Roasting or toasting nuts helps bring out their flavor. If you want to toast your nuts at home, toss pecans, walnuts, almonds, or pine nuts into a nonstick skillet and stir over medium heat until the nuts turn a shade darker and give off a pleasant aroma.

Make It a Meal

What's the difference between a side salad and a meal salad? Basically, a few hundred more calories and some protein. A salad becomes a meal when you add meat (try turkey or chicken breast or lean steak), seafood (shrimp, tuna, crab) or beans (kidney, garbanzo, or black), cheese, or eggs. Here are some "protein power" options:

You can get a nice dose of protein in your salad even if you're living la vida vegetarian. Adding just 1/2 cup of kidney beans, 1 ounce reduced-fat cheese and 1/4 cup of nuts brings you to 22 grams of protein.

Published August 15, 2006.

SOURCES: Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, nutrition advisor, American Institute for Cancer Research. Carol Ann Brannon, MS, RD, food coach; speaker; author, Functional Foods part I: Legumes, Grains, Fruits & Vegetables.

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