Serve a Simple Salad

I love salad. I eat at least one every day. I realize that this makes me a little different from your average Jane. I love the different tastes and textures you can create that somehow meld together perfectly. I love that you can empty the fridge of leftovers to make a salad shine. Here are two salads that I threw together last week.

This salad utilized leftover ground beef that we had used on taco night. I didn't add any seasonings, other than a dash of salt, when I was cooking because we utilize the other taco ingredients to give it flair. So the salad was beef, arugula, purple cabbage, leftover roasted cauliflower and butternut squash, leftover sautéed bell peppers and onions, and celery. Celery just gives everything a magical crunch. I put on a little Italian dressing and some salsa and deliciousness ensued. 

This salad is pretty similar, but had no leftover cooked vegetables. Instead, it was leftover chipotle lime chicken strips from Trader Joe's, arugula, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, cucumber and pomegranate seeds. Yum!!

So the chicken wasn't 100% Whole30 compliant because it used canola oil, even the rules for the program allow that once in a while. I bought the chicken when I was running errands one day and it was a life saver. I had vegetables with me, but nothing to give me solid staying power. It was so good! 

I grew up eating salads every day with dinner and now it is usually my lunch.  I have always been a fan of the salad bar restaurant. I can't imagine not eating a ton of vegetables every day. For the many that don't get the joy that I do from a salad, it isn't a lowly bowl of iceberg lettuce slathered with high fat dressing.  Try spicy arugula. Bring a pop of color from purple cabbage or onions. You might be surprised at what a beautiful plate you can create.