, which will leave them crunchy. With legumes (or with nuts) you can also prepare a delicious vegan tuna that will enrich your salads with its proteins.Experiment with nuts: Nuts are rich in protein and provide a crunchy touch. For this, it is convenient to incorporate them just before serving. Another option is add them crushed, or experiment with vinaigrettes and sauces based on nut creams, or with vegan cheeses.Whole grains? Yeah! Whole grains also contain protein and the richest in this nutrient are: buckwheat, kamut, quinoa, spelt grain, wild rice, whole wheat pasta, teff or amaranth.A complete salad: To get a protein-rich vegetable salad without the hassle of counting protein in grams, One way to be sure is to add two protein ingredients to the vegetable. For example: sautéed tofu and tahini vinaigrette, quinoa with nuts… The serving is half a cup of legumes and 100 grams of this other protein-rich food per person.