Salads are practically amazing. They are packed with greens and healthy nutrients that work their magic on your body. Green vegetables are necessary for muscle development, says WebMD, but still, people don’t eat them. It’s a common misconception that salads are boring and don’t have much taste. But they’re as tasty as you make them.
General store-bought vegetables are not as good as homegrown, suggests the CDC. But fresh ingredients add a fresh zing to it. Moreover, nothing tops the quality of homegrown veggies in terms of taste and health benefits. You can grow some vegetables in your garden if you still haven’t done that. All you have to do is get some good quality soil and install good quality garden plumbing or irrigation system, and you’re good to go. The vegetables from your garden will taste heavenly.
Now, let’s check out these two salad recipes that will replenish your body and make you feel light and fresh. These are easy to make, and there’s no cooking required.
The Mexican Salad
Let’s start with the dressing, as it’s the heart of your salad. Without it, you’ll just be eating leaves.
What you need to do:
- Take some extra virgin olive oil ( 2 tablespoons).
- To this, add fresh coriander from your garden. Chop them finely.
- Finely mince 3 cloves of garlic.
- Now, add some dry oregano ( about 2 teaspoons).
- Add some lemon juice. If you can find fresh lime juice, use that as it can take your salad to the next level.
- At this point, you can add some cumin powder if you have it.
- Add some chili flakes. Take only a quarter of a teaspoon as there’s already some heat from the cumin and coriander. So beware of this.
- Add some salt and give the dressing a nice whisk. This allows all the flavors to combine. Like all dressings, the longer it sits, the stronger the flavors get.
- And now, for the star for the show, add some mint to the dressing. This enhances the taste of the dressing and adds freshness to every bite.
You’ll need lettuce ( about 200 grams), tomatoes, corn, avocado, and boiled kidney beans for the salad.
- Begin by cutting the lettuce into bite-size pieces. You can break them into large pieces with your hands too, but that doesn’t work very well in absorbing flavors. Also, they often fall off the spoon, so you cannot take a fulfilling bite.
- Add diced tomatoes. You’ll see how the red pops on the green. It gives a beautiful color.
- Add some corn. You can have it charred if you want; it might take some extra work, but charred corn works very well with absorbing flavor. There won’t be a single bite where you’ll taste the raw corn. Otherwise, whole pieces are fine too.
- Add a cup of boiled kidney beans. They make the salad more filling and cut down the rawness of the leaves.
- Scoop out fresh avocado and add it to the salad. Your avocados don’t have to be mushy ripe, and they should be just soft.
Now, it’s time to mix everything in a bowl. Add the salad dressing as per your liking. Remember that it’s a bit on the tangier side. Always add the dressing in parts, so you don’t have a part of a salad with most of the dressing sticking to it. Add in sections and keep tossing it through.
You can add other veggies like spring onion to the salad as you go.
And, it’s ready.
This salad is tangy, tasty, and minty, which makes it perfect for summer snacks. This is filling so you can have it for a meal. You’ll not feel hungry as quickly.
The simple mint and feta cheese salad
This is the simplest salad on the planet, with almost every ingredient available in your garden. It’s quick to make and super healthy. Plus mint has some great benefits.
You need some greens like lettuce, basil, bok choy, and mint, along with olive oil and balsamic sauce. You can also add others of your choice. Here’s what you need to do:
- Take some fresh lettuce and cut it into bite-size pieces.
- Add some basil.
- Add a few leaves of swiss chard. This accentuates the color of your salad.
- Add some Bok Choy if you have it; otherwise, skip it.
- Add the key ingredient, which is mint. Just take a few leaves, and you’re good to go.
- Add some olive oil and balsamic sauce for flavor. This salad does not contain any dressing, so make sure not to skip this step; otherwise, you’ll just be eating leaves.
- You’ll also need an assortment of some seeds and nuts to make it crunchy.
- Add feta cheese, and that’s it.
- Add some salt.
- Mix all this in a bowl, and your salad is ready.
Both of these salads can be served as side dishes as well. They go very well with meat dishes and add extra taste to each bite. They’re juicy, fresh, and need almost no effort. All the ingredients are mostly available at your home, so you can make them whenever you want.
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