This Is The Perfect Lettuce For Every Kind Of Salad

When it comes to building a salad, you want it to be just right and perfectly balanced. Having just the right combination of toppings like cheese, croutons, sliced fruit, and a flavorful dressing provides all the sweet and sour flavors you need as well as soft and crunchy textures. But to really make the salad sing, you need the right lettuce. Some, like butter lettuce, are very delicate and don't hold up well under everything that can go on a salad. But one lettuce is versatile enough to withstand most any dish you could wish to use lettuce for. 

Romaine is the perfect go-to lettuce for almost any kind of salad you want to make. The long slender heads of crisp lettuce have pale green leaves with midribs that seem to add a delicious crunch to every bite. Even the smaller leaves toward the middle of the head are packed with flavor. But what makes this lettuce so great is that it is hearty without being too tough, like kale. Romaine can be used under light vinaigrettes as well as grilled for a charred Caesar salad. You can even chop romaine lettuce up and use it shredded in tacos if you really wanted to, or halved on sandwiches and burgers since it doesn't bruise very easily. The options are seemingly endless (via Taste of Home).

Not all lettuces are created equal. Not only are some heartier, but some also have better nutritional value than others. Lettuces like iceberg are among the least nutritionally rich lettuces. Spinach and kale tend to be tied for the most nutritionally beneficial lettuces. Spinach is packed with vitamins and minerals like potassium and iron which are great for your blood cells and blood pressure, according to Business Insider. Kale is high in vitamins A, C, and K. Vitamin K can help your blood to clot well when you get a cut or gash.

Though romaine isn't as nutritionally great as spinach or kale, it is still near the top of the list. It's even described as one of the top 10 "powerhouse foods" according to the CDC. That's a classification based on the food's association with reducing risk for chronic diseases, so that's quite an accomplishment for romaine lettuce. It's also rich in vitamin A, with a serving containing 81 percent of your daily intake. You'll also get some vitamin B from the greens too. Not to mention, there are only 8 calories per cup, so you can eat quite a lot of the leaves.

So, keep some romaine on hand and incorporate it into your diet. It will certainly help you get some good nutrients as well as work in tons of dishes.