Sensational Summer Salads

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summer saladsWhat is a salad?

According to the dictionary, it’s “a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.”

In my opinion, it can be whatever I want. I have always loved salads, especially in the spring and summer. They can be refreshing and satisfying without much effort. Often my best salads have been what I call the “kitchen sink salad.” (Sadly, I usually can’t replicate them).

Maria’s Mouthwatering Salads 

Tuna and Tomato Salad – This is basically the recipe I use. My version is more old-country and less polished, meaning there are no measurements, and I use the oil from the can of tuna as my dressing, not apple cider vinegar. Also, I always add in some hard bread. #ifyouknowyouknow 

Inner Goddess Detox Salad – DON’T let the name fool you. This salad packs a punch, and you can honestly use this as a guideline for all your fruity/greens salads. I like to add walnuts in addition to the almonds to this salad and skip the dressing. Also, if I don’t have kale, I sub in spinach or arugula. 

Bag Salad to the rescue. Never underestimate a good bag of salad. I love the Costco Sweet Kale Chopped Salad Kit. I use that and add some rotisserie chicken, sliced strawberries, and any other fruit (apples, blueberries, peaches) and some nuts, and I’m in heaven! It comes with pepitas and salad dressing. 

Trader Joe’s Salads/Slaws for the win! This summer, they have a Mango Jicama Slaw that is to die for. It’s the right blend of refreshing crisp and a kick of spicy. I don’t like cilantro, but luckily I can pick it out. It’s a great snack, especially for the beach or side salad with some grilled chicken. Here’s a copycat version if you are up to making it yourself or don’t live near a TJ to get your hands on the original.

Here are some of our contributors’ favorite salads. 

Alisa’s Awesome Salad

Simple Cobb Salad – While the salad looks simple, it packs a punch of flavor and will quickly become routine in your meal planning all year long! 

Clara’s Convenient Salad

Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad – This is the infamous Panera Salad everyone counts down the early spring days to summer for. The great news is now there are a bunch of copycat versions on Pinterest to help you make it at home, too, if you so choose.

Daria’s Delectable Salad

Corn Salad with Chile and Lime – This salad is particularly great for BBQs and a great way to use up some fresh corn.

Daria also did a spring salad round, if you love salads and want more than what’s listed here. 

Emma’s Elegant Salad

Watermelon and Feta with Mint Salad – I’m not a feta fan, but everyone who is, swears by some version of this salad. The sweet and salty combination unparalleled. 

Bonus: This is Emma’s go-to salad dressing, the BEST apple cider vinegar salad dressing.

Hilary’s Heavenly Salad

Arugula Watermelon and Feta Salad If you are tired of the traditional watermelon and feta salad or have some arugula to spare, this Ina Garten recipe will soon be a fan favorite.

Leanne’s Lucious Salad

Secret Ramen Salad – This salad is so secret, there’s no recipe link for it! Luckily we were able to convince the chef to share it with us! If you love Ramen, this is the perfect salad for you.

Sonique’s Superb Salads

Tomato, Fresh Corn, and Burrata Salad – Who doesn’t love a three-ingredient salad and an easy homemade salad dressing to boot?

White Bean Salad with Tuna – This is a sophisticated twist on a simple bean salad that provides a ton of natural protein without turning on your oven.

We hope you enjoy, and please share any great salad recipes with us!

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Maria Sette
Maria is a full-time mom, teacher, wife, daughter, and sister, who feels pulled in too many directions! Her older son Michael took over 24 hours to be born, and at six-months-old was diagnosed with allergies to dairy, eggs, nuts, soy, shrimp, and wheat…all after exclusively nursing because she was SO SURE that would help him be a healthy kid. Luckily at age 1, he began to outgrow some of his allergies. Fingers crossed the others will soon follow because that plus a husband who doesn’t eat any veggies and Maria always battling her weight makes for three meals to prepare every night. Luckily, Christopher, her younger son, is a cooperative eater! As someone who has always been committed to making positive change, Maria uses her privilege and position as an educator and mom to work toward a most anti-racisit, equitibile, and inclusive world. Recently, Maria has even started getting up at 5am to workout in her basement. (Thank you pandemic living!) She is addicted to reading chicklit on her Kindle app in the dark, most Trader Joe’s products, and watching TikToks.

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