Summer salad’s don’t seem to be as popular during the cold winter months, they seem to get beat out by warm soups and meals like warm vegetables and rice.  Am I right?? I know for me personally, smoothies and salads get put on the back burner during colder months because I’m always cold and prefer to have warmer foods as apposed to ones that might make me colder!

Now that warmer weather is upon us, I love a good salad, fresh vegetables and cold fruit!  So tasty and refreshing on a hot day right?

Today I will answer the questions on how to make healthy, but yummy salads from home.  How many of you just do the lazy option and buy that “Costco kale salad mix” because it’s easy and tastes good; however, both you and your family are actually getting really sick of it?

IT’S TIME TO GET CREATIVE WITH SUMMER SALAD RECIPES!

It’s not hard to throw together a healthy summer salad that will blow that kale salad mix out of the water, and might actually be better for you (that creamy salad dressing might not be the best option to put on a salad ;))

HERE ARE 3 TIPS FOR EASY SUMMER SALAD CREATION

1. Keep fresh vegetables in the fridge that have already been chopped up

If you took some time every Sunday night to go to the grocery store and buy all of your vegetables for the week, it would take no time at all and you would be prepared for the week ahead.  Some vegetables you can even buy pre-chopped!

Here are some things you can buy at the grocery store that require no chopping at all:

• Chopped carrots
• Shredded broccoli
• Dived cabbage
• Shredded kale
• Chopped mushrooms
• Bagged chopped broccoli or cauliflower
• small cherry tomatoes

Some other vegetables to buy and have on hand in the fridge are:

• peppers (red, yellow, or green)
• avocados
• cucmber

2. Buy frozen vegetables to easily pull out and defrost so you don’t have to worry about them going bad

Some vegetables I always have ready to go in the freezer are (I either buy pre-frozen or buy fresh and put in ziplock bags to freeze myself)

• Brussel sprouts
• diced squash or yams
• green beans
• Edamame
• broccoli
• asparagus spears (chop them up into small pieces to easily throw in salads)

3. Have things on hand to create healthy salad dressings or make a few ahead of time and store in the fridge

We all know that store bought salad dressings (as much as the bottle tells us they are “fat-free” and “low calorie”) are actually loaded with calories and fats that could turn an healthy salad unhealthy very quickly!  Making your own salad dressing is actually easier, cheaper, and can actually taste better than store bought dressings!

Check out my clean avocado salad dressing recipe

Here is an example of a super easy healthy salad dressing:

Balsamic Vinaigrette

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt
Fresh-ground pepper
Optional extras: spoonful of mustard, minced shallots, minced garlic, minced fresh herbs, teaspoon dried herbs, spoonful of honey or brown sugar

Make it up and leave it in the fridge for easy salads!

Lastly,

Here are some other staples you might want to have on hand:

Staples to have on hand:

• Hummus
• Salsa
• Lemon {great in your water for detoxing too!}
• Nuts {whole or slivered}
• Apple cider vinegar
• Mustard of choice
• Canned beans {or buy in bulk, cook and freeze portions for later}
• crumbled goat cheese (my all time favorite on a salad – be careful of portion size though!)

Check out my protein packed spinach salad recipe here to get you started!

Have fun and get creative with your summer salads, eating clean doesn’t have to mean being boring!

Michelle Roots BA Kin, CSCS, PN1

Owner, Head Trainer

Core Conditioning