I have always
been partial to a really good salad bar if offered at a restaurant. I love nothing more than to top a nice bed of
greens with a plethora of lovely toppings.
I can make my entire meal out of a good salad and be very satisfied with
that. With my endeavor this year to bulk
up my fruit and vegetable intake as well as to enjoy a really clean diet I have
taken to creating my own salad bar at home.
Beginning with a
clean head of romaine or iceberg lettuce I chop that up and place it into a bowl that I have that
is the perfect size and also has a lid.
Then I chop up a bit of green and purple cabbage and add that to the
bowl. Next I will grate an entire carrot
and add that to the bowl. Once tossed together
the base of my salad, the greens, are ready.
I also like to pick up a container of spring mix lettuces with spinach
and add that to my salad greens in addition to what I’ve assembled in the bowl.
Next come the
toppings and I try to always have at least three items on top of each bed of
greens, but more often than not I have far more. I love pickled beets, sliced mushrooms,
olives – both black and green, pickles, grape tomatoes, sliced peppers, diced
avocado, raisins or dried cranberries, chopped apple, orange segments, just to
name a few. Each week I will assemble a
nice variety of items that I put into individual Pyrex bowls with lids.
Additionally,
especially if I am making the salad the main entrée, I need to have
proteins. Dice ham, crumbled bacon,
grilled chicken, taco meat are all really good options. I also like dice hard boiled eggs, nuts,
seeds and cheeses. There are so many options
that it makes for a lot of variety and keeps things interesting.
Once I’ve gone
to all the work of creating my big bowl of greens and all of the delicious and
wholesome toppings I drizzle it with my own homemade salad dressing.
With all of the junk in the commercially processed dressings these days
it just seems counterproductive to add one of those to all the good ingredients
on my salad so I make my own.
Another
advantage to having my own salad bar ready in the refrigerator I am able to
come home after a busy day and quickly put together a salad for supper. If company shows up I can also pull everything
out onto the counter and allow them to easily make their own. Paired with a hot bowl of homemade soup and a homemade whole wheat dinner roll and,
in my opinion, you have total perfection!
What is your
favorite combination in a salad? How
about your favorite salad dressing? Do
you ever make up a salad bar like this?
I try to get as many veggies in a salad as I can. We eat BIG salads at least twice a week. I use whatever veggie is in season so they change. It's a great way to get a good number of vitamins. I love Ranch, creamy Italian and honey mustard the most.
ReplyDeleteI think salads add a lot of good nutrients too so like you I try to eat them at least twice a week if not more.
DeleteI love buying romaine, purple or green onion, tiny tomatoes, okra...all the things! I usually keep them on hand for easy dinners with pre-cooked chicken, but I'm thinking I could also dedicate a shelf to a 'salad bar' in my fridge and make it that much easier.
ReplyDeleteGive it a try and see how you like that. I bet you will! :)
DeleteI do this too! Always as the main dish. And make my own dressings. I pretty much put everything into my giant salads. I often have to use a mixing bowl to eat it. And it does take a while to eat!
ReplyDeleteI love a good salad bar also but I rarely get them out any more. I don't eat out much nowadays plus mine are way better and cheaper!
Good for you Margaret. I can eat a giant salad and be full all day.
DeleteI do something similar. There are so many possible combinations that you can never get bored. I like to use a vegetable peeler to make carrot and zucchini ribbons for salads. I also like to grill apples or stone fruits and add them along with some feta and sliced almonds. I often add a spoonful of hummus along with other proteins. I have a selection of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars that I usually drizzle on top for a quick and easy dressing. It's so much fun to come up with new combinations. :)
ReplyDeleteGrilled peaches are delicious and pineapple.
DeleteI have not tried grilling apples.
Sounds good.
A couple weeks ago I started putting romaine and coleslaw through the food processor to make chopped salads, I also cut up peppers, cucumbers, tomato and cook up, HB eggs, taco meat and fajita chicken. You have given me some more ideas for toppings....
ReplyDelete