Summer Salads

Summer is definately my favorite season, "food-wise" anyway. Bill and I (and the boys) love light summer fare. We eat a lot of grilled chicken, some pasta or potatoes, and SALAD. We all just love salad.

When Liam (now 10) was 3, it was his favorite thing. It still is. And the funny thing is, they all fight about the red bell peppers in it. Last week, one of the boys was even crying, yes, crying, because there wasn't any salad left for seconds.

So, yes, it is just a simple summer salad. But, I really wanted to share it with you so you can make your own version of it with the ingredients you have at home. Plus, it is SO good for you. Especially if you make your own dressing...


I love Romaine lettuce because it's crunchy and soft. A nice combination, something to sink your teeth into. I chop it up with my bread knife, it happens to be serrated which works great on Romaine. Slice it very thinly.


Next, I put it in my awesome OXO Salad Spinner. (Thanks mom!) I wash it in here, and sometimes rinse it 3 times if it's really dirty. That's only when I get the lettuce from our local farmer's market and it's really fresh and not store packaged.

Push that button to spin and dry it! My momma always says to dry it well. I always hear her voice in my head when dry my lettuce... Of course, it's usually speaking Dutch because that's her native language. Come to think of it, it's mine too, but I don't think in it.


Then, hit the brake button! I do this a couple of times so it REALLY dries.


I dump the clean and dry lettuce in a bowl and load it with veggies. My favorites are cucumbers, red bell peppers (or any color but green), fresh tomatoes, carrots, oh, and hard boiled eggs. Yum! I have sneaked in raw zucchini before and avocado. The boys haven't really grown into eating those yet.


Or, I plate the salad...

The point is, eat raw fresh salad! Buy local ingredients if you can. There are many more nutrients in our local produce than in the store bought stuff. Do yourself a favor!

Next up will be salad dressing, the homemade version.

Have a blessed day!