Healthy Salad Recipes for the Elderly

Seniors need to maintain their health more than anyone. They need their daily dose of minerals and vitamins. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. To begin with, seniors face digestive issues, have changing tastes and dietary restrictions.

Salads are easy to prepare and can be quickly customized making it one of the most popular food choices amongst the elderly.

Here are a few healthy salad recipes to consider:

1. Fruit Salad

Ingredients:
Cantaloupe, banana, kiwi, blueberries and strawberries.

Directions:
Chop the banana, cantaloupe and kiwi into small pieces. Mix them with the berries and enjoy it as a snack or for breakfast.

Health benefits:
Berries are packed with antioxidants. It helps ward off the radical damage that can speed up the ageing process.

Bananas contain high levels of potassium which normalize blood sugar levels. It also helps in enhancing bone density.

2. Almond and chicken salad

Ingredients:
Low-fat salad dressing and cheddar cheese, carrots, chopped almonds, grilled chicken and kale.

Directions:
Chop carrots, chicken and kale. Add in a bowl with grated cheese and dressing. Add the almonds on top before eating.

Health benefits:
Almonds and chicken are excellent sources of protein. Cheese contains calcium that aids in digestion and preserves bone density.

3. Asparagus and Salmon Salad

Ingredients:
Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, cherry tomatoes, cooked asparagus, cucumbers, romaine lettuce and salmon.

Directions:
Thoroughly cook the asparagus and salmon before cutting them into small pieces and adding them on top of a bed of romaine lettuce. Top it with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Make a dressing by mixing Greek yoghurt and lemon juice and add it to the salad before serving.

Health benefits:
Salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. It is essential to decrease inflammation, enhance the cardiovascular system and improve brain health.

4. Egg salad

Ingredients:
Dijon mustard
Apple cider vinegar
Celery
Grilled turkey
Romaine lettuce
Poached egg

Directions:
Add diced celery, chopped turkey and romaine lettuce to a bowl. Poach an egg and slide it onto the salad. Make a dressing by mixing Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. Drizzle it on top of the salad before serving.

Health benefits:
Turkey and egg are rich sources of protein. Romaine lettuce contains magnesium, calcium and potassium. Apple cider vinegar is known to reduce cholesterol levels and improve cardiovascular health.

5. Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:
Lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, olives, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, bell pepper and chickpeas.

Directions:
Combine olives, chopped pepper, lettuce, cucumber and chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle a dressing made of olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice.

Health benefits:
Chickpeas are packed with protein and essential nutrients like iron, folate and vitamin K.

6. Quinoa Blueberry Salad

Ingredients:
Olive oil, lemon juice, romaine lettuce, chopped almonds, quinoa and blueberries.

Directions:
Begin by cooking the quinoa. Let it simmer. Meanwhile, combine chopped almonds, blueberries and lettuce in a bowl. Add quinoa in it when cooked. Drizzle with a salad made of lemon juice and olive oil.

Wrap Up
These salads are easy to prepare, require very less time and are packed with essential nutrients to help aid a wide variety of health issues.