It’s always a challenge to eat healthy year round but I think it is easier in the summer months.
A big meal at lunch can leave you feeling heavy and sluggish in the hot weather so think ‘salads’.
Whatever you might choose for a sandwich can be used in a salad.
We grill something almost every night and I use the leftover meat for my salads.
Grilled chicken, steak, even hamburgers are perfect for adding to a garden fresh salad. And if you have fresh veggies, you can make all kinds of variations.
We cooked a whole chicken on the grill a few days ago and that made several nice lunches!
Just start with a bed of lettuce (I like Romaine), add tomatoes and fresh veggies and then some meat.
A salad will not be filling or satisfying without some protein. (I don’t eat crackers, croutons, pasta or bread with my salads)
Some of my favorite combinations are a salad with steak, blue cheese crumbles and blue cheese dressing.
Chicken with Havarti cheese, dried cranberries and almond slivers sprinkled on top.
Hamburger crumbled on top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, avocado and dollops of salsa is good too.
And if you are tired of the usual salad dressings, I have a new favorite.
I take a tablespoon of Kraft mayo, squeeze fresh lemon in it to thin it and add a tiny amount of Truvia to sweeten and drizzle it over the salad.
(what did you think I would serve? Gator bites? heehee)
I’m joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J HERE!
Do you have a favorite salad or dressing to share?
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27 comments:
Such good advice!! Crackers and other bread type things are a major downfall of mine and they do make you sleepy in the afternoons. Honestly, I could eat a salad like this every single day.
I love salads. Yours sound good.
I love salads and I agree in the summer it's the best lunch food!! I like to make a pasta salad with lots of fresh veggies and Italian dressing. Makes me hungry just thinking about it!
hugs!!
Diane, It is salad time. I love salads...but can't eat lots. I like the way you thinned the dressings. I do not like my salad drowned in dressings. I laugh when as I write this....it makes me think of mommy. She would order a salad with dressings on the side and then proceed to scrape every bit of it onto her salad. LOL. Oh I miss that woman. Blessings for a fun summer dear friend.. xoxo, Susie
Love all your salad ideas. We have several favorites too. One is a bed of spinach sprinkled generously with strawberries, apple wedges....walnuts, grilled chicken thin slices and fruit dressing. Ever tried this with the fruit? Have a super nice day dear friend...
Hello, your salads all look delicious. I could enjoy any of them for my dinner. A salad with some chicken and maybe avocado would be a favorite for me. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
Everything looks yummy! Would you believe I never had tried Blue Cheese dressing until this year and love it. I'll have to try your new dressing, thanks!
I think you are so right about summer and eating healthier plus with the heat I think your appetite isn't as big. I love your salad ideas and I just finished off this delicious salad (by desire Empire blog) which I highly recommend....she also lost a lot of weight eating this salad...just sayin'..........she's Australian and capsicums are peppers
Corn, Cucumber and Capsicum Salsa
2 corn cobs
1 red capsicum finely diced
1 cucumber skin on, finely diced
1 red or brown onion finely diced
Juice of 1 lemon
Good slug of lemon infused olive oil ( I use Cobram Estate)
Good handful of Danish feta ( I use Mayer Brand)
Herb of your choice say coriander, parsley or chives.
Boil a small pot of water and cook corn for about 8 minutes. Use a knife to remove the kernels.
Combine all the vegetables in a bowl
Dress with lemon juice and olive oil.
Mix herb/s through the salsa
Sprinkle Danish feta over the top.
Eat as much of this as you like and serve with lean protein for a yummy dinner.
These are great combinations!.... good advice too.
OH! Those ideas ALL sound good, Laurie. One of my favorites is still a wedge of lettuce with blue cheese dressing and crumbled bacon...yeah---not necessarily a HEALTHY salad but BOY is it good! Great photos here, Diane! xo Diana
I love a big salad - I like tunafish on mine, or salmon.
Oh so healthy! Wonderful 'foodie' shots! Delish!
Happy Week to you ~ ^_^
Great salad ideas. I love salads during the hot summer months. It's good to change them up.
Thank you diane for your sweet comment about Celestina's blog makeover. Hugs, Linda
Hmmmm...those salads look delicious!
Diane, oh, your salads look delicious! I tend to gravitate toward Ranch dressing and croutons too. ♥
Mmm... your salads are making me hungry! I love fresh salads in the summer and using leftover girlled meat makes them oh-so-tasty :)
Hugs to you!
We love salads -- and are so lucky to have fresh in-season local produce pretty much all year round because of the way we live in Florida in the winter and Oregon in the summer. Corn, tomatoes, lettuce, two colors of cauliflower (gold and purple), direct from the farm bacon, and fresh home-made salsa is what we picked up at the Farmer's Market this past weekend. There's another market on Tuesday, so I'll be off shopping again tomorrow morning for whatever looks good.
Oh my - I'll be right over for lunch - they all look scrumptious. I love salads in the summer too - one of my favorites is to mix all the vegetables of a tossed salad except for the lettuce - drizzle with an Italian style dressing - let it sit in the fridge all morning and enjoy it icy cold with a glass of iced tea. My mom and I used to make a big bowl of this and sit and eat it all for lunch.
See you on Wednesday my dear!!
How fun to make a whole chicken on the grill! Your salad dressing sounds good too:@)
Yum, your salads look so tasty, blessings Francine.
Hi Diane, this is such a great post. Salads are so refreshing and even more so this time of year. We usually make one every day. My favorite salad dressing has become, SuperFruits by Walden Farms. It is so delicious and has 0 calories. It can be hard to find but Sprouts has it here. Yours sounds good too. Thanks for sharing! Have a great week dear friend. Hugs
Hi Diane, we love salads in our house!! I will have to make some of these combos for my next salad for lunch!!
I'm delighted to have you share this with us at Cooking and Crafting with J & J!!
Enjoy the rest of the week.
Julie xo
I love salads any time of the year, but you are right they make a great light lunch in the summer. xo Laura
I like my salads just like yours. I love a big fresh crunchy one with any kind of meat on top/side for the protein. If I dont have any meat I substitute kidney beans. Also love chopped up walnuts on salads. And I love to mix my greens....start with cold crispy ice berg and then add romanine and raddiccio and others.I also love Cesear salads. We should have a salad together soon! LOL
I also like salads for lunch, the one food that doesn't demand a nap.
Amalia
xo
Yum! All your salad variations look delicious.
Yum! You always make he most tasty lunches! :)
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipe, crafts, and tips: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
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