Think RAINBOW when building your salad and you will definitely feel
satiated and feel good about packing a nutrient-dense meal into your day!
As the base for this salad, I used spring mix for freshness and crunch,
‘oven-fried’ chicken pulled from the freezer
homemade balsamic dressing (can also be served warmed–YUM!),
some saltiness from nuts/seeds, and
freshness from carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and mushrooms.
What will you put in your salad?
PURPLE
roasted eggplant
BLUE
natural sweetness from berries
GREEN
romaine lettuce, spring mix,
arugula, spinach, butter lettuce, green/red leaf,
kale, or any combination of the above
avocado, peppers, zucchini, green beans, peas, cucumbers
YELLOW
roasted golden beets for sweetness and packed with nutrients (can be served warm)
summer squash
ORANGE
carrots, oranges, peppers
RED
tomatoes, peppers, beets,strawberries, raspberries, grapefruit (ok, pink but still…)
To add protein, my go-to is this oven-fried chicken that I make in
big batches and freeze but you can opt out of the meat all
together or try sautéed or baked fish, shrimp, crab cakes….
For vegetarian, try cheese and/or eggs
If vegan, tofu, plant-based meat, tempeh
Another staple is Balsamic dressing
It is something I ALWAYS have in my refrigerator,
takes about 15 min. to make.
I’m not sure how long it will last because
it doesn’t last long in my house!
Sub in any dressing of choice. Use this base dressing
and enhance with tahini or peanut butter,
ginger, sesame seeds for variety.
RANDOM ADD INS
mushrooms (sometimes I sauté with olive oil, S/P, oregano, and a touch of balsamic)
nuts like pistachio, cashew, macadamia
seeds like pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds for crunch – croutons, sesame sticks
Share your creations in the comments so we all benefit
and expand our world view of salads!!!
