For my salads, I almost always buy the sixteen ounce box of organic salad mix from Safeway. At $5, I think it's a pretty good value since it means I don't have to buy several different types of lettuce and then wash, trim, and chop it. I used to get the organic spring mix, but somewhere along the line they started putting in lots of arugula. I hate arugula. Really, really hate it. I hate it so much that I would painstakingly pick it out of my salad mix piece by piece as I put it into my bowl. One day, by chance, I discovered that the half spring mix half spinach salad mix has very little arugula in it, so I have been getting that ever since. As for toppings, I buy most of them from Trader Joe's. Some of my favorites are their organic tomatillo and roasted yellow chili salsa, roasted beets, crumbled goat cheese, and slivered almonds.
Here are some salad combinations I'm loving right now.
- 50/50 salad mix
- cooked black beans, cooled slightly
- queso fresco
- crumbled tortilla chips
- grilled steak or chicken, thinly sliced
- sour cream and salsa to dress
Note: This is a great way to use up leftover meat. You can heat it up or just leave it cold as long as you slice it extra thin.
- 50/50 salad mix
- diced apple
- chopped walnuts
- small handful raisins
- crumbled goat cheese
Note: For a sweeter variation, use pecans and cranberries in place of the walnuts and raisins.
- 50/50 salad mix
- roasted beets, skinned and diced
- crumbled goat cheese
- slivered almonds
- raisins
- tahini-based dressing (such as Trader Joe's goddess dressing)