Nutritious Salad on a Budget for a Novice Cook

This yummy salad suggestion is offered in answer to AC CP Bobby Ramsey's request for economical food ideas for an on-my-own in the kitchen first-timer as expressed in his Content article "Eating Well on a Budget for the Single Person."

Salad is a central element of a healthy diet. It is a pleasant and convenient way to get raw vegetables. The problem with salad, though, is that it tends to be expensive because of the price of bottled salad dressing and lettuces, neither of which last very long. So, how do get around the cost and make salad a regular part of your diet?

Well, it's pretty easy, really. Let's start with lettuce. Instead of buying iceberg or other lettuces, buy a head of cabbage. While you are in the produce department, also buy a few oranges or apples. And if you haven't got a sharp 8" or 10" chef knife, or cook knife, pick one up at your local grocery store or get a better one at Old Hickory Kitchen Knives.com for the about the same amount of money. If you don't know how to safely chop with a chef knife, watch the Mincing video on Epicurious.com. It will show you basic safe technique. And by all means, click on the link to NEW TECHNIQUE VIDEOS! The link opens a pop-up page for video presentations that you can select from the More Videos menu box.

You will also need a 3" or 4" paring knife available through the same sources. If you haven't already got one, pick up an inexpensive cutting board or cutting board set for around $5 or $10 at your grocer or at a discount department store.

Cabbage grows a dense head, so one head goes a long way, especially if there are only one or two people in the household. Cabbage is in the crucifer family and is a good source of a wide range of vitamins. It is also an important source of phytonutrients and antioxidants, with red cabbage having 6% to 8 % more nutrient value than white cabbage. For a full discussion of the important value of cabbages, see the article at whfoods.com. While iceberg lettuce, which is the most popular salad lettuce and the most reasonably priced, has a range of vitamins in it, cabbages have a wider range, and cabbage is high up on the list of nutritional substitutes for iceberg lettuce. This information is discussed on Nutritiondata.com.

So, now you have your cabbage choice of white or red (bok choy tends to be more costly) and your knives and cutting board. And you know where to look to learn to use them if you don't know already. Next, you want to make a stop at your local health food store. I know, costs at elite health food stores are usually prohibitive, but they always have a ready supply of certain things that you will need, and the prices for these things are comparable wherever you may buy them. Certain other things can most often only be gotten at a health food store. So, what are these things?

First, you need to buy yourself a package of shelled almonds. That will usually cost around $3.79 or so. Because of the way you're going to use them, these will last a very long time. Next, buy a package of dried cranberries, which will also cost around three or four dollars. These will also last a very long time, unless of course you nibble them. Now, pick up a bottle of concentrated lemon juice for about $3.29 or so, and a bottle of Lakewood Pomegranate Juice.

This is very good juice. It's a small bottle, but don't worry because the way you'll use it, that small bottle will last a long time. Just remember that even though cranberries and pomegranates themselves are not high on the glycemic index, they are not necessarily in their natural states when they are dried or made into juice. If you have a glycemic problem such as hypoglycemia, be extremely cautious in how you use these products.

So now you have your cabbage, your oranges or apples, your knives and cutting board, your almonds, cranberries, and your concentrated lemon juice and pomegranate juice. Let's go home and fix up a salad.

First, wash everything really well, including the knives and cutting board. My grandmother and mother having come from "the old country" used to wash all their fruits and vegetables in hot water. But I did what the nutrition writers all said, which it to wash them in cold water. After the Yuppies all started to give themselves food borne diseases because they didn't wash and rinse things with soap (not detergent0 and water; and after all the brain viruses and other food borne illnesses began striking people down with illness or death, I decided that maybe my grandmother and mother weren't so wrong after all and switched back to washing fruits and vegetables with hot water. But whatever you do, wash them all very well.

Now get ready to finely slice the cabbage with your sharp chef's knife. And mind, no slicing fingers is allowed: keep them curled back the way you see in the Mincing video. So, the trick is to get it sliced as thinly as you can, and the more practice you have at using your knife the more thinly you'll be able to slice. To start, slice a section off one side of the cabbage to make a flat spot. Place this flat spot down on your cutting board and start slicing away thin sections from the top of the cabbage head. The first ones will be more like wide slices, but as you cut into the head you'll begin to slice off thin julienne-like strips. These are just right for a salad. Slice up as much as think you want, maybe half-a-cup or a cup of loosely packed slices.

Remember, cabbage is filling. Put whatever portion you want in a salad bowl. Put the rest of the head of cabbage in a mixing bowl, cover it over with a plate or a smaller bowl and store it in the refrigerator. Be sure to note that plates and bowls are reusable, whereas plastic wraps and aluminum foils, which add phthalates and heavy metals to your already over-loaded toxic chemical body burden, are not reusable -- nor any good for you.

Next, set out your clean paring knife and take a sprinkling of dried cranberries. I only use three or four because I can't take too many sweet things. But you might like six or seven or eight or so. And one by one, cut them in halves or quarters with your paring knife, remembering to keep your fingers out of the way. Put the pieces in your salad bowl.

Now for the almonds. You are going to use your paring knife to sliver the almonds. There may be better ways to do this, I don't know, but I hold an almond firmly between my thumb and forefinger. I place the knife blade between my thimb and finger and make as many tiny cuts across the almond as I can. The result, fairly well slivered almonds. I use half-a-dozen to a dozen almonds. Put the slivers in your bowl.

If you're using an orange, you'll want to peel it. Generally, half an orange is right for two salads; two or three wedges is about right for one. If you only want part of an orange, cut off what you want, set it aside, turn the remainder open-side down on a small plate and put it in the refrigerator for next time. If you want to use a whole orange, with your paring knife slice off the stem-end section of peel. Then make stem-to-bottom scores through the peel all the way round the orange. Now peeling it is a simple matter of removing the sections. Break the orange wedges apart, place one flat-side down on your cutting board and cut the wedges, or adjoining wedges (depending on how big you want your orange bits), into bite-sized pieces. Put them in your bowl. If you're using an apple instead, a quarter apple is about right for one salad. Cut the apple in halves or quarters, lay it flat side down and cut it into bite-sized pieces to add to your bowl. Store the remainder open-side down on a small plate in the refrigerator.

How are we doing so far? Good? Easy, yes? Of course, yes.

Now for the dressing. In a small jar with a tight fitting lid (an old small jelly jar, for instance) pour three parts vegetable oil, one part 50/50 mixture of lemon and pomegranate juices, and optionally add one part water. Add salt and pepper to taste, and add Spike brand seasoner. This is essentially a modified vinaigrette. So, why Spike specifically? And why not vinegar? Easy.

Buying herbs and spices with which to spike up your dishes is very costly. Herbs and spices are not inexpensive. Assuming you don't grow your own for whatever reason, the best answer I have found for gaining the great benefits of herbs and spices without gaining the sometimes prohibitive cost is to buy Spike. It is a mixture of herbs and spices that is healthful, tasty (very tasty!), potent, which means a bottle goes a long way, and economical. One bottle costs around three dollars. Considering that Spike lasts so long and gives you such valuable benefit, the cost is three dollars well spent.

Vinegar is a valuable addition to foods. Many people derive health benefits from drinking a tea of hot water, vinegar, and honey every morning. But vinegars do not add vitamins to your diet, though they do add some minerals. Lemon and pomegranate, on the other hand, add to your vitamin and mineral intake and provide phytonutrients and antioxidants at the same time.

What oils are good to use in salad? A classic is 100% pure virgin (first pressing) olive oil. You could also use sunflower seed oil, seseme seed oil, grapefruit seed oil. Buying an more expensive oil, like one of these, which you use sparingly on salads, will be a cost-savings in the long-run because it will last so long.

Now you're done! Shake well. Pour lightly over your salad. Enjoy!

Informative inks:

http://www.epicurious.com/ Home page, loaded with wonders

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php List of beneficial foods

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20dw.html Lettuce nutrients

http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-011997049045000000000.html Lettuce substitutes

http://www.nutritiondata.com/help/estimated-glycemic-load Glycemic index

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=19 Nutritional information of cabbage