Salads are a favourite with people on a diet. After all, they deliver a mixed punch of nutrition in a single bowl. Fresh vegetables and fruits contain essential vitamins and minerals that may be missing from our daily meals and this is why including them in your diet is a must for maintaining a healthy weight and a glowing skin. Moreover, salads are easy to fix and are delicious with lots of crunchy, fresh veggies and fruits in yummy salad dressings. But the one thing that makes salads unpopular is that they are not filling enough. You may have noticed that you tend to feel hungry sooner after eating salad for lunch. That happens due to the absence of carbohydrates from the meal. But there’s a an easy fix for that- whole grains.

Benefits Of Grain Salads

If you’re on a diet and want to make a meal out of your salads, then you would be better off mixing some good carbs from whole grains with the greens. There are a number of healthy grains that go well in a salad and hence can be incorporated in your salad bowl without affecting your diet and weight loss goals. Grain salads have an advantage over regular salads, as they keep you satiated for longer, eliminating the need for you to snack more often. Moreover, you can make a meal out of these grain salads and can happily chow down on them, without any guilt.

Here are some deliciously healthy grain salads that are easy-to-prepare and loaded with good carbs and the freshness of fruits and vegetables:

1. Coconut Lime Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is a superfood that is a dieter’s preferred choice of grain, as it is rich in high-grade carbs from fibre as well as protein. This coconut lime quinoa salad is extremely flavourful and is also loaded with healthy fats from another superfood- coconut. The salad is light, yet filling and is guaranteed to save you from that afternoon slump that succeeds a heavy lunch.

2. Brown Rice Salad

Loaded with the crispy goodness and antioxidants from red and green bell peppers and the fibre from brown rice, this salad makes for a great work lunch or even a healthy dinner meal. This is one salad that you would want to make over and over again.

3. Amaranth Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a middle-eastern vegetarian salad that contains bulgar, which is a healthy grain. This gluten-free version of the tabbouleh replaces bulgar with amaranth (rajgira or ramdana), which is an incredibly healthy ancient food grain that is now back in vogue. Amaranth is rich in calcium, protein as well as fibre and can be cooked in several different ways. Try this salad recipe to give your body a healthy break.

4. Pearl Barley Salad

Pearl barley is a whole grain that is one of the most common forms of barley. It is slightly processed, but it cooks faster as compared to its other lesser processed forms. This pearl barley salad contains tomatoes and mint with pomegranate seeds and avocado in a lemon and olive oil dressing, and hence is a nutritious mix of fibre, good fats, and minerals and vitamins.

5. Barley And Red Rice Salad

Red rice is rich in anthocyanin content, which makes it great for fighting inflammation in the body. Additionally, the fibre content in red rice is much higher than even brown rice. Add to the mix some cooked barley, protein-rich kidney beans, corn, pomegranate and apricots in an olive oil, lemon and orange juice dressing, and you have a winner of a grain salad, that is both rich in high-quality carbs and other essential nutrients.

So amp up your salads this season to include some healthy grains in them and accelerate your weight loss journey.