10 surprisingly sensational salad ingredients

1. Seed the changes

A good salad has a mixture of textures and flavours; add seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin or sesame, or a scattering of nuts. Try toasted flaked almonds or walnuts for added crunch.

• Get our recipe for fruity avocado salad.

2. Roast your roots

Try adding cooked vegetables to your salad. Roasted peppers, onions, beetroot and squash all work well. Add them to your salad when they are still warm from the oven or let them cool to room temperature before adding to the other ingredients if you are not serving the salad immediately.

• Get our recipe for our chargrilled vegetable salad.

3. Get pulses racing

Protein-rich beans and lentils work particularly well with onion and peppers.

• Get the recipe for red pepper, carrot and lentil soup.

4. Spice up your life

Salads need seasoning just like any other dish, but that doesn’t mean salt. Mix fresh herbs among salad leaves and try adding spices and flavourings such as lemon, garlic and chilli to your dressings for a bit of a kick.

5. Don’t pass on the protein

Meat-and-two-veg fans may think that salad is an accompaniment rather than a main meal, but not any more. Beef up your leaves with grilled or baked meat or fish. Try chicken, lean beef, tuna and salmon. Hard-boiled eggs, lentils, pulses, nuts or seeds can make salads more filling, too.

• Get the recipe for salmon and beetroot salad (pictured).

6. Leaf it out

Why stop at lettuce? Try spinach or use grated root vegetables such as carrot or celeriac, finely sliced cabbage or fennel as the base. Or brighten up a bed of tomatoes by varying the colours and sizes.

7. Dress to impress

Dressings are still on the menu, as long as you’re not overgenerous with the pouring. A little vinaigrette made with unsaturated oil such as olive, rapeseed or sunflower can bring out the flavour and help to combine the ingredients. Use garlic, mustard, finely chopped onions, chives or diced chilli to complement different combinations.

• Get the recipe for rice salad with shallot dressing.

8. Fruity sensation

Make fruit salads go with a bang. Unusual flavours that really work are strawberries with balsamic vinegar, or try them with a grind of black pepper or some torn basil leaves. Pears with cardamom or raspberries with mint are other surprisingly good combinations, too.

• Get the recipe for our melon and kiwi fruit medley.

9. Sweet and savoury

Fruit works well in savoury salads, too. Try mixing orange segments or pomegranate seeds with some spinach leaves.

• Get the recipe for jewelled couscous salad (pictured).

10. But…hold the syrup

Avoid adding sugar, honey or syrup to your fruit salads – delicious ripe fruit is all you need. If you want something to drizzle on top, try low-fat thick Greek yoghurt or low-fat fromage frais.

• Get our dietitian's view on how to make salads healthier.