Need An Eye-Healthy Recipe? We've Got You Covered!

Nothing makes us want a fresh spring salad more than chirping birds, blooming flowers, and a pleasant spring breeze. Not only can a good salad refresh your palette, it can benefit your vision as well!

We’re taking advantage of all of our favorite in-season fruits and vegetables this spring to provide you with an eye-healthy recipe you’ll crave year-round!

A Fresh Salad Satisfies More Than Just Your Tastebuds

Many common salad ingredients provide nutrients that are essential to maintaining healthy eyes and vision. Walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds are excellent sources of vitamin E and zinc, which help keep your retina healthy. Grapeseed oil is also a good source of vitamin E.

Spinach contains the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin. Not only do these antioxidants protect against macular degeneration, they also absorb blue light, protecting your retina from any damage.

Strawberries, and berries in general for that matter, are a great source of vitamin C and help reduce the risk of eye diseases like cataracts and macular degeneration. Blueberries are especially good for your health, reducing the risk of glaucoma, heart disease and cancer. Try the recipe below and give your eyes a healthy boost!

Eye-Healthy Spinach And Fruit Salad

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• 3 cups spinach
• ½ cup blueberries and/or strawberries
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup walnut and/or almond pieces
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar, or to taste
• ¼ cup maple syrup, or to taste
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil, or to taste
• Salt, to taste

Here’s how you make it: Toss spinach, berries, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, nuts, feta and goat cheese in a large bowl. Pour the vinegar, syrup and grapeseed oil over the salat one at a time. Toss until evenly coated. Season with salt to taste.

Here's our inspiration for this eye-healthy salad!

If you want to go the extra mile, eat your salad with a salmon on the side! Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are great for boosting eye health and protecting against disease.

If you prefer your greens blended, here's an idea for a delicious smoothie to boost vision health!

A Healthy Diet Makes For Healthy Vision

Your vision and your overall health are intimately connected. A healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, protects your eyes from damage and disease. If you have any healthy recipes to share we’d love to see them in the comments below or on our Facebook page!

Our patients rock!

Top image by Flickr user Saaleha Bamjee used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.