TikTok is a place for gourmands who want to discover new and exciting recipes. After feta pasta and custard toast, the platform has brought back the vintage Green Goddess Salad and brought some unique spins to it. As the name suggests, the pasta is a mix of green veggies and a delectably good dressing. Not that it needs a special mention, but the salad is also quite nutritious. Let's take a look at its many benefits.
What is Green Goddess Salad?
Green Goddess Salad is a nutritious salad popularised on TikTok by chef Melissa of Baked by Melissa. True to its name, the salad is green in colour due to all the green ingredients used in it. While it was invented in North America in 1923, it has been revived recently on TikTok.
The traditional recipe calls for the use of sour cream and mayonnaise as its base with vinegar, anchovies, green onions, parsley, chives and tarragon.
The recent version on TikTok makes some healthy swaps with a combination of veggies like cucumber, spring onions, cabbage, spinach, chives and basil, flavoured with an olive-oil based dressing with nutritional yeast, cashews, vinegar, lemon, pepper and salt.
It's a nutritious salad with the right balance of healthy fats, fibre and protein. It's also completely plant-based.
Green Goddess Salad calories and nutrition
A 100 gram serving of the traditional Green Goddess Salad contains the following nutrients:
| Nutrient | Measure (Daily Value) |
| Calories | 123 |
| Fat | 10.3 gm (13%) |
| Cholesterol | 50 mg |
| Sodium | 216 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 33 gm |
| Fibre | 3 gm (9%) |
| Protein | 3 gm (6%) |
| Sugars | 4 gm |
Health benefits of Green Goddess Salad
The vintage version of the Green Goddess Salad was high in sodium and fats such as sour cream and mayonnaise, earning it a bad rap among the wellness circles. However, the upgraded TikTok version of the Green Goddess Salad is loaded with healthy fats, proteins and dietary fibre.
It contains healthy fats from the olive oil and cashews; loads of fibre and micronutrients from cucumber, green cabbage, spinach, spring onions and chives; polyphenols from basil, garlic, shallots and lemon juice.
Together, these ingredients pack a nutritional punch. Having it regularly can not only help in weight loss but also ensure cardiovascular health and prevent chronic diseases.
Following are some of the benefits of Green Goddess Salad:
- Helps in weight loss
- Supports blood clotting
- Keeps heart healthy
- Helps reduce blood pressure
- May reduce cholesterol
- May prevent cancer
- Keeps nerves healthy
- Rich source of micronutrients
- High in dietary fibre
- Reduce inflammation
- Anti-microbial
- May prevent auto-immune diseases
- Good for digestive health
Good for weight loss: The upgraded TikTok version of the Green Goddess Salad is an excellent addition to weight loss diet. The salad is high in dietary fibre, which can keep improve satiety and prevent overeating. It also contains good fats in the form of cashews, walnuts and olive oil which can aid in weight loss.
Reduces inflammation and risk of chronic diseases: Green Goddess Salad is rich in various antioxidant-rich foods such as spinach, basil, green onions, cabbage, lemon juice, chives and parsley. They reduce oxidative stress and cellular damage that cause diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. The salad also may prevent inflammatory diseases like autoimmunity and rheumatic pain.
Good for heart health: Green Goddess Salad is rich in dietary fibre, healthy fats, antioxidants, micronutrients and which can prevent heart diseases. Olive oil is a part of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet that helps lower hypertension and reduce bad cholesterol. Mineral-rich vegetables in the salad that contain potassium and nuts like cashews that contain calcium also promote heart health. Another heart-disease preventing vegetable in the salad is cabbage, which is rich in compounds that prevent oxidative stress.
References:
1. Dias, C., Madruga, M. S., Pintado, M., Almeida, G., Alves, A., Dantas, F. A., Bezerra, J., de Melo, M., Viera, V. B., & Soares, J. (2019). Cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale L.) decrease visceral fat, yet augment glucose in dyslipidemic rats. PloS one, 14(12), e0225736. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225736
2. Ponnusam, Y., Louis, T., Madhavachandran, V., Kumar, S., Thoprani, N., Hamblin, M. R., & Lakshmanan, S. (2015). Antioxidant Activity of The Ancient Herb, Holy Basil in CCl4-Induced Liver Injury in Rats. Ayurvedic, 2(2), 34–38. https://doi.org/10.14259/av.v2i2.176
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