IRRESISTIBLE SPRING SALADS

Wednesday, March 20th 2013 | Salads

It may not feel like the first day of Spring in Chicago yet I'm switching to lighter, brighter seasonal eating anyhow. My latest venture: heirloom fruit, wild greens and flower petal salads. They're so beautiful, you won't want them to go waste; a great way to make sure you eat your greens. It's a very impressive-looking salad even though they're incredibly simple to make.

To top it off, I make my very own dairy-free, oil-less, sweet and tangy dressing. It's just honey whisked into freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste. It takes about a minute to make and the lemon juice supports internal cleansing and will also keep your fruit from turning brown and your greens fresh.

Recipe for Irresistible Spring Salads

• Your Choice of Fruit: Grab whats in season. You can use Heirloom Apples, Sliced Pear, or Peeled and Segmented Citrus or get creative and use Seedless Grapes, Berries, or even Cut Melon.
• Your Favorite Greens: Here's another opportunity to think outside of the box. There are so many different types of greens outside of spinach and lettuce (which are still good greens to use). But push yourself to try something new. You could use Arugula, Kale, Endive, Sprouts, or Frisée, like I did above. Just be sure to make sure you like it, before you add it. There are too many varieties out there for you to spend your time eating types you don't like.
• Salad Accents: This is where I let myself indulge a little by adding a couple of my favorite delectable goodies to make it more pleasing to the eye and the palate. Because humans are instinctively attracted to bright, lively colors when eating, especially in the Spring, this is where I make sure to put an extra pop of color. This could come in the form of dried fruit like cranberries, cherries, currants, apricots, dates, or, again as I added above, fresh edible flowers. Or, you can get savory and add some spiced nuts, crumbled cheeses, seeds, or herbs.

In these particular salads, I tend to use more fruit than the traditional salad, with the intention of eating more greens later in the day. So, my salad proportions tend to figure out to be 40% Fruit, 40% Greens, 10% Accents, and 10% Dressing. You, of course, can assemble your salad to fit your desired taste or diet. 

As you play around with your salad combinations, you'll begin to stumble upon irresistible pairings that you'll hang on to. I'll be posting my salads, with recipes, throughout Spring, or follow me on Pinterest to see them as they're created.