Salad days: produce a salad that's perfect for your bodybuilding needs

Flex, Oct, 2003 by Chris Aceto

Some bodybuilders banter about the technical aspects of nutrition without really considering the easiest and most efficient solutions to taking in all the nutrients necessary for obtaining the best results from their training. Certainly, bodybuilders vastly overlook one simple solution: salads. Maybe that's because when we think of someone

who eats lots of salads, we conjure up images of sorority girls who are losing the war against slim hips. That picture couldn't be further from the truth. Salads can be one of the best bodybuilding foods out there, and something all serious bodybuilders should include as a regular part of their diets.

Salads don't have to be merely low-cal veggie feasts (or limp leaves of lettuce floating on top of a creamy saturated-fat-laden dressing). You can add chicken breasts and complex carbs, such as rice and potatoes, into a bowl of salad greens and vegetables. Mix in healthy oils (such as olive, canola and flaxseed), vinegar and spices, and you have a tasty meal. Vegetables offer nutrients as well as fiber, and the oils impart healthy fats. Fiber and healthy fats are notoriously low in most bodybuilding diets. By including them, you'll provide your body with a better overall diet, plus all the advantages of chicken, rice and other bodybuilding foods you're currently eating, for better gains.

Here are four basic salad recipes, and the benefits you'll gain from eating each. To make them more complete bodybuilding meals, add protein and/or complex carbohydrate sources, depending on your needs.

BODYBUILDERS BASIC SALAD

Ingredients Use 4 cups spinach greens, 1 cup broccoli, 2 tomatoes, 1 onion and 5 or 6 mushrooms, cut up. Toss with 1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise, mixed with 3 tablespoons imitation bacon bits and 1/3 cup fat-free Italian dressing.

Nutrients and benefits Jay Cutler swears his high fiber intake--from all kinds of vegetables--is one of the secrets of his success. One possible reason is that vegetables help "scrub" the sides of the intestines, increasing the absorption of other nutrients. Vegetables themselves contain numerous nutrients, both known and as yet undetected. Researchers are continuously discovering new plant-based compounds that have a big impact on health: lycopene from tomatoes, quercetin from onions and indoles from broccoli are just a few. These health-promoting benefits were unknown just a decade ago.

Include up to three servings a day of this tasty medley in your diet. Besides offering fiber, vitamins and minerals, this salad might have other yet-to-be-discovered compounds that could support your quest for the best body possible.

BODYBUILDER'S
BASIC SALAD
STATS

Serving size     1 1/2 cups
Calories         70
Carbohydrates    13 grams
Protein          3 grams
Fat              1 gram

DIETER'S CABBAGE SLAW

Ingredients This recipe calls for 5 cups shredded cabbage and 1/2 onion. Chop into fine pieces. Add 1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise, 2 packets Equal, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 pickle. Salt and pepper for flavor.

Nutrients and benefits When dieting for a contest, make cabbage a big part of your cutting strategy. First, an entire cup of cabbage yields a slim 20 calories. Second, it contains indoles, compounds that have been reported to help control estrogen. Estrogen can prevent the breakdown of bodyfat and cause the body to hold water. Onions contain quercetin, a bioflavonoid that reportedly extends fat-burning effects, along the lines of caffeine. As part of a low-fat, carb-controlled, high-protein diet, this salad helps fill you up. You can eat a lot of it, while restricting total calories.

DIETER'S
CABBAGE
SLAW SALAD
STATS

Serving size     2 1/2 cups
Calories         45
Carbohydrates    11 grams
Protein          1 gram
Fat              None

RED POTATO AND MIXED VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Ingredients Cut five baked red potatoes into bite-size pieces. Drain and rinse one can of peas and one can of corn. Place the peas, corn and potatoes in a large bowl. Gently mix. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise, 2 packets Equal, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 teaspoon spicy mustard and 1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash seasoning. Stir into potato-veggie mixture.

Nutrients and benefits Potatoes are full of vitamin C and potassium. Vitamin C helps form strong joints and can fight cortisol, a hormone that is generated by hard training and undercuts muscle gains. Potassium helps the body manufacture muscle glycogen and also helps protein synthesis. With regard to color, red is the way to go. Red spuds tend to break down slower than most other potatoes and should be a staple food for bodybuilders who want to remain lean as they build mass.

Corn and peas are higher in fiber than most sources of complex carbohydrates. Fiber slows the speed at which carbohydrates hit the bloodstream. Slower-burning carbs can help bodybuilders stay anabolic, without triggering the deposition of bodyfat.

RED POTATO
AND MIXED
VEGETABLE
MEDLEY
SALAD STATS

Serving size     1 rounded cup
Calories         310
Carbohydrates    65 grams
Protein          7 grams
Fat              2 grams