Lighten Up with Salads

With the weather getting warmer, I naturally turn to eating lighter foods, such as salads.  Salads have come a long way from the days of iceberg lettuce with sliced tomato.  Just about anything from your fridge and pantry can be tossed into a salad, so you’ll never get bored. 

Below is a chart for creating salads; simply choose from the Greens, Veggies, Protein, and Fat categories and add to a bowl or plate. The Grains/Starches category is optional, so omit if you’d like.  Add a Dressing ingredient, or you can mix several of the ingredients together.  (I’ve provided a recipe below).   Top with Herbs & Spices, or you can blend them into your salad dressing.

Salad Creator Chart

Greens – Choose 1 or more: Mixed Greens                                            Romaine lettuce                                        Green or red leaf lettuce                         Butter Lettuce                                           Boston Lettuce                                          Arugula Radicchio Spinach Kale Beet Greens	Veggies – Choose 2 or more: Cucumbers Tomatoes – fresh or sundried Celery Bell pepper Hot pepper Broccoli Cauliflower Corn Carrot Scallions Red onion Sprouts Radishes Artichoke hearts Zucchini Yellow Squash
Protein – Choose 1 or 2: Chickpeas Black beans White beans Tofu/Seitan Chicken Turkey Salmon Shrimp White fish Steak Hard-boiled egg	Fat – Choose 1: Avocado Olives Feta Cheese Goat’s Cheese Mozzarella Parmesan cheese Pine nuts Walnuts Toasted Sunflower Seeds or Pumpkin Seeds
Dressing Olive Oil Avocado Oil Sesame Oil Dijon Mustard Lemon Juice Lime Juice Red Wine Vinegar Rice Wine Vinegar Balsamic Vinegar Tahini Soy Sauce Miso Yogurt	Herbs & Spices – as much as you’d like: Basil Cilantro Oregano Thyme Mint Dill Parsley Chives Tarragon Rosemary Chili Pepper Dandelion Leaves Sea Salt Black Pepper Garlic Ginger Capers
Grains/Starches, Optional: Potato Sweet Potato Whole Grain Pasta Brown Rice Quinoa Tabouleh Millet Barley Farro Buckwheat Bulgur

I often use oil and vinegar on my salads, but this Mediterranean-inspired salad dressing is tasty and easy to make.

Mediterranean Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon fresh basil (if you have it) and/or oregano

• 1 garlic clove minced or a pinch of garlic powder

• Pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Taste and adjust flavor if you’d like.  Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Enjoy!