Benefits and contraindications for lettuce lettuce. Composition, calorie content and recipes. Can I use it during a diet? Note! Sowing lettuce is a mild allergen and is recommended during pregnancy and lactation. Folic acid reduces the risk of birth defects in a baby, while calcium and amino acids improve lactation.
Harm and contraindications to the use of sowing salad
There are very few contraindications to lettuce-lettuce, since the product, even in its raw form, is not aggressive food for the stomach, and the content of substances that can negatively affect the course of diseases is extremely small.
It is necessary to use the seed salad with caution in such cases:
- Abuse. Don't eat too much lettuce, otherwise flatulence and bloating can occur, as well as upset due to the high fiber content.
- Harmful substances. Choose your supplier carefully as this plant is good at absorbing pesticides and toxins. If you are not sure about the quality of the product, then you need to cut off all the white part, leaving only green leaves.
- Diseases of the bladder and kidneys. The oxalic acid content can negatively affect the development and treatment of the disease.
- Increased gas formation. With such a tendency of the body, it is necessary to eat lettuce in extremely limited quantities.
Absolute contraindications to the use of lettuce lettuce:
- Urolithiasis disease. In this diagnosis, oxalic acid has a detrimental effect.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract during an exacerbation. All plant foods should be excluded, whether raw or fried.
- Gout. The high content of purine bases in the salad is contraindicated in gout.
- Hepatitis. With such a disease, the elements can cause excessive activity of the circulatory and nervous systems.
- Asthma and tuberculosis. Lettuce has the property of liquefying phlegm and facilitating its excretion, but these diseases are of a different nature, unlike colds, so it is better to refuse the plant.
Seeded Salad Recipes
When choosing a salad, you need to pay attention to some external signs that will make it possible to make an ideal dish using it:
- Stem … It should be free of damage, yellow spots, or mucus.
- Leaves … In any salad, they should be firm and free of dark spots.
- Colour … It can range from pale green to reddish brown, depending on the variety.
Don't underestimate the different types of seeded lettuce: each one has a different culinary purpose.
Lettuce has a short shelf life, but soft and tender leaves that do not need to be finely chopped, unlike other greens, but can simply be torn into pieces of the desired size with your hands. The salad can be used not only as a decoration for a dish due to its color, but also goes well with fried meat, fatty sauces, cheese, nuts and seafood in any form.
As an example, we present to you several recipes with lettuce salad:
- Roll with avocado … Peel 600 grams of king prawns from dark areas and shell. Prepare the marinade: mix salt, cumin, black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Cover the shrimp evenly with marinade and leave to infuse for 15-20 minutes. Peel soft ripe avocados (2 pieces) and remove seeds, mash the flesh with a fork. Finely chop a small bunch of cilantro, add 100 grams of thick sour cream, salt, lemon juice and ground pepper to taste, mix with the avocado pulp until the mixture is as homogeneous as possible. Cut 1 large bunch of lettuce into thin strips. Gently shake off marinated shrimps from excess spices and fry on the grill or over hot coals. You can cook 6 tortillas or flatbreads yourself, or you can buy ready-made ones. When buying ready-made, you should take either classic wheat or cheese-flavored. Put the cakes on the grill or brazier, reheat. Roll each in a convenient way, add a little avocado sauce, then alternate between salad, shrimp and sauce. Serve immediately with warm green tea.
- Three cheese salad". Cut lettuce (200 grams) by hand into large pieces. Cut 50 grams of mozzarella, mirabo and robiola into small cubes or break into pieces. Cut 150 grams of baguette into cubes and dry in the oven. Cut medium gherkins (6-8 pieces) and cherry tomatoes (6-8 pieces) into random, not very small pieces. Sun-dried tomatoes (50 grams) cut into thin short strips. Place the ingredients in one cup, add 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, basil leaves and salt to taste. Stir with your hands or a wooden spatula.
- Light salad … Tear 400 grams of lettuce with your hands into large pieces. Cut the cheese or tofu (200 grams) into medium cubes, finely chop a bunch of dill and basil. Cut 200 grams of cherry tomatoes into halves, peel 150 grams of cucumbers, cut into arbitrary pieces. Mix all the ingredients, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with a small pinch of celery seeds.
Rare watering or picking too late can cause the lettuce to have a bitterness in both the veins with the stem and the leaves themselves. Due to their loose structure, most of the edible varieties cannot be heat treated, as the leaves completely lose their shape.
Note! If the lettuce leaves are slightly out of shape or crisp, they can be soaked in cold water to restore freshness.
Interesting facts about leaf lettuce
The exact place of origin of the plant is not known, but in scientific circles there is a theory that its predecessor is Molokan Latuk, aka compass. It can also be found in the CIS countries, where, as in Europe, this species is considered an inedible weed.
Sowing lettuce was introduced into the agricultural crop of the Mediterranean before our era. Chronicle mentions of him are in such ancient states as China, Greece, Rome and Egypt. In modern Europe, salad appeared in the 16th century, and in Russia - one century later.
How to make a leaf salad - watch the video:
A wide selection of different varieties of seeded lettuce, each of which has its own unusual flavor, allows you to find exactly the right product for your dish. This plant does not need extra praise: the "track record" of nutrients speaks for itself, so without any hesitation, the salad should be included in your menu.
