The quick answer: Salads are the easiest way to add vegetables to your dietary.
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Salads and Fats
The imbalance between our omega-6 and omega-3 fat intake—we consume too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3—is a critical problem with the modern American diet (MAD). We need both fats—they’re deemed essential—but we need a balance. As a rough metric, we should eat 1/3 as much omega-6 and three-fold more omega-3.
There is true irony in our omega-3 fat deficiency—it’s the most plentiful fat on the planet. Omega-3 is found in green plants of the field, and in the algae of the seas. We suffer scarcity in the midst of plenty because we don’t eat enough green stuff, or animals that feast on green foods. So leafy dark greens are one source of omega-3 fats; they’re also rich in youth-preserving antioxidants.
There’s seasonal rhythm: Omega-3 peaks with the green of spring. Omega-6 has its zenith in the fall, when seed crops are harvested. In olden times the winter diet of preserved foods and meat caused a deficiency of vitamins and omega-3 fats. But feasting on the green leaves of spring—what we call salad—restored their health.
Nature reflects this rhythm. Omega-3 supports new life—most animals are born in the spring so feed on greens (or get their milk from a mother feeding on greens). The omega-6 of fall prepares for the winter. Animals can be made to hibernate simply by increasing the omega-6 in their diet while lowering omega-3 fats.
A Brief History of Salad
In the ‘20s it was fashionable to visit and eat at the great hotels. These hotels had an advantage over the home kitchen: refrigeration. This new invention wasn’t yet practical for homes, but the great hotels could afford them. So they began to distinguish themselves with refrigerated foods and dishes.
In New York the Ritz-Carleton affered their Chef’s Salad; the Waldorf-Astoria countered with the Waldorf Salad. When ordinary homes had refrigerators chicken salad, fruit salad, potato salad, carrot salad and Cole slaw became part of our year-around dietary. Refrigeration had the nice benefit of lengthening the food seasons.
For this post, we define salad as any mixture of greens served with a dressing. The dressing has a purpose. The fat in dressings enhances the bioavailability of fat-soluble nutrients. So there’s hidden wisdom in the traditional oil and vinegar dressing.
Salads are the easiest way to include vegetables in your diet. Start your salad with greens but include a variety of chopped vegetables. It’s a good way to clear out the refrigerator. We’re sparing with our meat intake, but a little meat adds variety and flavor to salads: chopped chicken, ham, bacon, crab, shrimp are favorites. It’s also a good way to use leftovers. Nuts are good in salad too, as is cheese. We include salads in most of our dinners. Here is a favorite recipe:
Brooke’s Broccoli Salad
Ingredients:
1 bunch of broccoli, cut into small flowerets
1 bunch romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
4 green onions chopped
1 package of ramen noodles (discard the flavor packet)
1 cup slivered almonds or chopped pecans
¼ cup butter
For the dressing:
1 cup olive or canola oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Brown the nuts and noodles in butter and drain on a paper towel. Combine all other ingredients and toss with the dressing.
Please comment: A purist could reasonably complain the above salad uses ramen noodles and sugar. (Confession: I actually decreased the amount of these two ingredients.) But their use is justified, I think, by how much broccoli and romaine we eat when this salad is served. Please share your favorite green salad recipes. (NOT green Jello salad, please.)