Salads Come in Great Variety

EVERY good housewife is concerned with pleasing the palates of her family by making tasty dishes. And she is also concerned with providing them with wholesome meals. A great aid in realizing these two goals is salads.

Salads serve many purposes. Aside from their nutrient value, which can be considerable, they add zest and variety to your meals. They can also save you work in preparing meals, as well as cost, and they are especially welcome on hot days.

Great indeed is the variety of salads you can make. Chief, of course, are the many kinds of salads consisting largely of greens or other vegetables, but there are also many others. There are the salads that provide protein, and those consisting of starchy foods. There are also salads made with gelatin and those with fruits.

Something Light​—the Green Salads

Salads made from greens have much to recommend them. They contain an abundance of valuable minerals, vitamins and enzymes, which are indispensable to physical well-being, and so are termed “protective foods.” Salads also serve a healthful purpose in that they provide bulk because of their cellulose, which aids one to avoid constipation.

Today researchers are coming more and more to the conclusion that many of the degenerative diseases that plague modern man are due to people’s eating food that is too rich, and too much of it. By serving tasty salads made with greens and other vegetables housewives can aid their families to avoid that modern trend. Children, it is true, often look down on such foods, preferring sweets. But wise parents will not let their children have their own way in such matters but will train them to eat such “protective foods.” After all, when children become sick, the burden falls upon their parents.

Many, indeed, are the greens that can be eaten as salads. Among these are beet greens, carrot tops (when young and tender), celery, chicory, dandelion greens, endive, escarole, lettuce, turnip greens and watercress.

Increase the flavor and food value of such salads by adding onion rings, or diced onions, bits of bacon, cubes of toast, sliced red or white radishes, sliced mushrooms, bits of raw cauliflower, slices of green or red peppers, parsley, cherry tomatoes, ripe or green olives. True, salads cost money and such extras add to the cost, but as one understanding mother put it: “Better to spend my money for vegetables than for drugs, and it’s a lot cheaper too.” Yes, whatever you do to make such salads more tasty will most likely also make them more nutritious.

Others, Raw and Cooked

Among other vegetables that make toothsome salads are cucumbers, sliced​—do not bother peeling them. They are especially tasty with sour cream. Tomatoes sliced thin and served with chopped onions also make a fine salad. And how about grated carrots served with currants or raisins?

Coleslaw, made with shredded red or green cabbage, is both economical and a rich source of vitamin C. For variety chop the cabbage fine and add onions chopped fine or grated carrots. Closely related to coleslaw is sauerkraut salad. Cut the strands into small pieces and add diced apples and/​or diced onions for a wholesome salad that can be made the year around. In a class by itself is apple and onion salad, either sliced or diced and to which a salad dressing such as mayonnaise has been added.

Among other vegetables that serve as salads are beets. Serve with onion rings or diced onions, or sweet-sour with aniseeds, a European delicacy.

Not to be overlooked is string-bean salad. It can well take the place of a green salad anytime. Serve with onions chopped small.

Of course, some vegetables substitute for salads without any special preparation, such as radishes, carrot sticks, celery stalks and scallions.

The Protein and Starch Salads

For many cooks, one of such salads, together with a protein, a starch, and a cooked nonstarchy vegetable make the ideal minimum meal. But the salad might well furnish the protein or the starch. For example, there is the popular chicken salad and the well-liked tuna, salmon, shrimp and crab-meat salads. Made with celery or other greens, or with diced onions, you can have a tasty and nourishing main dish. Fish salads provide an abundance of phosphorous, so essential, it is believed, for the proper functioning of our central nervous system.

Not to be overlooked as a salad that provides protein is egg salad, served with celery or other vegetables. One does not, it would seem, need to be unduly concerned about their cholesterol, unless one is a heavy meat eater.

Still another protein salad is made with cottage cheese. Add chives, scallions or onions cut fine as well as caraway seeds to give it flavor. If you like it sweet, serve it with fruit, such as crushed pineapple or chopped dates.

Perhaps the most economical of all such protein salads is that made with legumes, such as beans (navy, red kidney, lima or soya) or lentils. Of course, these have to be cooked first, and then serve them with chopped onions or with a relish and/​or your favorite salad dressing.

As for the starch salads, potato salad is chief, and running not far behind is macaroni salad. For the best kind of potato salad try to get small new potatoes, if in season, or potatoes with the reddish skins. They cost more but they are worth it; they have a taste all their own and do not crumble easily.

Gelatin and Fruit Salads

Gelatin, especially lime jello, is ideal for making salads, particularly when greens are not available. There are all manner of vegetables, cooked or raw, that you can use in making gelatin salads: celery, green and red peppers, grated carrots, sliced cucumbers, cubed beets, and so forth. And here again, note that gelatin adds not only taste but also food value to your salad.

Finally we have the fruit salads. Perhaps the most popular is what is known as the Waldorf salad, named after what was once one of the world’s finest hotels. It is made with apples and celery cut small and with walnuts (some like to add raisins) together with a mayonnaise dressing. It is considered something special and is as nourishing as it is tasty. Of course, the Waldorf is not, strictly speaking, a fruit salad, as it contains celery.

Preparing regular fruit salads can be as simple as buying a can of salad fruits, but then quite likely you will have mostly cooked fruits. Fresh fruits are to be preferred, such as orange or grapefruit slices, berries, grapes, peaches, pears, apples, pineapple cubes or melon balls. A particularly tasty and nourishing fruit salad, which serves as a breakfast for people living in the tropics, is one made of avocado, banana and papaya.

Salad Dressings and Flavorings

Of course, dressings are added to most salads. The simplest and, for many, the ideal salad dressing is one made with olive or safflower oil and lemon juice and a little salt (some also add a little sugar). Lemon juice has the advantage of supplying vitamin C and of being a natural rather than a fermented acid. But when cost is a consideration, corn oil will do as well, and vinegar can be used, either white malt, apple cider, wine or other fruit vinegar. There is something to be said in favor of each, so try them out and find which suits your palate the best.

There is also the matter of adding flavoring. Among such are caraway seeds, paprika, marjoram, sage, oregano, savory, mint, garlic, pimiento, parsley, dill, thyme and celery seeds. Such spices not only add to the enjoyment of the meal, but there is reason to believe that even as they stimulate the flow of the saliva they also stimulate the flow of the gastric juices. Incidentally, for a delicate garlic flavor, rub your salad bowl with a garlic clove or add one to your salad dressing via the blender.

Nor would we overlook the creamy salad dressings, such as those made with blue or Roquefort cheese, sour cream or yogurt. If you have to watch your calories, avoid mayonnaise or use it sparingly, diluting it with lemon juice. Also cut down on the use of oil by largely substituting tomato juice for it. Sour cream, whipped cream or a dressing made with finely chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds or raw cashew nuts goes very well with fruit salads.

Salads can be served before the main dish, with it or afterward, depending upon the kind. The green tossed salads may well be served before the main dish; doing so may help your family not to overeat. Such salads, as well as those made with other vegetables, also go well with the main dish. Fruit salads serve to top off a meal. And let it be noted that, here also, by having a fruit salad dessert you can guard against overeating, provide valuable minerals and vitamins and you will be taking something that aids in digestion (especially if pineapple is included), all of which certainly cannot be said of such heavy desserts as mince pie or plum pudding.

No question about it, when making salads you have a great variety from which to choose. And they allow for originality and resourcefulness on the part of the housewife, add to the variety and zest of a meal, provide valuable minerals, vitamins and enzymes​—and even help to make your dinner table more colorful!