Simple Salad

Salads are great because they are quick and easy and you can throw anything into them and have a nourishing, delicious meal in minutes. A salad is especially useful to use up leftovers (veggies, meats, fruits). The salad below uses some leftover items in my refrigerator today but please feel free to substitute and be creative. Be sure to wash all vegetables as needed and pat dry for the best results. If you are in a really big hurry, you can pre-chop all your salad items at the beginning of the week and all you have to do is put the salad together, which is the easy part!

Ingredients:

• Your favorite lettuce (spinach, romaine, cabbage, iceberg, watercress, Boston, arugula, etc. - or any combination thereof), washed and chopped into bite sized pieces. I used romaine, 4 leaves, and removed the spines.
• Various fruits, nuts, seeds, veggies, meats, cheeses, herbs, flax, chia, etc. (the possibilities are endless, see comments below for the ingredients used in the salad shown in the picture), washed and chopped as necessary
• A little olive oil and vinegar (I used balsamic)
• A squirt of lemon or lime juice (optional)
• Sea salt & ground pepper (optional)

Method:

Arrange ingredients in a large bowl or on a plate, drizzle with olive oil, add a splash of vinegar, and sprinkle with salt & pepper, if using.

Done!

Comments:

The salad in the photo above combined 4 leaves of romaine lettuce, about 1/4 English cucumber, 1 avocado, 4 strawberries sliced, 6-7 grape tomatoes cut in half, raw milk cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Very good!!