The Best Salad Options For Diabetics

The best salad options for diabetics are definitely a healthy well-balanced nutritious one. The most beneficial ingredient in your salad is to choose leafy greens; these have the most nutrients that help diabetics. Another important part of your diabetic diet is to include beans and legumes, they are not only healthy and nutritious but they make a great compliment to your salads.

Following are a couple of recipes that are the best salad options for diabetics:

Fresh Chickpea Salad

3 finely grated carrots

1 large capsicum finely sliced

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

1 red onion finely chopped

1 400g can of chickpeas, drained

1 packet of mixed salad greens

Yoghurt Dressing

1 bunch of parsley

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 to 2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 teaspoons of curry powder

teaspoon of salt

teaspoon of ground black pepper

300g fat free yoghurt

Method

Combine all your ingredients together except for your salad greens in a large bowl, add the combined yoghurt dressing into the bowl and toss gently until well combined. Place your salad greens onto your serving plate and place your vegetable mixture on top and serve.

Rocket & Salmon Pasta Salad

1 packet of Penne pasta

200g of smoked salmon, sliced

2 teaspoons of olive oil

3 garlic cloves finely crushed

1 400g can of cannellini beans, drained

2 zucchini's, grated

1 packet of baby spinach sliced

1 small packet of rocket

1 grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Cracked pepper to taste

Method

Cook pasta until al dente, drain and place in a large bowl. While pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and add the garlic, beans, zucchini and baby spinach and cook for around five minutes or until the spinach has wilted. Toss the mixture through the pasta with the rocket and salmon. Add the lemon zest and juice and season with cracked pepper to taste. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

The basis for all salads should include some type of leafy green like watercress, dandelion greens, arugula, and others that are in the lettuce family; the least nutritious is the iceberg lettuce.

Raw vegetables are a wonderful accompaniment to all salads as well. You need to make sure that when you add a dressing to your salads that it is of nutritional benefit and does not include too much fat. Make sure that all your ingredients are low in carbohydrates.

The best salad options for diabetics is to include a good balance of all the different types of salads and vegetables that are available fresh and low in GI so that you can achieve optimum health.