Flourish with Food:  Summer Green Salad Bowls

Hearty main dish green salads are a kitchen lifesaver for hot summer days. The key word here is hearty because we’re not talking about a simple side salad, but a nutritionally complete and satisfying meal.

Rather than the standard dinner plate, start with a deep porcelain or stoneware pasta bowl.  A generous rim helps keep everything in the bowl and makes tossing with dressing easy.

To create a substantial salad bowl, consider 4 elements: the base, the body, a dressing, and a garnish.

Leafy greens are the base. For sensory appeal, mix two or more types to create a variety of textures. Consider assorted lettuces, spinach, baby kale, watercress, flat-leaf parsley, beet greens, arugula., escarole, etc.

Did you recall that leafy greens are a cornerstone of the MIND diet?  This brain-healthy approach to eating encourages a leafy green vegetable, raw or cooked, every day.

The salad’s body contains all the good stuff, from veggies and fruits to grains, proteins, nuts and/or seeds. Imagine the greens as a blank canvas where creativity can be expressed through a mixture of colors, textures, and shapes for visual and flavor appeal.

Think outside of the salad box: green or kalamata olives, pickled beets, dried cranberries or dates, baby corn, artichokes, snow peas, pickled veggies, and frozen roasted corn.

Protein is what takes the salad from a “side dish” to a “main dish”. Options include shredded cheese, mozzarella balls, hard-boiled egg, canned fish (tuna, salmon, sardines), shredded chicken or beef, pan-fried crispy tofu, shelled edamame and rinsed canned beans or chickpeas. Rotisserie chicken is a time-saver. Tip: If using rotisserie chicken, enjoy within 3 days of purchase or freeze.

Homemade salad dressings are best.  While bottled dressings are easy, they often contain undesirable added sugar, sodium, less healthy fats, additives and/or preservatives. Check ingredient labels for the simplest and fewest ingredients.

Homemade dressings give you full control of the ingredients’ quality.  Simple, clean salad dressings let other flavors shine. A personal favorite is splashes of Meyer lemon-infused olive oil and mild-flavored, unsalted rice vinegar.

Explore these two sites for DIY salad dressings:
http://www.loveandlemons.com/healthy-salad-dressing-recipes
https://olivebranchwl.com/blog/3-reasons-to-say-goodbye-to-store-bought-salad-dressing

The garnish – the finishing touch.  While croutons are classic, be creative. Consider chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, sprouts, crispy chickpeas, parmesan crisps, crunched seeded crackers, crostini or multi-grain chips for salad bowl toppers.

Bottomline: Main dish salad bowls are more than just a bowl of greens.  It’s an opportunity to get creative, eat nutrient-dense high fiber foods and keep the kitchen cool.