Veggies...Veggies...Veggies

I love salads! I eat one pretty much every day. The image above is a picture of the salad I will be eating for lunch. It is homemade chicken salad (chicken, apple, bell pepper, canola oil mayo, spicy mustard, onion, tabasco) on top of spinach leaf lettuce with 1/4 cup grape tomatoes and 1/4 cup of shredded carrots. Yumo!!!

However, during the winter there is not as many fruits to include in my salads so I get a little bored. I came across this great article by Nell Stephenson discussing salads and veggie intake. Some great salad ideas are listed below. Enjoy!
_________________
Salads Are Great For Increasing Veggies at a Meal- by: Nell Stephenson

Salads are a great way to get all your veggies in a single meal. You can also include some good fats if you add avocado, flax seed oil, and raw walnuts.

Raw broccoli adds crunch and powerful phytochemicals to a salad. Besides being colorful, radishes contain vitamin C, sodium and calcium. Shredded cabbage is rich in vitamin A, B, C and E, as well as high iron and sulphur. Onions have antibacterial properties, and are gentle blood thinners. Colorful carrots add crunch like broccoli, and they are rich in beta-carotene.

The sweetness of fruit can also balance nicely with the savory taste of whatever protein and veggies you may be serving. I like to stick with what is local and in season as much as possible.

In the summer, I love to add organic strawberries, raw cashews, avocado, red onion, heirloom tomato and basil.

As the fall rolls around, I may add some raw or roasted pears with pecan and a sprinkle of currants. Apples tossed with lemon and then cinnamon also are a nice twist on an old standard.

In the winter, citrus fruits or grapes with slivered almonds, poppy seeds and flax meal are tasty.

In the spring, I love to include edible flowers for color, along with foods giving a hint of the bounty of summer to come! Early season berries are great this time of year along with baby veggies, like broccolini, bok choy, and asparagus. I steam these, and then put them in cold water for a nice spring dish.

I generally stick with the same choices for dressing - olive oil and freshly squeezed lime juice - but you can vary that as well. Blend your choice of fresh herbs with different types of oils for a different taste. Try walnut oil with tarragon or flax oil infused with rosemary, and get ready for an explosion of sweet and savory all from a single salad!

CrossFit Women Nutrition Meeting
7:30 tonight at RunTex on Lake Austin Blvd.