Super Refreshing Healthy Salads

By: Yvonne Stephens

Need a little refreshing recipe for a salad? As a chef and cookbook author I have a passionate goal, and that is to help people enjoy life to the fullest and eat healthy! Deep down I am a lazy cook, because I don't like to spend too much time in the kitchen. But I only use shortcuts if they are still healthy choices.

Salads are easy to prepare, and good for us, if we do not drown the lettuce in too much salad dressing.
They are a daily staple in the American cuisine, especially when you go out for dinner; much more so than in other countries in the world. In southern Europe salads are being served as part of dinner, but in countries with a colder climate, salads are being eaten once or twice a week as main vegetable, and mainly in the summer.

The reason for that is that traditionally lettuce was only available from late spring to mid summer. Now counter-seasonal supplying countries like Argentina, Chili, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Mexico, India and China, make sure we can buy any type of fruit and vegetable at any time of the year. Asians eat a lot of vegetables, but less salads the way we know them. During my travels all over the world to 27 countries, I have learned a lot and enjoyed myself tremendously. I hope you will enjoy these recipes too.

Asian Salad
16 oz Napa cabbage, sliced thin
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 teaspoons toasted black sesame seeds
1 bunh green onions, sliced on the bias
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup Ramen noodles, cooked for 2 minutes, drained

Prepare all ingredients and fold everything together in a colorful bowl.

Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Toss salad to coat or serve dressing on the side.

Spanish Salad
16 oz lettuce of choice
1 cup olives, pitted, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons capers
4 oz anchovy filets
2 hard boiled egg, diced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Dressing:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
ground black pepper
Serve dressing on the side.

Summer Salad
16 oz arugala
1/4 cup capers
2 cups watermelon, cut into cubes
1/4 cup pecan or walnuts
1 cup feta cheese

Dressing:
1 cup wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
ground black pepper
pinch sea salt
Serve dressing on the side.

Super Refreshing Potato Salad
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cubed, boiled until 'al dente'
1 cup Vidalia onion, chopped
1 cucumber, shredded
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup chives, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Vegetable Salad For Dinner

Vegetable Salad For Dinner

You could make your own vinaigrette dressing or just buy ready-made It may also be topped with mushrooms, carrots, peppers, onions, celery, avocado, and radishes. Green or garden salads are mostly made out of green leafy vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers and cabbages. It may also be an appetizer for your main meal. It could be topped with a dressing or just seasoned to taste.

Most are made from vegetables and fruits. Salads are generally easy to make, plus it is very healthy. Be sure to write down what you have used so you could prepare it again next time. Just experiment and see what will taste good for you.

You could always deviate and make use of what you have in your refrigerator. Recipes are not necessarily strictly followed. You save time and money. You could also use leftovers instead of buying in the grocery. These are easier to prepare.

Think of recipes that only have a few ingredients. You could easily cook after coming home if you have all these prepared already. Also prepare the utensils and other items you will need. Ready the ingredients beforehand if you are thinking of a recipe already.

You could toss them up together in a matter of few minutes with hardly any cooking needed. It requires little cooking. It could be frozen mixed veggies, pasta sauces and many more. The first tip is to use all the possible convenient products available to you. You could also adapt a few tips on how to make preparations much easier and quicker.

These are easy to make and promises to be very healthy. Good thing though that there are now many quick recipes that will only take around 10 minutes to do. It is often easier to resort to buying food outside rather than go to the ordeal of preparing our own food in the kitchen. Then again, many of us are busy with our works and personal lives. They would not know what ingredients are used in commercial foods.

They prefer to prepare their own food to make sure they are eating just healthy foods. A lot of people are becoming health conscious already.

One of My Favorite Low Fat, Low Carb Recipes - Light Summertime Chicken Salad

By J P Martin

This light chicken salad is perfect for anyone looking for low fat, low carb recipes. Balsamic vinegar gives it a unique, nutty sweet flavor. It is worth spending a bit extra on a decent quality balsamic vinegar, you kind of get what you pay for with this - some of the cheaper balsamic vinegars are inferior in quality.

Ingredients:

* 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
* 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
* half bunch of chives
* 1 cucumber
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* half bunch of dill
* salt and pepper

Method:

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add 1 teaspoon of the vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the oil to a pan or wok and place over a high heat. Stir-fry the chicken for 5 minutes until cooked and golden in colour.
2. Trim and peel the cucumber and slice into 1in/2.5cm matchsticks. Wash the chives and pat dry with kitchen paper. Snip finely with kitchen scissors and mix together with the cucumber in a large serving bowl.
3. To make the salad dressing, mix together the remaining balsamic vinegar and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk in the remaining olive oil.
4. Add the cooked chicken to the cucumber and chives in the serving bowl, drizzle over the salad dressing.. Toss the salad in the dressing. Wash the dill and pat dry with kitchen paper. Chop finely and sprinkle over the tossed salad to garnish.

When using chives, always add them at the last minute to hot dishes as over-cooking will destroy their delicate onion flavor. Their flowers are edible too and can be used for extra garnish.

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