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Simple Steps to a Healthier Salad

Salad fixings that pack a nutritional punch

Chickpeas: Toss in plenty of these -- 1/2 cup has 6 g of soluble fiber and as much protein as a hard-boiled egg. As an added bonus, chickpeas have 186 mg of potassium.

Grated carrots: Loaded with 1,700 mcg

Cherry tomatoes: With half the RDA of vitamin A and 25 percent of vitamin C, these are worth every calorie (5 tomatoes have just 18 calories). And there's no sodium.

Mesclun salad greens: A mix that includes arugula, radicchio and oak-leaf lettuce has almost half your daily requirement for vitamin A and one fourth of your daily quota of folate, which helps protect against birth defects.

Cauliflower: Just 1/2 cup will give you almost half your vitamin C requirement for the day for a mere 13 calories.

Broccoli: If you have to choose between this and cauliflower, go for the green -- 1/2 cup has 100 percent of the RDA for both vitamins A and C.

Green peas: Help yourself to plenty of these -- 1/3 cup contains 40 percent of the RDA of vitamin A and 2 g of fiber.

Kidney beans: Add a burst of color to your plate and get a bonus-1/2 cup has 5 g of fiber and 6 g of protein.

Cottage cheese: Light on calcium but heavy on protein (14 g in 1/2 cup), cottage cheese will help you feel fuller longer.

Spinach: Popeye knew it: Spinach is a powerhouse. For only 13 calories, 1 cup delivers 16 mg of vitamin C, 55 mg of calcium, 2 mg of iron and 2 g of fiber.