Are you thinking what I am thinking? “Who needs to know how to make a healthy salad?” Just throw together some veggies, add extra virgin olive oil, and you have a healthy salad.

That is what I thought, until I have discovered that fruits contain different amounts of disease-fighting antioxidants. As it turns out, some common salad ingredients also contain different amounts of antioxidants.

So if in the past you have been picking your salad ingredients at random, next time you are making a salad, you can use this list to make what could be the world’s healthiest salad.

Peppers [antioxidants per pepper]

Yellow: 1,905. Orange: 1,830. Red: 1,072

Onions [antioxidants per 1/2 cup]

Yellow: 1,281. Red: 917. Sweet: 492

Beans [antioxidants per 1/2 cup]

Red kidney: 13,259. Pinto: 11, 864. Black: 4,181

Lettuce [antioxidants per four leaves]

Red leaf: 1,213. Green leaf: 620. Butterhead: 427

Nuts [antioxidants per ounce]

Pecans: 5,096. Walnuts: 3,846. Hazelnuts: 2,739

You can further enhance the nutritional quality of your salad by adding some fiber. The easiest way to accomplish this is to sprinkle your salad with crashed golden flax seeds.

Tip: Although virgin olive oil is often used to dress a salad, it is a good idea to use a variety of healthy oils, such as flaxseed, canola, walnut and avocado. Sources: USDA, Men’s Health magazine.