By now you’ve probably noticed how much I love to gorge on salads. I like to play with different combinations to include a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods in my diet. Since there are countless ways to enjoy salads, I’ll generally not have the exact same mix twice in a week.
Radicchio, kale, parsley, thyme, zucchini, romaine lettuce, orange bell pepper, chioggia beet, cucumber, radish, golden delicious apple and avocado. Off to the side were also goji berries, hemp seeds and a lemon.
Have a peep into the bowl…
…filled with chopped, spiral sliced, minced, grated, julienned, and cubed ingredients.
Everything is still recognizable but altered enough to create interesting textures and enhanced flavors. Yep, the flavors were enhanced. When you change the structure, you also change the flavor. Sure the zucchini is still a zucchini, but spiral slicing it versus chopping it results in a slightly different taste. The same applies to the radicchio. Cutting the radicchio into small ribbons somewhat lessens its bite, making it more palatable to those that find it bitter. If you’re not fond of a particular vegetable or leafy item, try changing how you prepare it and then see if you still don’t like it. You might be surprised!
Sometimes I’ll be lazy about making salad dressings and will just drizzle a few things over the top of my mix and then toss and tweak where necessary. So in addition to the lemon juice, this time I also added a touch raw olive oil, a few pinches of Celtic sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. And depending on the mix of ingredients and my mood, I’ll switch the lemon for a lime or an orange. I’ll even occasionally forgo salad dressing. Amazing, huh? [smile]
For more salad ideas, check out:
And also these posts from the “What I Ate” category:
