The weather this past weekend would seem to indicate that summer is upon us here in Southeastern Massachusetts. It was warm and humid and I loved every minute of it. It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to get out of the kitchen and cook on the grill. You have to have something to go with that stuff that you grilled, though, and I think the perfect thing is a salad. So let’s talk about 10 Things To Put in a Salad . . .
- Lettuce. We might as well start with the obvious. I prefer to stay far away from iceberg, though. I love romaine and I love early spring greens the best.
- Tomatoes. Home grown is my preference but I’ll settle for store bought if they are little cherry tomatoes. I love how they burst in your mouth.
- Cucumbers. Again, make mine fresh from the garden.
- Carrots and celery. It’s nice to have some crunch in there.
- Onion. Only a little and I prefer vidalia.
- Chick peas. They add lots of fiber and some interesting texture.
- Hard boiled egg. I love the color and it’s nice to add some protein to your salad, too.
- A little cheese – not too much but some shredded cheddar is good. Or Feta if you are making a Greek salad.
- Black olives. Straight out of the can is good but go with kalamata if you are craving Mediterranean flavors.
- Croutons. I love the big ones made from dark rye bread, they add awesome crunch, texture and flavor.
This was easy and I never even got to talk about adding grilled meat, chicken or shrimp, some nuts, and types of salad dressings. I think those could be in a post all by themselves.
Bring on summer! Bring on the salad!
What a glorious weekend! Can’t wait for the farmer’s markets to gear up next weekend!
I loved this topic! Your salad looks really delicious. Guess what I’ll be having for lunch today? 🙂
I agree with you on the iceberg lettuce. Full of water and devoid of any nutritive value. I love butterhead and mesclun mixes. I would add avocado and mushrooms to mine as well as nasturtium flowers. 🙂 Adds a nice peppery flavor in addition to color. Oh and daylily petals are edible too btw!
I can’t wait to read what everyone puts in their salads! I love salads!
Then there’s avocado, cheese, mushrooms and left over steamed or roasted vegetables. BTW, has Hannah becoming a vegetarian changed the menu at all?
Love chick peas in my salad!
YUM! Love summery salads — cucumber, black beans, olives —- yowza. That’s some good eatin’!
Mmmmm! Black olives! Such a wonderful addition to any salad!
ooohhh, feta and olives and chickpeas is one I forgot about! yummmm!
Wasn’t it lovely this weekend? I hate the heat and even I enjoyed it this time around. 🙂
I used to hate iceberg, but lately I have been craving the iceberg crunch, so I have been doing 1/2 iceberg and 1/2 spring mix along with all the extra veggies…..mmmm.
Woo Hoo!
My secret: Hormel real bacon bits. TRUE pig. All the flavor none of the work. Very lean, very very little fat
Yummy topic! I love cranberries, feta, and pumpkin seeds.
Great topic and it was much easier than I expected too.
I’ve been eating salads for every lunch for weeks now! Today’s salad is half a roasted chicken breast, a boiled egg, about 7 Sungold cherry tomatoes (my fave), raw broccoli, salad cucumbers from the farmer’s market, two cups of arugula/spinach salad mix and Paul Newman’s Light Honey Mustard dressing. Lots of yum and only 344 calories!
I think next week I’ll incorporate some olives, gotta change it up so it doesn’t get boring!