Variety key to keeping salads fresh, enticing

Q. How do you keep from getting bored with salad? The only things I can think of to make salad exciting are things that make it less healthy!

A. Variety is important in your salad - it keeps your salads interesting and also provides a wider variety of nutrients.

If it's a green, leafy salad, try different greens, such as dark and flavorful raw spinach or romaine lettuce, tender Boston lettuce, medium crispy leaf lettuce, peppery arugula and the textured mix of spring greens sometimes called mesclun.

Old salad standards like tomatoes and cucumbers are great, but so are any of these: sweet peppers, hot peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, olives, beets, jicama and green peas.

But salads don't have to be all vegetable. Have you tried mixing salad greens with orange segments, pineapple chunks, fresh berries, pears or peaches? And you could sometimes include dried beans (kidney, black or garbanzo beans, for example) or nuts, which are especially delicious if you take a couple minutes to toast them first. Adding beans or nuts can even turn your salad into a main dish, as can adding leftover cooked chicken, salmon or shrimp. Just a small amount of cheese can be a great addition, too.

Add more variety by experimenting with dressings. Simple and nutritious need not be boring, such as olive oil with lemon juice or raspberry.

You might also use Mexican salsa or a favorite bottled dressing, but use labels to make a good choice and watch the amount you use.

Q. Is fiber content reduced when vegetables are cooked?

A. No, cooking doesn't lead to loss or destruction of vegetables' dietary fiber. The only reason fiber may change is if you remove the peel when cooking, which will reduce fiber content.

In fact, because vegetables often "cook down," meaning that a larger portion when raw becomes smaller when cooked, cooked vegetables may even be slightly higher in fiber than an equal portion of its raw form.