How to Make Delicious Salads
Salads are too often associated with bland, boring flavors and diets, but that’s not true! I learned that thanks to my mother. In fact, I’d label her as a salad savant. Growing up, she would make the most delicious salads that would put restaurant salads to shame. She is proud to share these secret tips with all of you so we can encourage everyone to eat a little healthier. What are the basics to a top-tier salad?
Base
All salads start with a base of your choice of one or two leafy greens. Make each salad unique and mix up the greens that you choose for your base. Another important ingredient for the base is chopped red onions. Whether your salad will include fruit or be more vegetable focused, a red onion is a must. It provides great flavor and texture to any salad. Just be sure not to use too much, or it will overpower your salad.
Fruit
Next, you need to decide if you are going to include fruit in your salad. If you want to add fruit, pick up to three fruits to create varying flavor combinations. Here are some ideas:
- Blueberries, raspberries, and diced apples
- Pears and dried cherries
- Strawberries, mangoes, and peaches
If you want a more vegetable-heavy salad, opt for diced tomatoes instead. Be creative!
Protein
Next comes the protein layer. Be sure your salads contain protein, as it’s important for having a balanced diet. Top your salad with beans, lentils, quinoa, or chopped hard-boiled eggs. Nuts and some types of cheese can also be a source of protein, but we’ll cover these individually because they actually make up the next two layers of our salad.
Cheese
Cheese is the next layer of our salad recipe. If you choose to add fruit to your salad, some great cheese toppings are feta, gorgonzola, or goat cheese. If you choose a salad with no fruit, feta or cheddar cheese will pair well. Of course, you can experiment with adding your favorite types of cheese, as well. However, I wouldn’t recommend combining different types of cheeses; I would stick to one.
Nuts or Seeds
This is an optional layer that adds a nice crunch. My personal recommendations are pecans, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, or slivered almonds. You can add them to your salad whether or not you added fruit, but I find they work best with fruit. If you’re making an Asian salad, use peanuts or cashews. Experiment with different options and ways to prepare them such as raw, toasted, or roasted.
Additional Toppings
Next come all the other optional toppings. You can add other types of vegetables, homemade croutons, crispy noodles, water chestnuts, or whatever else comes to mind. Don’t let tradition limit you from making a salad that matches your unique taste buds.
Dressing
Finally, we come to our last section but—who are we kidding?—one of the most important. This is where the options open up and become limitless. There are four different options you can choose from when selecting your dressing.
Find a Recipe Online
Find a homemade recipe for your favorite dressings. If you are really craving ranch, look up and make a recipe. This way, you know every ingredient that’s in your dressing. Plus you can create a personal twist, such as adding jalapeños to ranch if you like some spice.
Homemade Balsamic
This is my personal favorite for salad dressings. Did you know there are some retailers that sell flavored balsamic vinegars and olive oils? You can find balsamic vinegars in flavors peach white, Sicilian lemon, pomegranate, fig, grapefruit white, and many more. You can also find olive oils in savory flavors like garlic, butter, tuscan herb, or sweet flavors like mandarin orange, meyer lemon, or cranberry. To make your own dressing, simply select a balsamic and an olive oil that pair well and mix them together in equal parts.
Make It Up Yourself
Make your own vinaigrette dressing by combining a choice of vinegar: apple cider or white vinegar with olive oil and a natural sweetener like honey or homemade maple syrup. Then add a little salt and pepper to taste. If you want, you can add a little citrus like lemon or lime. You could even use citrus as a replacement for the vinegar, if you choose. And for a touch of tanginess, mix in some Dijon mustard.
Be Bold
Now that you’re equipped with tips and secrets to making your own unique top-tier salads, get started and see what you come up with! Don’t forget to share your amazing new salads with friends and family so we inspire those around us that eating salad can be fun and delicious. Post your salad recipes online with the hashtag #toptiersalad.
