If your salad is boring… you’re doing it wrong!

I don’t really like the “you’re doing it wrong” approach to anything. But seriously? Salads? WHY do they have a reputation of being boring - when there are so many ways of mixing together amazing flavours that you love? Let’s rethink the salad together this summer.

You are, once again, the boss.

Forget about what you have been served in a boring restaurant or seen on TV. Salads are for all of us and not just when we’re panicking about weight gain or trying to appear healthy to others. They can be fun, fresh, crunchy, appetising and different every single time.

There are no rules to a salad, in my opinion. Just because they may be labelled as “healthy” food doesn’t have to mean that they need to be rabbit food or devoid of fun. Remember when I talked about flavourites? This is a great time to go back to that post, and to rethink your flavourites. And then put together a dream of a salad.

I love adding a bit of green in my salad as it is so healthy and, if the ingredients are fresh, lovely and crunchy. Spinach, lettuce, kale or cress is wonderful. But the green dominating the plate can feel a bit too “good” with not enough excitement going on.

If you need some inspiration - think “eat the rainbow”! This is not just a feast for the eyes, this is a super helpful phrase when approaching your food. Different colours in fruit, vegetables and berries signify different nutritional values, so mixing them up is great for your body. But it has the added benefit of making your food much more exciting to the eye and tongue, too.

A bit of citrus added, in the way of chunks of orange, blood orange or a few drops of lemon or lime are fantastic to add a summery twist to your salad.

To ground the salad with some other textures, you can add some toasted nuts. I hardly make salad without it anymore. It’s the perfect mix with fresh veggies and greens.

You can also add some “naughty” stuff to your salad. It doesn’t stop it being a salad! I always add some small pieces of cheddar - SO GOOD! And I’ve been known to crumble up a few tortilla chips or leftover taco shells in my salad too, which adds a lovely, crunchy saltiness. Okay, not the healthiest, but it only takes a tiny amount to really make that salad more exciting.

Don’t shy away from sweetness either; strawberries or similar in a salad is surprisingly appropriate.

Don’t put stuff in your salad that you “think should be there”. My approach when I make a salad, is to aim for every piece my fork picks up to be exciting to me. If you’re not really that keen on cucumber, don’t put it in there if you’re not going to be excited to eat it ten minutes later.

YOU are the boss!

Check out an example of a nice summer salad I make in this week’s recipe.

Are you rethinking your salads? What’s a must in your homemade salad? Post on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!