Eat More Leafy Greens

Leafy greens have the highest fiber and lowest calorie density of any food in existence... making them "free" foods. Eat as many leafy greens and as much salad as you'd like, anytime you'd like!

Just go easy on the dressing (unlike most restaurant or supermarket salads) and choose toppings wisely.

A green salad can be delicious yet low calorie when you follow calorie density principles of lowering fat, and then including veggies with varying colors, flavor and modest dressing.

Here's the basic idea:

1. Fill plate with leafy greens. You can keep it simple or add variety: lettuce, red leaf, green leaf, arugula, romaine, cabbage. The key is to fill your plate.
2. Optional... Add veggies: Again, keep it simple, or add a variety of colored veggies. Consider grilled veggies for more flavor.
3. Optional... Add a touch of sweet from fruit like mandarin oranges, strawberries or pears
4. Optional... Sprinkle on some nuts.
5. Dressing: Ideally low calorie. But you can make regular dressing go a long way by tossing it with the salad to distribute the flavor.

Bonus: To make a salad a main meal, simply add any of the following:

• Lean protein, like strips of chicken breast, low-fat cottage cheese, tofu
• Legumes like black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas