While we understand salads are good for health and should be included in our daily meals, many of us find the idea unappealing, especially when it comes to Indian weight loss salads. The thought of eating them regularly in order to lose weight may sound off-putting. This is because most Indian weight loss salads turn out to be bland, tasteless and not satisifying enough! It’s common to think of salads as diet food because they might not fill you up and there’s a very popular belief that you have to starve to lose weight. But that’s not true anymore! In this article, we share two yummy Indian salad recipes for weight loss that you can make at home easily.
Why Salads are Good For Weight Loss?
Since salads are normally made with lots of vegetables, they provide ample nutrition, all within low calories. By including a protein source like egg/tofu/paneer/chicken in Indian weight loss salad recipes, you would feel fuller for longer and have better control over appetite. When you include healthy fat sources like nuts or olive oil, it further enhances the satiety and nutritional value of the salad.
Certain studies shows a salad before a meal can help to cut down the total calorie intake in the subsequent meal. In this article published on the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website, a study mentioned shows that when people ate the big bowl of the salad with lots of veggies, they didn’t eat as much other food during the meal. It’s like their tummies felt full faster with the veggie salad, so they didn’t need to eat as much of the other food. So, having a bowl of salad is a great idea while on a weight loss diet.
How To Make Salads Delicious and Flavourful?
Salads need not be bland or tasteless anymore. Next time you make a salad, try experimenting with different ingredients and dressings. Add sufficient protein, healthy fats, and carbs to make it a filling meal. Most importantly, incorporate salads into a balanced diet rather than relying entirely on salads to lose weight. Additionally, here are some amazing tips to make salads delicious and flavourful.
- Pick fresh ingredients – fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs add a distinct flavour to the salad. The quality of freshness contributes significantly to improve the taste of the salad.
- Add a protein ingredient – whether it’s egg, tofu, chickpea, paneer, or chicken – add a protein factor to feel full for longer. When you add a protein-rich ingredient, the taste and satiety factor becomes high. Protein also helps increases calorie expenditure and thus helps in losing weight.
- Add a crunch factor to the salad by sprinkling it with nuts like walnuts, pistachios, peanuts, and almonds.
- Experiment with different dressings to amp up the flavour of salads – olive oil, lemon, and some sugar-free dressings can be added to make salads extremely delicious.
2 Indian Weight Loss Salad Recipes:
1. Chickpea and Vegetable Salad:
This Indian weight loss salad is rich in protein because of chickpeas. It also has a lot of fresh ingredients like tomatoes, capsicum, and cucumber. You also get healthy fat from the extra virgin oil. Here’s how you can make this delicious salad:
- Chickpeas (approximately 400 grams), boiled and rinsed.
- Tomatoes (about 150 gm).
- 1 medium-sized cucumber, diced
- 1 medium-sized bell pepper (any color), dice it into cube shape.
- 1/4 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (about 10 grams)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts (about 30 gm).
Instructions:
Rinse the boiled chickpeas thorougly. Drain and set aside. Combine together cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, and red onion. Add fresh mint leaves. Whisk together lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper together. Now pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is evenly coated with the dressing. Sprinkle roasted peanuts to get the crunchy factor.
You can also add vegetables of your choice, such as carrots and celery. Also read: ABC Juice – Is it a Miracle Juice For Glowing Skin and Weight Loss?
2. Paneer Salad with Walnuts:
Paneer is an amazing source of vegetarian protein, which helps to boost metabolism, reduce appetite, and promotes fullness in relatively smaller portions. Walnuts, on other hand, are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, healthy fats, and otehr minerals and a combination of protein with healthy fats can curb appetite effectively. Here’s the recipe to make paneer salad with walnuts.
Ingredients:
- 200 grams paneer, cubed
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 medium-sized carrot, grated
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 1 green chili, finely chopped (optional).
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chaat masala (optional, for seasoning)
Instructions:
First, place a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the paneer cubes and cook until they turn golden brown on all sides, for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Next, in a mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot, cucumber, tomato, red onion, chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chili, and chopped walnuts. Add the paneer to this bowl of veggies and walnuts. For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad in the mixing bowl and toss well. You can also sprinkle a bit of chaat masala at this stage for extra flavour. Your paneer walnut salad is now ready!
Additionally, here’s an absolutely delicious salad recipe made with different sauces and also butter, egg, and veggies as main ingredients. Just avoid carrot to remain if you are following the keto diet.
Summing up, with these salad recipes, you would never like you are eating a tasteless diet food. They are healthy and can be packed off in lunch boxes too. But do remember to control portions so as to avoid eating too many calories at the end of the day.
