6 Salad Recipes for Warm Summer Nights

Changing up your salads, whether you’re trying a new recipe or ordering an interesting new choice at a restaurant, can make all the difference!  These recipes from Catherine Katz and menu choices from HealthyDiningFinder can help.

Healthy Food

Are you so DONE with salads?  The same old greens and dressing with some grilled fish or chicken is so yesterday!  If you’re trying to eat healthier or lose weight, chances are you’ve considered adding more salads to your weekly menu but that doesn’t mean they have to be a dull chore for your taste buds.
 Changing up your salads, whether you’re trying a new recipe or ordering an interesting new choice at a restaurant, can make all the difference!  Go ahead and add more veggies and nutrition to your week to reap the rewards.  Give this formula from Catherine Katz at Cuisinicity a try if you’re feeling creative, or whip up one of her salads, complete with Catherine’s tips and insights, below:

  • I LOVE my Mediterranean Couscous Salad! It is filled with artichoke hearts, bell peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas, fresh basil, and topped with roasted sunflower seeds! It is perfect on a hot summer day, both because it is so refreshingly delicious but also because it requires no cooking at all! The couscous is raw (no cooking involved NONE, whatsoever!!) and just absorbs all the wonderful flavors of the citrus dressing so that it is perfectly fluffy and not clumpy.  I recently made a cooking class video for this Mediterranean Couscous Salad…this one is bilingual with LOTS of Mediterranean gesturing!
  • My Quinoa Kale and Corn Salad with Fresh Mint is delightful. It is simple to make but requires some assembling – still, it is so worth it, and you can make it ahead of time! The combination of quinoa with a hint of turmeric, sautéed kale and grilled corn is wonderful together, and the fresh mint gives it the perfect final touch!
  • Farro Grapefruit Salad:  Farro is one of those grains that is so “forgiving” because you can never overcook it and it always comes out perfectly chewy, but never mushy! Its slight nutty taste makes it just right for this salad with a fresh grapefruit vinaigrette. It’s so refreshingly delicious, and it’s just beautiful!
  • My Barley Salad with Pear Walnut & Feta is a classic Mediterranean fare. The combination of pear and walnuts with the naturally sweet nutty flavor of barley is superb! The little sprinkle of feta gives it a nice touch, but if you would like to keep it vegan, you can leave it out and it’s still delightful!
  • Don’t forget the Vegan Apple Hazelnut Kale Salad! The combination of the sweet & sour apple cider vinaigrette, fresh grated apple and chopped hazelnuts with the finely chopped kale is absolutely superb! I now use this salad as a foundation: by that, I mean that I like to “build on it” and make it more of a centerpiece all-in-one meal (how wonderful is that?!), so I can add some grains and legumes or beans to it for protein–French lentils or quinoa or farro blend beautifully in this salad–and of course more thinly sliced or grated veggies such as carrots, fennel, radishes… anything goes! Take it away!!
  • Of course, I always love to throw together a Salade Niçoise! No need for a recipe here–It’s just a matter of gathering fresh ripe tomatoes, boiled small potatoes, hard boiled eggs, parboiled green beans, canned tuna, olives and chives on a bed of fresh lettuce (I particularly like Boston lettuce  — also called Bibb – for this salad). Then all you need is your favorite vinaigrette. I like to make mine with:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar½ tsp. Dijon mustard¼ tsp. coarse saltfresh ground pepper

What’s your favorite salad recipe to eat right, support weight loss and stay cool during the warm summer days?