This Summer I’m surviving largely on salads.  I have extreemly limited cooking capabilities in my kitchen, not even a microwave, combined with zero cooking energy when I get home from work and the gym.  I usually get home around 8pm, so I need something ready to go because I’m not waiting around for a delivery, or trying to prepare anything.  I’m not a fast food burger kind of gal, so my go-to options are usually a pre-made salad, salad bar, or soup from the prepared foods section of a grocery store; or Panera.  Both are quick, easy, delicious, and affordable.

Confession: I suck at buffets.  For three reasons.  1. Sometimes I take the phrase “all you can eat” too seriously.  2. I don’t pick a theme or flavor profile, and while I love a good garbage salad, I manage to pick opposing ingredients.   I usually start in one direction, like greens/craisons/pecans/blue cheese/apples, then I see salsa and I want to turn around and make a southwestern salad so I just add it to the pile.  I have the same problem at fro yo places.  3. I need to remind myself to add nutritional value with a variety of veggies and protein.  Just cheese, nuts, and lettuce does not a healthy salad make.

To trouble shoot my problems, I do my best to take a couple warmup laps around the salad bar to decide the optimal combination based on the ingredients available (this tip is in every healthy eating publication ever).  And I also try to pile on the lettuce so it will fill me up and add negligible calories, making the “all you can eat” a little safer for me.

This summer I also have a decent salad bar at work, which I treat myself to once or twice a week (otherwise I try to bring my lunch).  I feel kind of nerdy though because I love it, and a lot of my co-workers see the salad bar as the boring option for lunch.

My Favorites:

Salad Bar: Whole Foods ( I typically go with, romaine, fresh spinach, pecans, blue cheese, craisons, squash, cucumbers, black beans, red onions, maybe bell peppers, and some oil & vinegar)

Fast Casual Salad: Thai Chopped Chicken Salad at Panera

Salad ingredients I love: edemame, craisons, salsa, red onions

Salad ingredients I hate: olives, avacado, bacon, egg

Fave Dressing: oil and vinegar or a lite raspberry vinagrette

Least Fave Dressing: french

At the moment I’m favoring the cheese/nut/fruit type of salad, but I’m also a sucker for a good greek or southwestern salad.

What kind of salad are you loving right now?