Nothing screams summer like fresh, colorful salads. They are perfect for picnics or al fresco patio dinners. Best of all, you can prepare them ahead of time, allowing you to spend time chatting, mingling, and connecting with family and friends.
Served hot or cold, salads can either be an accompaniment for other foods or stand alone as the main attraction for lunch or dinner.
Salads can be created from a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Add to that, the fact that they are incredibly inexpensive, and you have a sure winner! It goes to prove that salads can help you shrink both your budget and your waistline.
Buying in-season produce from local farmers allows you to score great food at fantastic prices and support your local economy. When you plan your weekly menus around fresh produce, you will be able to save money on your grocery bills, while putting your health first.
This post is sponsored by Garden Spot Vegetable Farm. Located in Princeville, Illinois, owner, Jim Buckley and his family, cultivate 34 acres of vegetables and 375 fruit trees. Garden Spot is a no-spray farm, offering a variety of CSA packages. Check their Facebook page for current programs and options for available produce.
(Posts on Under the Median contain affiliate links. When you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you.)
Lettuce Salads
Summer Chopped Salad – Mixing darker colored bitter greens with the sweetness of fruit makes for a delightful summer meal.
Here are more ideas
- Red Leaf and Mandarin Salad
- Grilled Vegetable Salad with Raw Green Mole
- Pickled Vegetable Lettuce Cups
- Young Lettuces with Herbed Avocado
Quinoa Salads
Ginger Lemon Quinoa Salad: I created this salad for a ladies luncheon at church and had several requests for the recipe. You can assemble it the day before and just let it sit in your fridge and marinate.
Here are more ideas
- Broccoli Black Bean Fiesta Salad
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- Carrot Raisin Quinoa Salad with Cilantro
- Quinoa Fruit Salad
Vegetable Salads
Farmers Market Ceviche – This recipe is incredibly flexible. I make it often, using whatever fresh veggies I had on hand. Anointed with a simple splash of lemon or lime, it’s perfect for a summer afternoon.
Try these too
- Cucumber Tomato Salad with Lime Dressing – My grandmother taught me to make a salad very much like this one when I was a young girl. I updated it with a little bit of lime in the dressing.
- Summer Vegetable Salad (with arugula!)
- Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Sautéed Peas and Radishes
- 10 Vegetable Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Cabbage Salads
Updated No-Oil Cabbage Slaw – I love cabbage slaw, but I never eat mayo! For one thing, I’m vegan. For another, it is incredibly full of fat and excess calories. Years ago, I figured out that I could still eat my favorite salad and it could be made quickly and be full of fiber, low in fat, and high in nutrition!
Here are more ideas
- Rainbow Vegetable Rice – If you’re cutting back on carbs, this mix of veggies is very versatile and can be used in a number of ways, including as a salad, stir fry, or potato topping.
- Asian Cabbage Salad
- Shredded Green Cabbage with Lemon and Garlic
- Green Falafel Balls and Israeli and Cabbage Salad
Pasta Salads
Greek Pasta Salad – Believe it or not, the pasta in this photo is gluten free. My favorite GF pasta is the red lentil version from Barilla. It stay together and has the satisfying “bite” of a good pasta. Here’s a link to find it on Amazon.
If you are cutting carbs, try making zucchini noodles with a spiralizer. Substitute “zoodles” for spaghetti in any salad recipe. (I looked for years and finally found a spiralizer with 5 blades. Here is a link to one like it.)
Here are more ideas
- Hummus Sesame Noodles
- Cabbage and Pasta
- Avocado & Tomato Chickpea Pasta Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
- Cold Summer Zucchini Noodle Pasta Salad
