The Salad Solution

Tonight, I had a meal planned but realized I planned poorly and didn't really have what I needed. In fact, I had very little, here's what I saw as I peered into the lonely refrigerator:

Hmm, I thought. Orange juice, salsa, heavy cream, half a pickle and some green grapes? Not exactly the Iron Chef kitchen. However, after some digging, I got together a group of some trusty favorites: 1 chicken drumstick, blueberries, mixed greens, cheddar cheese, avocado, and of course, the dynamic duo (dried cranberries and walnuts)...

These organic salad blends are WONDROUS! I usually pick up two or three for the week.

I was extremely excited to see a massive box of organic blueberries on sale this week for 3.99!

I shredded up the chicken, cubed the avocado and cheese, and, viola! Dinner was served:



I love that there are no rules with salad. You just toss it in. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not, but it's never boring. I've find that to make a satisfying salad for dinner though, it needs the following components:

Some kind of foundation (mixed greens, arugula, romaine, or a hefty veggie like broccoli, cauliflower or zucchini, cut into smaller, manageable chunks)
Something creamy (crumbly cheeses like feta, blue cheese or Gorgonzola, or cubed firm cheese like cheddar or Swiss, or even avocado)
Protein (hard boiled egg, grilled chicken strips, shredded roasted chicken, sliced steak, roasted shrimp, beans, quinoa, the list goes on...)
Something crunchy and possibly salty (walnuts, pecans, peanuts, chopped celery or jicama, diced bell pepper, homemade croutons)
Something chewy (dried fruit)
Something sweet (cherry tomatoes, grapes, blueberries)

The BEST part of a week of "salad" meals is that you can cook everything the first night (grill or roast a ton of chicken, cook the beans, hard boil the eggs, etc.) And then you have those ingredients on hand throughout the week. It will take ten minutes, max, to put together dinner the rest of the nights, and that's if you mosey!!!

Here are some of the salads we eat most often:

Baby arugula with grilled chicken, peaches, pecans and crumbled feta
Mixed greens with grilled chicken, green grapes, walnuts and blue cheese
Chef salad (mixed greens, hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, cubed cheddar, avocado)
Simple garden salad with Cheesy Quinoa cakes and sunny side up eggs (pictured)

Cauliflower salad with cranberries, walnuts, chickpeas and crumbled feta
Grilled Vegetable salad (eggplant, zucchini, thick tomato slices) with ricotta cheese, basil and Balsamic Vinaigrette


Most nights throughout the summer, this is how we eat. Curious to hear about the salad creations of others...