Best Salad for Weight Loss

If you’re looking for the Best Salad for Weight Loss, this vibrant salad should be on your go-to list! This weight loss salad is made with the best vegetables for weight loss (like kale, grated raw beets and carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and yellow squash noodles), and it’s delicious, nutritious and so easy to make!

This colorful weight loss salad is loaded with the best vegetables for weight loss and it’s satisfying enough to serve as a main, but also makes a great starter salad. 

Just eating a weight loss salad isn’t a magic bullet for weight loss, but eating salads on a daily basis may help support weight loss over a period of time. Staying hydrated (with drinks like this Lemon Water, Cucumber Water, Fruit Infused Water, Cranberry Juice Detox and Apple Cider Vinegar Drink), eating antioxidant-rich foods and high-fiber foods, cutting back on salt and sugar, eating lean protein like fish and chicken, staying active and getting plenty of rest, these are habits that put you and keep you on a path to a healthy lifestyle, and will help you achieve your weight management goals that you can maintain for years to come.

Healthy Salad Recipe for Weight Loss 

This delicious weight loss salad is packed with raw wholesome vegetables that are rich in fiber, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. 

• Greens – We use baby greens mix for this salad. Spinach is a rich source of  protein,  fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Spinach is also rich with flavonoids (antioxidants).   The folate in spinach is good for your healthy heart and magnesium helps lower  blood pressure. Like blueberries, spinach also helps to keep our memories sharp.  Kale is rich with Quercetin and Kaempferol, which are powerful antioxidants. It’s a great source of Vitamin K which is important for blood clotting. Kale is rich with lutein and zeaxanthin which are powerful nutrients that protect eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration, and it’s low calorie and high water content may help with weight loss
• Carrots –Carrots are a rich source of vitamins (vitamin A, B6, Biotin and vitamin K), minerals (potassium) and antioxidants beta carotene and lutein which promotes good eye health, and lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant (found in many red fruits and vegetables) and may help decrease risk of certain types of cancer and heart disease.
• Purple Cabbage – Like other cruciferous vegetables (including broccoli and cauliflower) red cabbage is also an excellent detox food.  It’s a rich source of antioxidants that have been shown to reduce chronic inflammation. It’s also a good source of fiber and contains sulfur compounds which help the body fight against toxins. Red cabbage also contains powerful compounds called anthocyanins which is what gives cabbage its rich purple color. These anthocyanins are rich with powerful flavonoids and there are a number of studies that link a diet rich with foods containing anthocyanins and a reduced rick of heart disease.
• Cauliflower – Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, along with broccoli, cabbage, kale, and brussels sprouts,   It’s considered one of the healthiest foods on the planet.  It’s rich with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s rich with certain compounds (sulforaphane, glucobrassicin, glucoraphanin, and gluconasturtiian) which supports liver health and is beneficial for digestion and triggers the liver to produce detoxifying enzymes that block free-radical damage. Cauliflower may also aid weight loss because it’s a rich source of fiber, slowing digestion and making us feel full longer, which may help us eat fewer calories during the day.
• Yellow Squash – Yellow squash is rich with antioxidants (carotenoids, beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin).It’s an excellent food for weight loss programs because it’s low-calorie, low in sugar and rich with fiber and it has a high water content, helping us to feel full without consuming many calories.
• Cucumber – Cucumber is made up of about 90 percent water, which helps keep the body hydrated.  They’re low in calories, carbs, and fat and high in fiber, they make a smart addition to any weight loss plan. Cucumber is also rich with fiber and the seeds act as diuretic that help pass urine and flush out excess waste and toxins. A diet rich in cucumber may help promote a clean gut, a healthy digestive system and weight loss. 
• Raw Beets – Adding raw beets to salads is a great way to add more antioxidants to the mix. Beets contain an antioxidant called Betalains.  Betalains work to decrease oxidative stress and aid in detoxification in our bodies by breaking down toxins so they can be excreted from our bodies.  Traditionally, beets are valued for their support in detoxification and helping to purify our blood and our liver.  The Red Betalain pigments in beets are not very heat stable, so it’s best to eat beets raw or to juice them. I’m pretty hooked on grating beets to add to my salads now.  Just peel and rinse the raw beets and grate them to add to your green salads. It’s so simple!

How to Make It

We’ve all heard about eating the rainbow, which is nothing more than eating colorful, antioxidant-rich foods to nourish our bodies so we feel healthier and have more energy. 

1. Make dressing. Add the ingredients to a blender and blend, or add them to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake well to blend the ingredients.
2. Prepare ingredients. Rinse the vegetables under cold water. Add to a salad spinner or pat dry on paper towels. Peel the carrots and beets and grate then, chop the cabbage, cauliflower and cucumber and make spiralized noodles out of the yellow squash (or you can just grate it as well).
3. Toss salad. Toss the lettuce, carrot, yellow squash, cabbage, cauliflower and cucumber in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette around the ingredients and toss again. 
4. Garnish. Top the salad with spoonfuls of grated beet. You can toss salad again if you’d like.
5. Season. Add freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Cleansing Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

I love everything about this vinaigrette. It has such an amazing flavor, plus it’s so nutritious! We toss everything in a blender to make this dressing, but if you don’t have a blender, then chop the herbs and add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake well. Refrigerate before serving.

Is Salad Good for Weight Loss

With a variety of healthy add-ins, salads can be a staple of a balanced diet and help support weight management goals. Salads that are good for weight loss should be made with nutrient-dense foods (rather than foods high in calories, cholesterol, sugar and sodium).

Here are 7 healthy foods to toss in salads for weight loss.

• Use dark greens like Romaine lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach and other leafy greens as they have more nutrients in them than iceberg lettuce.
• Add fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and apple.
• Add in high fiber foods like lentils, chickpeas, black beans and cannellini beans.
• Add in quinoa and lean protein like salmon (grilled or canned), chicken (grilled, baked or poached) and hardboiled eggs to make a salad more filling.
• Add healthy fats like slices of avocado.
• Toss in lots of fresh herbs, like basil, cilantro, parsley and mint.
• Use salad dressings made with extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil (healthy fats), lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.

Foods to Avoid Adding to Salads For Weight Loss

Salads can be a good way to add important vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet. However, not all salads are healthy and nutritious. It all depends on what you’re tossing in your salad. When making salads for weight loss, avoid adding ingredients that are high in calories, fat and sodium, like cheese, croutons, deli meats, bacon, sugar glazed nuts and seeds, tortilla chips and creamy salad dressings made with mayonnaise, sour cream and dairy (or only add them in moderation).

Looking for More Salad Recipes for Weight Loss? 

If you’re looking for more salad ideas for weight loss, I’ve got you covered. These salads are satisfying and made with some of the best vegetables for weight loss.

• Crunchy Detox Salad
• Superfood Salad
• Beet & Kale Quinoa Salad
• Cranberry Kale Salad
• Broccoli Detox Salad
• My Favorite House Salad
• Healthy Coleslaw 
• Spinach Berry Antioxidant Salad

Want more healthy salad ideas?  Check out all my healthy salad recipes.

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Yield: 6 servings

Best Salad for Weight Loss

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

If you're looking for the Best Salad for Weight Loss, this vibrant salad should be on your go-to list! This weight loss salad is made with the best vegetables for weight loss (like kale, grated raw beets and carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and yellow squash noodles), and it's delicious, nutritious and so easy to make!

Ingredients

• 8 cups baby spinach and kale leaves
• 1 cup carrot, grated
• 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
• 2 small yellow squash, grated or spiralized into noodles
• 1 cucumber, chopped or spiralized into noodles
• 1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
• 1 large red beet, peeled and grated

For the Cleansing Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 heaping teaspoon lemon zest
• Fistful fresh cilantro
• Fistful fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons pure clover honey
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Instructions

1. Toss the spinach, kale, carrot, cauliflower, squash noodles, cucumber and cabbage in a large bowl.
2. Toss with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette
3. Top with piles of grated beet.
4. Add freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

For the Cleansing Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender.
2. Refrigerate before serving

Note: If you don't have a blender, then chop the herbs and add the ingredients to a mason jar and seal the lid. Shake well. Refrigerate before serving.