This past week I decided to challenge myself with making a different salad every day for lunch. Pre-quarantine I rarely spent much time on my lunch. Most days I would grab a smoothie, couple pieces of turkey, cheese stick and/or an avocado. That menu doesn’t really work for my husband and my boys, so I’ve had to change things up a bit.
A salad is healthy, easy to make, and allows me to make use of our leftovers. You can’t mess a salad up and can throw together something great with whatever you have on hand. All you really need is a protein, greens, a few toppings and a dressing. I often roast extra vegetables or grill extra protein when I make dinner so I have some for salads the next day. Here is a list of ideas you can stock your fridge and pantry with to keep your menu from getting boring.
Different types of lettuces: Spinach, romaine, butter, and arugula
Herbs: mint, dill, basil
Nuts for crunch: pine nuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, pistachios
Dried fruit: cherries and cranberries
Cheese: cheddar, blue cheese goat cheese, feta and parmesan
Raw veggies: Peppers, cucumbers, carrots, beets, zucchini, tomatoes, avocado, fennel
Fruit: strawberries, apples and blueberries, grapefruit
Jars of olives, peppers, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm
Cans of tuna
Pickled red onions
Any roasted veggie: butternut squash, brussel sprouts, carrots, beets
Beans: chick peas, navy, chickpeas
Protein: rotisserie chicken, anything grilled, tuna, turkey, shrimp
For a dressing I make a vinaigrette with a base of lemon juice, tablespoon of dijon mustard, EVOO and a vinegar of choice. Balsamic, champagne, rice wine or sherry vinegar all work well dependent on what style of salad you plan to make. Throw in a minced shallot, honey, or herbs to mix it up a bit. The three salads I made last week are below. I post a photo with ingredient list on my Instagram stories every day. Hope you will follow along!
Arugula, Spinach, Romaine, Mint, Tuna, Dried Cherries, Artichoke Hearts, Walnuts, Parmesan, Champagne Vinaigrette
Spinach, Dill, Roasted Beets, Carrots, Couscous, Feta, Red Wine Vinaigrette
Spinach, Romaine, Flank Steak, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Pecans, Blue Cheese, Chimichurri Vinaigrette
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