Delicious Summer Salads: Your Guide to Fresh and Nutritious Meals

When it’s too hot outside to even think about turning an oven on, salads come to the rescue! Summer is the perfect time to dive into making delicious salads. With an abundance of in-season fruits and vegetables available at lower prices, it’s a great opportunity to get creative. Salads, when done right, can be a satisfying meal or an excellent side to boost your fruit and veggie intake.

Here are some quick tips to make fun, filling, and nutritious salads every time!

1. Focus on Macronutrients

Macronutrients are proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. For a satisfying meal, incorporate ingredients that contain all three macronutrients in your salad. Proteins and carbohydrates give us energy, while fats are important to keep us feeling full and to help our bodies absorb vital vitamins like A, D, E, and K.

Proteins can come from a variety of animal and plant-based sources. Vegetarians and vegans can find protein in several bean sources, including tofu, tempeh, edamame, and chickpeas. Nuts, seeds, cheese, eggs, and quinoa are also great options.

Carbohydrates can come from many building blocks of the salad: any fruit, vegetable, or grain you wish to include. I enjoy substituting the usual lettuce and salad greens for kale, shredded cabbage, or spinach.

Including heart-healthy, plant-based fats such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts creates a heart-healthy salad and helps us feel full longer.

2. Eat the Rainbow

Incorporating elements from many different colors in your salad not only makes it beautiful and more appetizing to eat, but it also helps you include important micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals in your daily diet. If you need inspiration, there are loads of bloggers and social media accounts dedicated to attainable rainbow salads. A few of my favorite sources are these health-conscious IG peeps, Veggin in the City and Daily Vegan Bowls.

3. Choose In-Season Ingredients

My favorite cooking challenge is taking stock of what I have in the refrigerator and coming up with a creative way to use it in a salad. This process often begins when I go to the grocery store and buy in-season fruits and vegetables. Since I despise throwing away food, I make every effort to ensure I’m not wasting anything in my refrigerator. Having a compost bin also comes in handy to utilize every part of my fruits and vegetables.

To successfully create a killer salad from fridge contents, you may need to roast or sauté some ingredients. The mix of raw and cooked vegetables is worth it and creates a super delicious salad! This website is a great guide to finding seasonal fruits and vegetables based on where you live. Whatever is on sale at the store is generally a good bet too!

4. Get Creative with Add-Ons

To make salads appealing, toppings are the way to go! When choosing toppings, think about what they add to the salad. For sweetness, add fruits like berries, peaches, or dried cranberries and raisins. For crunch, include nuts, seeds, or pita chips. Save old, crusty bread from going into the trash by making homemade croutons. For chewiness, add farro, pasta, nuts, or rice. Cheese, pesto, and even hummus make creamy additions.

5. Make Your Own Dressing

Dressings are surprisingly easy to make! A simple rule of thumb is one part acid to three parts fat, plus an emulsifier to keep the dressing from separating. For acid, consider any type of vinegar or citrus juice (lemon is my personal favorite). For fat, opt for olive or avocado oil, peanut butter, or tahini. Emulsifiers are usually thick, like mustard, yogurt, hummus, honey, or mashed avocado. For extra flavor, add herbs and spices to flavor your dressing.

When looking for inspiration, the internet is chock-full of ideas. This infographic is a comprehensive guide.

6. Enjoy the Process!

Creating salads is not just about the end result; it's about enjoying the process too! Take your time to explore different ingredients and flavors. Experiment with different combinations and find what you love. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to make a salad. It’s all about what makes you feel good!

We hope these tips help you make delicious salads. If you decide to share your creation on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag us at @zeetabody or use the hashtag #zeetabody. We’d love to see what you’re creating!

Happy salad making!