A lot of us dream of having a fab physique during summers and now that the time is finally here, a lot of us are still to catch up with our weight loss goals. During winters, we tend to gain a lot of weight, our metabolism is slower, we indulge a lot in festive delights. It's easier to hide all that weight gain under layers of woolens during winters, but now that summers are here, we're left with no excuses. If you're still carrying around some festive weight and wish to lose the extra kilos a quicker, you have arrived at the right place. Making small changes to your daily diet may go a long way in helping you. There are a number of easy diet changes that you can make to lose weight quicker and get your body summer-ready. One of the best ways is to start adding more summer veggies and fruits to your diet. Summer comes loaded with an array of bright, healthy and delicious veggies and it would be a crime if you are not making the most of it while they are here. You can use them to make subzis, soups, smoothies and salads.
Summer salads are in fact an easy way of cutting down on calories and to lose weight quickly. They're rich in essential vitamins and minerals. Additionally, many leafy greens are negative calorie foods, which means that they help you lose weight faster. Negative calorie foods are defined as foods that contain such low amount of calories that it takes more calories to burn these foods than what they inherently contain. Summer salads contain a number of veggies and fruits that help you stay cool naturally and also combine nutrition with taste.
Also Read: On A Diet? Turn Your Greens Into Meals With These Deliciously Healthy Grain Salad Recipes
Here are some delicious summer salad recipes that may help you get summer ready:
1. Leafy Salad With Walnuts
This leafy salad is a sure-shot way of drastically reducing your calorie count for the meal. With the goodness of lettuce and cabbage, and the healthy fats and fibre of walnuts, this summer salad is doused in sherry vinegar and contains the tarty goodness of cherry tomatoes. It is easy, hassle-free and super yummy.
2. Green Apple Salad
The refreshing taste of green apples will turn your diet into a cakewalk with this salad recipe. It contains green apple and raw mango in a dressing of lemon juice and is simply spiced with salt and pepper. It is sure to make a stellar addition to your weight-loss diet.
Also Read: Summer Salads: 5 Interesting Salad Ideas You Would Love To Try
3. Cabbage Salad
This cabbage salad is extremely light and flavourful. A delicious cold salad with a mix of capsicum, tomatoes and cabbage in a French dressing, this one makes for a great low-carb and low-calorie meal for the summers. The high-water content of cabbage will help you keep full without toppling your recommended calorie-intake for the day.
4. Cucumber, Black Olive And Mint Salad
Cucumber is the quintessential summer vegetable that helps you stay hydrated and refreshed naturally. Add to that the antioxidant goodness of olives and the cooling properties of mint and you have a winner of a summer salad that will also help you stay in shape. Would you believe 100 grams of cucumber contains only 16 calories? The veggie is all water and nutrients!
5. Four Melon Salad
Summer melons come loaded with various nutrients and high water content. They also happen to be low in calories. This salad is made using four different types of melons- water melon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and musk melon. Dressed in a delicious mint pesto salad dressing and topped with crunchy pine nuts for a punch of taste and nutrition, the salad is a delectable blend of summer flavours that is sure to leave you satiated for a long time.
6. Fruit Cube Salad
Mimicking a rubik's cube, this salad packs all thing summery and savoury! Watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, some marshmallows and pineapple put together in a cube, this salad is sure to dispel all your pre-conceived notions about a salad.
7. Jamun Salad
The love affair of jamun and Indian summer is an old one. How eagerly do we wait to dig into the first batch of this tarty berry and see our tongues change colour from pink to purple and red. This salad promises a zesty flavour that is hard to recreate.
Jamuns are packed with antioxidants
8. Aam Chana Chaat
You saw this coming, didn't you? How can we have a compilation of summer salads and do not make mention of nation's favourite mango! This salad is a perfect of protein and fibre. This is going to keep you satiated and happy for a long spell. If you keep full, your chances of bingeing on other fattening foods decline.
9. Prawn and Litchi salad
This salad is ideal for days you are in no mood to cook. You can put it together in a matter of minutes and pat your back for a job well-done. Litchi is a pulpy summer fruit that makes for an irresistible combination with prawns. Try it once and let us know how you liked it in the comments below!
So get your diet summer-ready by including these vibrant and delicious salads in your daily meal plan!