Lettuce leaves remain one of the most interesting ingredients in cooking overall. First, because of their looks and vivid color. Second, because of their health benefits and flavor. You can arrange any cold snacks or ready-made salads on them, and it will look prettier on the plate. You can also add them to any snacks and salads, filling the dish with vitamins and fiber.
The simplest, quickest vitamin-packed salad is made of leaves, boiled eggs, green onion and mayonnaise. It's all chopped and mixed together, then served as a snack or as a spread on bread. It can be used as a filling for pita rolls. The pairing of green lettuce leaves and red fish is very interesting — a lot of people recommend giving it a try.
Lettuce leaves show up most often in recipes with these five products:
| Product | Number of recipes with the combination | Calories per 100g | Protein g per 100g | Fats g per 100g | Carbohydrates g per 100g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 262 | 913 | 0 | 99.8 | 0 |
| Tomatoes | 156 | 23 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
| Cucumbers | 133 | 15 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| Lemon juice | 128 | 16 | 0.9 | 0 | 3 |
| Cherry tomatoes | 106 | 15 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 2.8 |
Lettuce leaves are very low in calories: only 12 kcal. Protein/fat/carbs: 1.2, 0.3 and 1.3. They contain vitamin C, B vitamins, phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, iodine and potassium. There's plenty of fiber and roughage, which help food digest better and cleanse the gut. Lettuce leaves also flush toxins and waste from the body, clear excess mucus from the walls of the digestive tract, and lower blood cholesterol. They have a beneficial effect on the condition of nails, hair and skin.
They can be considered almost the main ingredient in a diet — thanks to how low in calories they are. You can literally eat a lot of them, fill your stomach and not gain weight. Your body won't store excess fat from them under the skin. As long as you don't start eating them by the kilo, of course.
Nearly every recipe with lettuce leaves can be counted as, if not healthy food, then at least wholesome food