More Salad Ideas

A dinner salad is more than a side dish of lettuce with a slice of tomato and perhaps a few pieces of cucumber. A dinner salad that will hold you for the evening has to be filled with nutrient rich ingredients that will satisfy the body's needs. I've found when the body finds the nutrition it requires to operate, cravings disappear.

With a fridge filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to whip up a salad bowl that will please the palate, fill the stomach and satisfy our cellular needs. Key to eating well and keeping it simple, is to plan ahead, make shopping a priority and start experimenting.

Vary the greens from day to day. I include more than one type of dark leafy green in most salads. Not only will you be getting a better variety of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, but the different flavors and textures offer more appeal and eliminate any chance of boredom.

This salad includes: arugula, red leaf lettuce, sweet onion, sweet red bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, corn, cauliflower, chick peas, sunflower seeds and a few dried cranberries. It's dressed with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. And I just couldn't resist sprinkling the final presentation with a light coating of a new spice offering from Penzey's— a dynamite combination of black pepper and cayenne. Cayenne has super medicinal properties. Adding a bit to most savory meals will kick the foods up a notch (as Emeril would say) while adding hidden benefits for the body. Try it.