Using this quick and easy summer salad recipe you will always have a terrific salad for any meal. Using fresh and flavorful summer produce, this salad comes together in minutes and can be different every time you make it by simply varying the produce, flavor boosters, and dressing you choose. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want.

This is a perfect summer salad for parties, picnics, barbecues, and just a great salad to have on hand for every day of the week.

You will need the following:

Salad Greens:

5 to 6 cups of assorted salad greens (washed and spun dry)
(try spinach, arugula, frisée, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, bibb lettuce, iceberg lettuce, etc)

Vegetables:

2 cups fresh vegetables of your own choosing

Here are a few summer vegetable combinations to try:

– Tomatoes (diced), mushrooms (thinly sliced), corn kernels, cucumbers (diced) or

– Fennel (thinly sliced), celery (thinly sliced), carrots (shredded), zucchini (thinly sliced half-moons) or

– Cabbage (shredded), red bell peppers (diced), jicama (diced) or

– Cucumbers (sliced half-moons), red onion (thinly sliced), tomatoes (use cherry tomatoes and cut in half) or

– Steamed lima beans, mushrooms (sliced), yellow summer squash (sliced)

Flavor Boosters:

Add as much or as little as you like

Here are some flavor boosters to try:

nuts and seeds (walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower kernels, etc), pitted and chopped olives, blueberries, dried cranberries, raisins, low-fat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, seasoned croutons, capers, lemon or lime zest

Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup (or to desired moistness) of your favorite dressing
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1. Combine the greens, vegetables and flavor boosters in a bowl.

2. Add dressing and toss well to combine, adjusting dressing as needed.

To change up this recipe, simply vary your greens, vegetables, flavor boosters, and dressing. You can also make this summer salad recipe more of a meal by adding some cooked and cut up chicken, leftover steak, ham, shrimp, or whatever you may have on hand. You could also add some cooked pasta, or chopped hard boiled eggs and for vegetarians, add some cubed flavored tofu, tempeh, or canned (rinsed and drained) beans of choice.