Simple Salads. . .

Since a big salad can be such a vital part of our daily diet, it's really important to have a Salad Plan.  For me, it's in 2 stages, salad ingredients and dressing.  If you shop regularly, it's easy to keep a good variety of greens and other favorites on hand to quickly combine for a great, fresh salad.  The most healthy dressing, I'm convinced, consists of a simple one that starts with good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a Balsamic Vinegar.  This particular brand has quickly become a fixture here.  Their line of oils and Balsamic Vinegars is excellent.  The other enhancements would be the spices you add after the oil and vinegar has been drizzled on.  Mine are shown in the two containers on the left.  The first contains Himalayan Pink Salt and Ground Rosemary.  The other is a shaker of Penzeys Black and Red Spice, which is a blend of ground black pepper and cayenne pepper.  Experiment and find what works for you.

Yesterday's salad, shown here, was a mix of Romaine, green cabbage, baby spinach, cauliflower, tomato, avocado, green onion, garbanzos and cubed asiago cheese.

Today's was similar but Chinese Cabbage (Nappa) was used as the base and I switched out the cauliflower for heirloom carrots.  A half a can of beans are a wonderful addition for protein and fiber, and of course the cheese cubes are a nice way to round it out, nutritionally.  Be creative and have fun making healthy, fresh options as we enter into the season of Salad Days. . .Lin