Salad Days

Sweet or savory, lots of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables deliver both a sensational taste treat but more importantly, a big nutritional boost. Energy level soars, calories are kept low and the tummy is quite content.

The expression 'salad days' was coined by none other than the greatest playwright who ever lived, William Shakespeare. Cleopatra commented on her infatuation with Julius Caesar as: "My salad days, when I was green in judgment." Green refers both to inexperience and to the color of salad.

Green, has taken on a whole new connotation in the 21st century, as we struggle to control the damage civilization, in the name of progress, growth and technology, has inflicted upon the earth. For those of us who are not only eco-friendly, but health conscious, eating green involves eating local, whole foods, preferably in their raw, unadulterated state. Salads are a perfect example of using a variety of raw foods to fill the bill. While at the same time, providing a perfect example of truly fast food!

The salad pictured at the top of the page is predominantely a fruit salad. Blueberries, chopped white peaches, banana, orange segments, raisins, toasted walnuts on a bed of green leaf lettuce, sprinkled with salad sprouts and clover sprouts, dressed lightly with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

The bottom salad is corn/black bean salsa with green leaf lettuce and clover sprouts. The lime juice and accumulated vegetable juices from the salsa are all that was needed to moisten the lettuce and give the salad a bit of a kick.

Salad days—with summer on our heels—what better time to start experimenting with tossing together fresh, ripe fruit and vegetables. It's fast, it's easy, no recipes needed and to top it off, it's so very healthy. Make lots of days SALAD DAYS. For more salad ideas, check here.