The Simplicity of Salad

We eat a lot of salad, at least a couple times a week for dinner and I frequently take salad for lunch. I love making salad because no two are ever the same. What goes in depends on the time of year and what I have on hand. To keep it easy I buy big tubs of spring mix or baby spinach at the grocery store. The tubs are easy because I literally throw a handful on everyone's plate or in my lunch container and add whatever else I feel like. If I have other lettuces from our CSA then I add that too, just for variation. My typical combination includes lettuce(s), some other veggies, cheese, nuts/seeds.

Too many times we get stuck doing the same old thing because it is easy and we just need to eat. Below are some of the things I put in my salads regularly. And remember this applies to any salad, pasta, chicken, tuna or other wise. Add a few walnuts to your fruit salad and taste the difference.

Veggies:

• cucumber
• fennel
• carrots (usually the preshredded ones)
• radishes
• pepper
• celery
• mushrooms
• asparagus (raw or cooked)
• tomatoes (grape, cherry or otherwise)
• cooked leeks
• squash
• zucchini, summer or cooked butternut
• peas
• snap peas
• snow peas
• sprouts
  

   Fruit

• apples 
• pears
• raspberries
  
• blueberries (dried and fresh)
• dried cranberries
• mandarin orange
• clementines
• cherries (dried and fresh) 
• grapes
  

Nuts and Seeds:

• walnuts
• almonds
• pecans
• peanuts
• cashews
• sesame seed
  
• sunflower seeds
• flax seeds (grind first)

 Cheese: Just a little goes a long way! Think a tablespoon per person

• cheddar
• parmesean
• bleu
• gruyere
• swiss
• feta

Note: Please do not buy crumbled cheese. It tends to spoil more quickly and be of lesser quality

Beans

• chick peas
• black beans
• cannelli

Note: I used Bush canned beans most of the time. The last time I read the ingredient label there was no salt added.

Enjoy!