Ever been in a salad rut? I've so been there, until I realized how quick and easy it is to change things up in that bowl. First off, everything in my salad must be in-season. If I want to get the most out of my food, it must be fresh. Also, the produce provided in each season are designed to nourish us in exactly the area we need for that particular time of year. Having a garden or CSA box makes this choice a no-brainer. Now on to the part where we play.
A good salad doesn't have to take years to assemble. We just need to know what makes a salad pleasing to the palate and eyes. In my opinion, there are four components (five for a meal salad) to accomplish this: sweet, salty, crunchy, and soft. For a meal salad, add "meaty" to that list. Use this rule of thumb and pair it with what you have to work with for the season and you've got yourself one beautiful, tasty, nutrient-dence treat.
Sweet
For the sweet factor, I usually go with some in-season fruit. During cold seasons, pear, apple, orange, persimmon, or pomegranate seeds are my fruits of choice. To combine sweet and crunchy, try tossing some
honey-caramelized nuts into the mix. Warm weather fruit options are endless: peaches, melons, apricots, cherries, berries...
Salty
My two go-to salty additions are usually olives (we
adore olives of any kind) and/or cheese (which also offers that soft texture). Choose your cheese to complement your salad theme. Making a Greek-like salad? Use feta. Italian? Parmesan is the way to go. Grated cheddar is always a fabulous default. Cheese and olives also bring a good source of fat to the salad which will help your body absorb the nutrients your salad has to offer. Also, everything is just better with cheese, you know?
Crunchy
Ya gotta love the crunch. We usually use nuts and seeds, including pomegranate seeds. Pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, slivered almonds... They're such an easy toss-in that adds a pleasing texture for both the eyes and palate, not to mention the lovely nutrients they bring to the mix.
Soft
This brings a great balance to the crunch factor. My go-tos are avocado slices and/or cheese. Oh, how I love avocados and what they do to salads. Beans are also a good throw-in to up the protein level, and if you're making a taco salad of sorts. Let's not forget slices (or crumbles) of hard boiled eggs. Delicious.
Meats
Want your salad to be a meal? Add meat.
Taco meat, pastured bacon bits, shredded chicken, leftover slices of steak or roast... Use whatever you have in the fridge. Pretty plain and simple.
A Word on Greens
There is pretty much always a leafy green in season, so it's not a problem for your leafies to change with the seasons. Currently in this wintery time of year, we can barely keep up with the lettuce, spinach, chard, and collards. Because of
oxalic acid, I try to wilt spinach, chard, and collards before using them in the salad, but every now and then we'll just go ahead and eat that spinach raw.
Dressings
It's taken me years to work up to making my own dressing, but it's completely worth it. Dressings are usually the secret culprit that takes a perfectly healthy salad to new lows with all their preservatives and
MSG. "But the salad dressings I buy are organic," you say? Well check the label. Does it have "natural flavors?" That's code for MSG. Sadness, I know.
I have a few salad and dressing recipes (listed below) and will continue to add more this month. But now that you know what makes a salad great, why not head to the kitchen and play around to see what you can come up with? Have fun!
Riddlelove Salads & Dressings to Date:
Creamy, Probiotic-Rich Ranch Dressing ~ I'm not allowed to let us run out of this stuff. ;)
Roasted Poblano Dressing ~ Great with taco meat or anything south-oth-the-boarder-esque.
Chicken Enchilada Salad ~ A great way to use up leftover chicken from making
stock.
Special Price! Antioxidant Omega 3 Greens - Mint Flavor - 389 grams
