7 ideas to load your salads with protein

Salads are one of the dishes that we can make more complete. Although we normally think of lettuce and tomato, there are many more ingredients that can enrich our salads by providing a lot of nutrients.

Salads rich in vegetable protein

Today I am going to talk about how to make your especially protein salads, always with 100% vegetable ingredients. You can add one or more of the ingredients that I propose, always to your liking, to assemble your perfect salads, rich in proteins, different and satiating.

1. Chickpeas

Chickpeas as is, cooked and drained, are a delight in salads. You don’t need to put anything else on them. The boat ones are also valid. Drain very well and add them to your salad.

It doesn’t take long and you’ll be contributing protein, fiber and vitamins.

If you like salads with croutons or croutons, make them with chickpeas. You can toast them in the pan with a pinch of olive oil and salt, or in the oven. The texture is very pleasant and the toasted flavor greatly enriches your salad.

Try making a salad with lettuce, tomato, chickpeas and chopped fresh parsley, dressing it with tahini, lemon and salt.

2. Lentils

Like chickpeas, cooked and drained lentils go very well in salads, especially with lemon or vinegar dressingswith which it improves its texture and flavor.

You can use any type of lentil, they all work well, although if you use the smaller varieties they may settle in the bottom of the bowl. To avoid this, the rest of the ingredients are also cut small.

A good salad with lentils would be, for example: mixed sprouts with lentils, cherry tomatoes, avocado, white asparagus, olives and gherkins.

3. Beans

White, brown, black… use the beans you want. Also cooked and drained. You don’t need to add anything else to them, just put a good handful in your salad.

the beans they are more creamy than chickpeas and lentils, and they are wonderful with onion or spring onion raw, fresh tomatoes, cucumber, etc. In general they are a very refreshing option and satiating.

Make a bean salad with tomato, diced cucumber, corn, beetroot and carrot, and dress it with oil, vinegar and salt.

4. Tofu

Tofu is another good source of protein that we can add directly to salads. Uses a hard or extra firm tofu, and for more flavor, let it be smoked or with seeds and nuts. It is not necessary to cook it. Just cut a couple of thick slices and dice them.

Hard tofu as is it looks like fresh cheese or cottage cheese in salads. If you find it bland, you can marinate the cubes in soy sauce half an hour before adding them, or sauté them for a few minutes with a dash of olive oil.

Try making a salad of lettuce, fresh spinach, tofu, shredded piquillo peppers, finely chopped or sliced ​​kale, red onion, avocado, and a vinegar and oil dressing with basil or parsley.

5. Textured soybeans

If you like it simply soaked, then you already have it. if not enough saute it with a little olive oil and some spices (thyme, oregano, etc) and a splash of soy sauce and add it to our salad. It also serves what you have left over from other meals, for example a fine textured soy bolognese or a few pieces of thick textured soy that you have used for some fajitas.

For one textured soy salad Put as a base the raw vegetables that you like the most (lettuce, arugula, lamb’s lettuce, kale…), fresh vegetables such as carrots, peppers, cucumbers or tomatoes, some pickles (capers, gherkins, olives) and a handful of fresh herbs (for example coriander and parsley), and dress it with gomasio, flax oil, lemon juice or a dash of lime juice.

6. Nuts

They are also a good source of protein, they have the perfect size for any salad and in general its flavors and textures go very well with any ingredient. Choose nuts that are peeled and raw or roasted, that do not contain a lot of salt (or are fried). My favorites are walnuts, almonds, cashews, and shelled pumpkin seeds.

If you don’t want them to end up at the bottom it is better to add them at the end to make and dress the salad, above. But make it a good handful. It also helps that the rest of the ingredients are cut more finely.

Try making a salad with diced tomato, onion, diced red pepper, arugula, sweet corn, diced avocado, and apple. Make a basic and smooth dressing, for example olive oil with a little lemon and salt.

7. Seeds

In addition to the above, to add more protein to our salads we can add a handful of seeds that are rich in proteinsuch as hemp, flax, chia or sesame seeds. Try to crush them a little before adding them to the salad, preferably as a topping, since this way we will digest them better and we will take advantage of everything.

A bag of seeds will last you a long time and it will make a lot of dishes, so it is not a bad idea to add it as a basic in the pantry.