Even though salads have been enjoyed since ancient times, the variety can be both tempting and visually pleasing. As we become more and more health conscious, salads become more popular. Usually people think of vegetables when salads are mentioned.

However, there are numerous fruit salads at every family gathering and pot-luck in the country! Salads can contain anything from apples to zucchini and anything in between, just use your imagination.

Although lettuce has been the starting point for most salads, there are many other foods
favorites you can start with:

*Watercress, cabbage or spinach

*Oranges, apples or grapefruit

*Beans or frozen peas

*Broccoli

*Potatoes

*Meats and seafood

Just about any food you can think of can be turned into a salad with a modest amount of creativity! You can create many kinds of salads:

*Jell-o salads with fruit

*Fruit salads with yogurt

*Green salads with every kind of
vegetable imaginable

*Coleslaw

*Potato salad

*Tuna salad

*Chicken salad

Again, the varieties are endless, and the list can go on and on to eternity.  One of my favorites includes a green salad with sunflower seeds or cashews, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onions, carrots and ranch dressing.

With the dressings you can get just as creative, ranch, French, blue cheese and Italian are your basic dressings. Now try some of these, mix a little concentrated orange or lemon juice to French dressing or mayonnaise for a delicious fruit salad dressing.

How about a dressing for grapefruit made with, sugar, pepper, paprika, dry mustard,
grapefruit juice and catsup?

Add a little chili powder to concentrated juice, horseradish, a cooked egg and mayonnaise for a spicy new taste.

Every nationality has their own favorite flavors in salads, get together with a few friends for a salad party; you would be amazed at the variety you will see.

If you are doing research into diets, you may come across one that tells you to only eat raw foods. While this diet is good in theory, it may not be practical for most people. Raw foods are often the best for your health however, and they should be a part of any diet. Not only are raw foods full of nutrients, they are also readily available in most stores where you buy groceries. As with any food, however, there are some safety issues.

When you think of raw foods, vegetables and fruits are probably the first things that come to mind. These should be staples in a healthy diet, and should be consumed at every meal. You just have to decide which of these raw foods are your favorites, and remember to buy plenty each trip to the store. Remember when eating these raw foods that they must all be washed thoroughly before you eat them. They may have e coli on them, and this is not something you want to mess with. Even if the fruit has a rind, you still want to wash it. If there is something unsavory on the rind, you will push it through to the fruit when you cut it with a knife.

Though you should not eat meats as are part of a raw food diet, some people do like to eat raw fish, otherwise known as sushi. Though I have never tried this myself, I know a lot of people like it, and enjoy an evening out just to get some. Any raw foods you consume like this should come from a restaurant that is clean, and has a good reputation. You do not want to eat bad fish, especially if it is raw. If you are pregnant, you may want to skip this altogether.

If you decide to go with raw foods exclusively, talk with your doctor to be sure you are getting a balanced diet. Some raw foods are better than others, and you don’t want to become weak because you aren’t getting what your body needs. Your doctor or a good nutritionist can help guide you in the right direction, and will give you the low down on raw foods and what they can do for you and your health. They should be able to help you with a simple menu plan to get you started if you want to eat better, but aren’t really sure where to start.

It used to be very difficult to be a vegetarian but it’s a lot easier now. There are plenty of choices in restaurants and vegetarian cooking at home is made easier by supermarkets being more vegetarian friendly. There is a wide range of ingredients from around the world. You can also choose from non-meat ready meals.

People have different reasons for not eating meat and fish. Some choose on ethical grounds and others do it for health reasons. Some people react badly to eating meat, and simply don’t like the taste. Everyone would benefit from eating less red meat and more fruit and vegetables. Vegetarian cooking doesn’t have to be boring, a little imagination and fresh produce will go a long way. In addition to fruit and vegetables, there are grains, pulses, pasta, herbs and nuts.

You must be careful that you get a balanced diet, with all the vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy body. Vegetarian cooking does entail less fat intake and this can also involves the choice of dairy products. Semi skimmed milk and low fat yogurts and cheeses are another healthy option. Vegetarian cooking can be further enhanced with the unsaturated cooking oils such as olive, peanut, corn and sunflower.

Most people stick to a few favorite vegetables, but it’s worthwhile trying some less commonly used ones to add variety to your vegetable cooking. Spinach is good for its iron content and can be cooked or added raw to salads. There are different sorts of peppers, which can spice up a meal. The red, orange and yellow varieties are sweeter than the more bitter green. If you like the taste of onion, you’ll probably like the mild onion like flavor of leeks. Parsnips are a versatile root vegetable and are particularly tasty when roasted in the oven. Fennel has an aniseed taste and goes well with celeriac in vegetable casseroles. Don’t forget the garlic, because that’s good for the heart and asparagus is a treat especially cooked in a nice sauce.

Pulses and lentils are simple sources of valuable protein but soak them overnight before cooking, with the exception of black-eyed peas.  Beans need to be boiled on a high heat for ten minutes to remove any toxins. Experiment with chickpeas, haricot beans, kidney beans and split peas. There are also green, brown and red lentils, which are often used in vegetarian cooking.

With the addition of spices and herbs, non-meat dishes can be every bit as tasty. Plant some herbs in the garden if you have one. Make sure your food cupboard has s supply of the basics, most often required in vegetarian cooking recipes and you’ll never want to go back to stodgy meat!