Many people, especially teenagers, would much rather choose the easier and more “tasteful” option of eating fast food instead of breaking out the chopping board and putting together a fresh salad to eat.

What may be easily forgotten, at least in the moment, is the advantages to making little decisions to help improve your diet with everything you eat throughout the day. Perhaps replacing that half a bag of chips you were going to eat with a salad, for example.

May is National Salad Month. If this holiday does not excite you, you may not be the best salad maker. Either that, or you may just see salads as gross, bland or tasteless. Either way, your salad experience has probably not been varied enough for you to mark off all salads as an unpleasant meal choice.

As surprising as it may sound, salads are not meant to be boring. The most important quality of a salad is how well it is flavored or seasoned. Simple things such as adding in a few nuts or an interesting dressing to a salad can make a huge difference in how good it tastes.

Whether you choose salads as your method to get healthier or just genuinely prefer them, there are some more conventional options to help get your health in tip-top shape.

Some obvious ones are to drink more water, exercise and eat healthy. Teenagers especially seem to have a habit of slacking out on their health in certain areas, and some may say that is okay considering how much healthier young people tend to be.

Although this is true, it is important to value your health while you have it. To value it, start early in the process to becoming a healthy person through small decisions like what you eat for lunch or dinner, or by getting yourself actively involved in activities that will help you and your health improve.

“Eating healthy can help you live longer, plus not all healthy food is gross. You can add seasoning to make it taste better,” sophomore Samantha Reid said. “I also like fruit because it’s sweet and can replace sugary things.”

Besides making you feel good, healthy food helps prevent diseases that could normally be preventable given a healthy lifestyle. It is important to start early with your healthy diet — it will benefit you in the long run.

Whatever you decide to do to cleanse your body of unhealthy lifestyle, do not forget what the month of May offers. Even when the month passes, always remember — every day can be a time for salad celebration if you try hard enough.

                Roasted Yam & Kale salad

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Toss the yams with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and arrange evenly onto a baking sheet.
2. Bake in the preheated oven until the yams are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature in the refrigerator.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion and garlic until the onion has caramelized to a golden brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in the kale, cooking until wilted and tender. Transfer the kale mixture to a bowl, and cool to room temperature in the refrigerator.
4. Once all the ingredients have cooled, combine the yams, kale, red wine vinegar, and fresh thyme in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and gently stir to combine.

                   BBQ Chicken Salad

Directions

1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. Lightly oil grate. Grill chicken 10 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat, cool, and cube.
3. In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, red bell pepper, onion, and corn.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the barbeque sauce and mayonnaise. Pour over the chicken and veggies. Stir, and chill until ready to serve.