Beth Skwarecki

There's nothing like a good salad, eaten outside, for a summer lunch. But I don't mean a bowl full of lettuce - that's not a good salad.

A meal needs to have calories. It needs to have protein, carbs, and good fats. When you start adding beans, whole grains, fruits, non-lettuce veggies, cheese, nuts, the salad becomes a meal.

By the way, I don't buy the idea that a low-calorie meal is "healthy". Protein is healthy; fiber is healthy; vitamins are healthy. Food that leaves you feeling hungry is just a waste of time.



I provide this photo as inspiration. It's just a bowl of cold veggies, but it's making you drool all over your keyboard as you read this (right?) because it's made of mouthwatering actual food. I won't tell you that all the veggies are locally grown, fresh summer produce. (That would just make you drool even more.) Or that the beige glop on some of the veggies is perhaps the best salad dressing I've ever tasted (Annie's "Goddess" dressing).

Instead, I'll just give you the inspiration list for making your own killer salad. The items in bold are also in the salad above; the rest are just food for thought.

• dark green/colored lettuce (Iceberg doesn't count.)
  
• fresh leafy herbs, like basil
  
• chickpeas
  
• beans
  
• green beans
  
• tomatoes
  
• rice (ooh, try leftover fried rice)
  
• carrots
  
• potatoes (cubed and cooked)
  
• apples
  
• lentils
  
• cheese
  
• dried fruit, like craisins
  
• oats or other cooked grains
  
• quinoa
  
• pasta
  
• oranges
  
• berries
  
• avocado
  
• onions, scallions
  
• zucchini, summer squash
  
• winter squash (cooked)
  
• snap peas
  
• corn
  
• nuts
  
• seeds (sunflower, poppy, sesame...)
  
• dead animals (y'know, chicken, tuna, ...)
  
• dressing - If the Goddess isn't your style, make an easy dressing by mixing olive oil with a little vinegar. Season with salt, pepper, and optionally some dry herbs like oregano.
  

Have a scavenger hunt in your kitchen: how many of these items do you already have? Already-cooked leftovers count - in fact, with their spices and sauces they often make the most flavorful additions.

For more ideas on hearty salads and other veggie-loaded foods, check out this article on Stumptuous and scroll down to "garbage salad". Note that the garbage strategy works beautifully for soups, too.