Simple Ways to Add Protein to Your Salad

Salad is a healthy meal you can enjoy for lunch or dinner.  While it might not sound very filling, there are lots of ways to make yours more exciting, vibrant and satisfying.

You don’t need to stick to just vegetables and dressing when you’re making a salad. If anything, it’s better to add extra ingredients to bump up the nutritional value of your salad.

A salad that is created solely with vegetables may contain lots of micronutrients but is also very low in protein. We all need protein in our diets to aid cell growth and repair, hair and nail growth, healthy skin, and maintenance of skeletal muscle.

Protein also increases the satiety factor of your meals. Salads are notoriously unsatisfying and don’t leave you feeling full if they only contain vegetables like lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes. However, adding some great protein sources to your salads will make them more filling, so you won’t feel hungry just an hour later.

Whether you’re a meat-eater or you follow a plant-based diet, there are lots of great sources of protein that you can add to your salads. Here are some simple ideas for you to try, including the ingredient and the amount of protein per 3-ounce serving.

Meat-Based Protein Sources

• Chicken breast slices - 31 grams
• Turkey breast slices - 31 grams
• Tuna - 31 grams
• Minced beef - 22 grams
• Sardines - 20 grams

Plant-Based Protein Sources

• Peanuts - 22 grams
• Pinto beans - 21 grams
• Tempeh - 15 grams
• Kidney beans - 9 grams
• Tofu - 8 grams
• Chickpeas - 7 grams

To keep things varied, switch up the protein source that you add to your salads. You can mix and match each one and try them in combination with one another to maximize your dietary protein intake.