A fresh, crisp side salad is a good way to reduce your calorie intake while packing in nutrition and flavor and upping your satiety levels. The best part is that many of your favorite main dish salads can be adjusted to become the perfect side.

Simple as it is beautiful, this light and bright salad is a perfect side for any summer meal. The vinaigrette adds a fresh taste as well as nutritional boost, thanks to the yellow pepper.

Parsley salad has an earthier flavor than one made with lettuce; the pine nuts, capers, and red onion make each bite even more interesting and tasty.

Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C. For maximum health benefits, cut or juice them just before serving. Vitamins A and C and iron are also provided by baby spinach.

A great dish to bring to a party, this salad, with its colorful layers of radishes, carrots, and yellow, red, and orange bell peppers, is simple to make and stunning to look at.

Choose whatever greens look the freshest for this chopped salad. The goal to keep in mind is to combine greens with different textures and flavors.

This salad features classic Asian vegetables and would be great alongside dumplings.

This is a light and healthy version of the classic restaurant side salad.

Gouda, pear and walnuts dress up this low-calorie green, which has a decent amount of fiber and is an excellent source of both vitamins A and C.

Bacon in a salad doesn't necessarily scream "healthy!" but because it’s used in moderation, this dish is still healthful. Just two slices impart a smoky flavor to the whole salad, which serves four.

It is much healthier, and just as flavorful, to wilt spinach in a salad with a warm beet dressing instead of hot bacon dressing.

A surprisingly good source of vitamin C, raw parsnips have slightly more of the antioxidant than their cooked counterparts.

The apple in this side salad is tart, the celery has a saline minerality, and the sunchokes provide earthiness for a wonderful balance of flavors.

Plum tomato wedges join a baby arugula salad that features Mediterranean accents, including briny Kalamata olives and sweet green peppers.

Making your own yogurt cheese is easier than you may think; all it takes is a little time. It will be ready in three hours, or you can make it before you go to bed and let it drain overnight. It's delicious crumbled on top of this salad of romaine, radishes, cucumber, and plum tomatoes.

When a Meyer lemon is fully ripe, its thin, smooth skin should be a rich yellow-orange. Look for organic, unsprayed fruit so you can enjoy the peel.

The sunflower seeds and spinach in this unusual but delicious salad are top-notch sources of magnesium, which enables your body to create dopamine.

Cold-pressed sunflower oil (available at some health food and import stores) adds a deep, nutty flavor to leafy greens such as Swiss chard, kale, and thinly sliced Brussels sprouts.

Maple syrup heightens the sweetness of the pumpkin, while red pepper flakes give this arugula salad a kick.

This light and tasty salad of zucchini, fennel, radishes, new potatoes, and parsley tastes farmers'-market fresh.

If you prefer a lighter dish, you can easily omit the walnuts and goat cheese in this recipe.

This cumin-, paprika-, cinnamon- and cayenne-spiced salad can be prepared up to two days in advance. Store in the refrigerator, then add the cilantro and pistachios just before serving.

This fresh salad contrasts the subtle flavor of butterhead lettuce with the piquant taste of radish and the sweet flavor of carrots.

Be sure to use crisp apples with a tart edge, such as Empire or Winesap, for this salad.

Change up this recipe by using half olive oil and half walnut oil, and top the beets with tossed walnuts. You can also use a mixture of beets such as Chioggia, golden, and red.

This dish of sauteed sprouts is so delicious, you'll never suspect that how healthy it is. Small and mighty, "baby cabbages" cleanse the body and may help prevent cancer. And pecans contain more antioxidants than any other common nut.