Recipe of the Week

My Signature Salad

It's no secret we're huge salad eaters. And as many as we do eat, it's easy to get burned out. So I'm always looking for ways to mix it up like these past posts here and here. 

We keep it simple and light. Here's some of  our staples.

1. Red Leaf Lettuce
2. Rainbow Chard
3. Kale

These three are what we had on hand this weekend but of course any and all types of greens would work. 

The more the merrier in our salads, especially in the summer.

1.  Sun-Dried Black Mission Figs
2. Golden Raisins
3. Dates
4. Dried Blueberries
5. Craisins 
6. Sun Dried Tomatoes 

1. Pine Nuts
2. Pecans
3. Raw Sunflower Seeds
4. Raw Almonds
5. Walnuts
6. Flax Seeds
7. Hemp Hearts

Mung beans for sprouting. Any kind of sprouts are fantastic in salad and incredibly good for you. Sprouting your own is very inexpensive and easy. It just takes a little planning.

A lot of times I just drizzle our salad with oil 

(Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Flax Oil, Walnut Oil, Grapeseed Oil to name a few)

and some Balsamic Vinegar or Balsamic Reduction. Especially when I'm in a rush and don't have any homemade salad dressing on hand. 

Below are 2 of our favorite homemade dressings.

 If you haven't gotten GreenSmoothie Girls Recipes and/or GreenSmoothie Girls tips you so should. I'm a big fan.

Check her out here

Dill Dressing

(adapted from GreenSmoothie Girl)

lemon/lime juice

orange juice

extra virgin olive oil

Bragg Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce

apple cider vinegar

raw honey

garlic cloves

dill (fresh or dried)

Grapefruit Dill Dressing

( from GreenSmoothie Girl)

similar

so light and delicious

grapefruit juice

raw honey

dill (fresh/dried)

garlic

No measurements, I just throw it all in a blender and bam. 

Fresh. Homemade. No chemicals. Delicious. 

I don't particularly like the typical salad veggies (carrot, cucumber, peppers) in our salad every night. I know, I'm weird. In fact I'll even cut some up and have them separate in little bowls on the table to snack on while I cook dinner. They seem to be eaten better by the little ones when separated too. If I have red/yellow/orange peppers on hand I'll add those and of course tomatoes. We also add artichoke hearts and pepperoncinis, and any fresh fruit is delicious (pears, apples). But the rest, we'll get juicing or just as a snack. Feel free to customize your own. There's no set recipe I follow and of course I don't always add everything, every time. But it's always delicious and incredibly easy to throw together. 

Enjoy