Lettuce is for Rabbits: 7 Non-Leafy Salad Fixin’s

It’s no secret that I don’t like leafy greens. Eating lettuce makes me feel like I’m being punished for something. Unless, of course, it’s mixed with twice it’s weight in caesar dressing and covered in bacon (which, I’m told, defeats the purpose).

After posting this opinion, the twitterverse came to the rescue with some awesome recipes. Between those ideas, and spurred-on by Brie’s #saladchallenge, I’ve started getting a bit more creative with my salad-type-concoctions (check out some of these recipes!).  But the most important thing I learned from this exercise is to keep a wide selection of salad fixings on hand, so I can mix and match depending on whim and availability. Here are a few ideas:

nuts & seeds

Hemp hearts, pine nuts, slivered almonds… lots of options to add a nice bit of crunch, not to mention healthy stuff that I’m too lazy to look up (but I’m sure they’re in there somewhere).

leftovers

Salads can be leftovers, and leftovers can be salads. We grill a lot of vegetables in the summer – so the next day I just chop ‘em up, throw on some cheese and a dressing and presto! It’s a salad! This has started to apply to pretty much any leftovers, vegetable and otherwise. “Its not cold, dear. It’s salad.”

beans

Black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, or a can o’ mixed beans. In a hurry? Rinse, dress, & go. Got more time? Add chopped cucumber, tomato, and…

cheese!

I love cheese. So much that I’ve had to declare a moratorium on the purchase of bocconcini. Feta, soft goat cheese, and parmesan are also favourites around here.

fruit

There’s fruit salad, of course, but there are also opportunities to add fruit to ‘savoury’ salads. Two of my favourites are a black bean and mango salad (from Cath, aka @loraxknits), and one with watermelon, feta, and mint that is sooo refreshing on a hot day. I hope to post both recipes in the not-to-distant future.

grains

How did I ever forget about couscous? I used to eat it weekly. I’m sure there are others that would make good salads – quinoa comes to mind.

other vegetables

Right. Nearly forgot about these. I’m sure there are lots, but all I ever seem to use are cucumber and tomatoes. I’m open to suggestions here (as anywhere .

Any other ideas? What salad fixings do you like to keep on-hand?

Tags: leafless salad, non-leafy salad, salad, vegetables