The first section of the grocery store I push my cart to is the Produce section. I figure a cart FULL of bright reds, yellows, purples, and greens leaves less room and desire for all the other stuff perched on the shelves. As a budget minded shopper, knowing I’m paying a pretty penny for the fresh produce also deters me from tossing unnecessary items into my cart.
Since becoming a member at Costco and discovering their rain forest of fresh, and often organic, produce, this habit has reached a whole new level. Last weekend, my sister, hubby, and I went grocery shopping and by the time we left fruits and veggies, the cart was half full. #sorrynotsorry
The creativity it took to fit all those colors into my fridge was quite impressive.
As a vegetarian, I eat a lot of salads. To keep from getting boring, I like to add a variety of textures and flavors. Below I’ve listed my favorite mix ins and if you keep scrolling, you’ll find a recipe for a deliciously crunchy salad.
{Salad Success Mix-ins}
- Red, Yellow, or Orange Bell peppers
- Celery
- Black beans
- Chickpeas
- Quinoa
- Slivered almonds or walnuts
- Cranberries
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Mushrooms
- Avocado
- Butternut squash
{Super Salad with Asian Chicken}
[Ingredients]
- 1 1/2 cup mixed greens
- 1 1/2 cup spinach
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 orange pepper
- 1 avocado
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 zucchini
- 1 summer squash
- 2 chicken breasts or 1/2 block tofu
- 1/2 large onion
- 1 clove garlic
- Sweet Red Chili Sauce
[Directions]
- Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Set aside.
- On a separate cutting board, with a clean knife, dice onion and 1/2 of an orange pepper. Dice garlic & set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, spray with PAM then add onion and bell pepper to pan. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, then add chicken.
- Saute until chicken is cooked, reduce heat to low then stir in 2-3 TBSP of sweet red chili sauce.
- While the chicken is cooking, rinse greens, peppers, zucchini/squash, and beans.
- Using a clean cutting board and knife, chop peppers, zucchini, squash, and avocado.
- In a large bowl, layer greens with chopped toppings. Top with chicken & serve with dressing of choice.
Cheers,
Danielle