The Everyday Everything Salad Guide

Salad Ideas:

I have been lacking in recipe inspiration lately, mostly because the dishes I was preparing did not seem to make the cut. However, I realized that I make a healthy new salad recipe everyday but it is so much a part of my routine that I never considered posting those recipes. Also, when I say salad I mean all vegetable/plant salads, not side salads.

Salad making 101:

1. Choose a nutrient dense leafy base, or any vegetable base (spinach, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, arugula, cabbage, swiss chard, shredded carrot)

2. What vegetables are you in the mood for? Throw them all in. But by throw I mean cut them up meticulously. My favorites: red/orange/yellow bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, tomato, avocado, celery, snow peas, snap peas).

3. Add some cut-up cooked vegetables and or legumes. Some of my favorites: pinto beans, black beans, chickpeas, beets, sweet potato, carrots.

4. Add some nuts or chips to add texture. I love to add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, corn tortilla chips, also raisins can add some sweetness.

5. Choose a dressing that matches the salad mixture you have chosen. Some of my favorite dressings:

6. balsamic vinegar with olive oil, garlic, cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, salt

7. sriracha with olive oil

8. vegenaise with garlic powder, cayenne pepper (add balsamic for a tang).

Some starter combinations:

1. Here is one salad combination that I made today.

• 1 ½ cup chopped red leaf lettuce

• ½ cup diced carrots

• 1 cup plain pinto beans (made from scratch w/o salt or sugar)

• 2 Tbsp black raisins

• 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds

• ⅓ cup tortilla chip pieces

• 2 tsp sriracha

• 1 ½ Tbsp grapeseed oil

Salad Hacks:

1. Cutting everything into smaller pieces makes the salad easier to eat and, if you are packing it, more will fit into a container.

2. Choose vegetables that are colorful to make the salad look more appetizing and get all your flavonoids. Rainbow!!

3. Add some nuts or chips to give the salad an interesting texture.

4. Make your own dressing with your favorite ingredients (less additives and less sugar!). Use vegenaise to make a creamy dressing or balsamic vinegar to make a light tangy dressing.