Salad is pretty healthful to start with, to be sure. But not all salads are created equal. (Case in point: iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing. Wimpy!)

So follow these four simple steps for making sure you up the antioxidant ante for all your garden greens:

1. Dress for Success
Dress your salad with an olive oil-based dressing. This good fat helps you absorb the nutrients in the salad. Mix the oil with apple or wine vinegars for extra antioxidants. Try this Roasted Garlic Dressing from EatingWell.

2. Herb It Up
Lemon balm and marjoram can increase a salad's antioxidant capacity by 150–200 percent! Use EatingWell's quick and easy instructions for herbing up your olive oil. You can sprinkle cumin, fresh ginger, and thyme on your salad, too.

3. Vary Your Veggies
Artichokes, beetroot, broccoli, garlic, leeks, radishes, spinach, and onions were the chart-topping antioxidant-rich veggies in a recent study -- though they're not everyone's favorites. Check out our list of the 10 most popular veggies to find out which of those is the healthiest.

4. Branch Out . . .
. . . with new leaves. Some colorful red chicory or purple cabbage, for example, will add crunch to your salad -- as well as extra antioxidants. You can also count on cabbage to help reduce your risk of this.

Recipe Corner
Try this refreshing Arugula-Mushroom salad from our Recipe Finder, chock-full of the good stuff you need.

Antioxidant capacity of vegetables, spices and dressings relevant to nutrition. Ninfali, P. et al., British Journal of Nutrition 2005 Feb;93(2):257-266.