Favorite Salad #1

I probably have salad about 5 times a week for lunch or dinner; I love it. It's such a broad term, and can involve almost any ingredient.
My usual ones are lettuce salads with different add-ins. I have some favorite combinations that I pull together again and again. I will try to share them with you in the coming weeks as I make them.

Favorite #1 is not a repeat. It's definitely a combo I want to document and remake, but tonight was the first time I made this.

It was born because I'm not liking the romaine lettuce I have right now. It has a slightly odd bitter taste to it. I think I will toss most of it since it's not worth eating, but I did want just a tiny bit so I used the green tops which tasted best. I love purple cabbage so I added a good fistful, more than I would normally to make up for the lack of lettuce. I chopped the last of my red onion and added that too.

I also minced some fresh oregano and mint from Mom's herb garden.


In brilliant improv style I added whatever I had that looked good:


some frozen peas and roasted corn, thawed
4 cherry tomatoes (lightly charred in a pan for a few minutes)
5 shrimp (seared in said pan with salt and pepper, little spray of olive oil so they wouldn't stick)
a few baby carrots that I roasted on Saturday
2 canned artichoke hearts (with the tops cut off since I find them tough)
a little chopped mango
the very last of a cucumber

After tossing with a little roasted walnut oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt, I added two forkfuls of feta cheese and some toasted sesame seeds. My finished product~


A good dinner, perfect for my detox day following an indulgent Saturday.

I don't do too much measuring when making salads; I eyeball it and go by taste. I use a very light hand when adding the oil and vinegar, then taste-test to see if a little more is needed. For things like feta or other fats/proteins I note the serving size and calories and then try to go with half or less without measuring.

Other ingredients I love to use:
butter lettuce
fresh spinach
spring mix
fresh basil
fresh cilantro
roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon
enoki mushrooms
fresh roasted bell pepper
baby beets
shredded raw carrots
tofu
goat cheese
red kidney beans
chickpeas
honey mustard
dijon mustard

Until next time :-)