My husband and I always like to have a healthy salad with our main meal. Prior to the e-coli scare with packaged spinach last year, I usually made us a spinach salad because spinach has so many more nutrients than regular iceberg lettuce. Even after the source of the e-coli was discovered, we were hesitant to eat packaged spinach.
I make my own oil and vinegar dressing, using olive oil and apple cider vinegar, lime juice, garlic, sea salt, hot pepper flakes or a few drops of hot pepper sauce, parsley and oregano. A good rule of thumb is half oil, 1/4 vinegar, and 1/4 lime juice. For convenience, I make up a batch ahead of time - this lets the flavors mingle and you'll always have the dressing on hand.
So I came up with an alternative, and we both like it even better than a spinach salad. There are no right or wrong vegetables for this salad. I use mainly broccoli and cauliflower for the bulk of the salad, and there is no measuring. Just do what you like. Here are my choices:
*broccoli and cauliflower - cut into thin slices.
*onion and peppers - chopped (the red and yellow peppers are higher in vitamin C)
*grated Parmesan cheese - sprinkle on top of vegetables
*chunks of meat (warm) - I use whatever I have left over (turkey, chicken, spam, bacon) It only takes a little bit of meat to add flavor -heated just slightly, it has a softening affect on the vegetables.
*season with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper
*Drizzle oil and vinegar dressing over top and toss (just a little goes a long way)
Variations:
I usually include meat if eating the salad as my meal for lunch, and leave the meat out if we're having a meat entre for supper. You can also add tomatoes, or crumbled egg; this salad has a lot of flavor regardless.
(It's a good idea to use a good vegetable wash such as Solay Fruit and Vegetable Wash from Solay Wellness (see link on right), to remove any bacteria and contaminants from processing that plain water doesn't remove) Solay's products are biodegradable, they use only natural ingredients, and do not engage in any animal testing.
I hope you enjoy the salad as much as we do.
