Salads made delicious, creative, and of course, healthy as heck!

By: Unknown on 10:38 PM

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The last few months I have been on a huge salad kick. I have one every day of the week and sometimes twice in one day. People always ask me if I ever get sick of eating "just" salad for lunch and my answer is "absolutely not!". Every day my salads are different and they always have so much variety! When it comes to salads, the possibilities are endless! 

Try placing a large handful of mixed greens, romaine, coleslaw mix, or spinach on a large plate or in a container. Now add some protein: chicken, steak, eggs, tuna, ham, or tofu are great options. Next add some vegetables (any kind will do-broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, celery, etc.) or dried fruit and nuts- I like an unsalted trail mix. Add a small amount of cheese such as feta, goat, swiss, cheddar, parmesan, asiago, or mozzarella. You can also add some spices but be sure they are low in sodium (garlic seasoning, ground pepper, fresh or dried parsley, basil, cilantro) and perhaps some ground flax, chia seeds or hemp hearts. Now, easy on the dressing! There is already enough flavour that often times I don't even add dressing. My favourite is to add some good quality olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Just be sure your dressing is not full of fat and sugar as a lot of the grocery store ones are. You are better off making your own from scratch. 

Here are some of my favourite salads I have made in the past:

Spinach, goat cheese, and egg salad

The salad pictured here contains spinach, avocado, goat cheese, tomatoes, hard boiled egg and hemp hearts with a light balsamic dressing. 

Mixed greens and coleslaw salad with a twist!

This one contains mixed greens and coleslaw salad with sliced avocado, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, feta cheese and poppyseed dressing 

Superfood Salad! 

Chicken, kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, chicory, red bell pepper, cucumber, dried cranberries, peas, pumpkin seeds, fresh ground pepper and poppyseed dressing. 

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad! 

Ingredients: 
- 1 large bunch broccoli
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped small)
- 1/2 red onion (minced)
- 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
- 1/2lb local bacon (cooked and chopped into bits)
- 4 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- garlic seasoning (to taste)
- ground pepper (to taste)
- pinch salt

Directions:
- In large mixing bowl add all veggies and bacon bits. In separate small bowl mix all other ingredients except the cheese. Add dressing to veggies and mix until well coated. Add cheese and toss well. Transfer to serving bowl, chill for at least an hour, serve and enjoy!

Hopefully that gives you some ideas on how to be creative with your salads. I will often make 5 containers filled with salad and take one for lunch each day of the week--an hour of preparation for a whole week's worth of lunch!

There will be many more salad recipes to come in the future I'm sure!!