Giving Mom a Much Needed Break

With salad season on its way, you might be thinking of ways to enjoy the best produce of the season in a new and tasty way. The truth is, there are some tricks to making a great salad, and these simple strategies are some techniques used by restaurants to transform simple salads into a delicious meal. Below are six ways to enhance your simple salad:

1. Spice up your greens.

Lettuce is nice, but why not give it a little jolt of flavor? Add fresh herbs to your usual salad greens for a tasty note that will leave guests wondering how you made a salad taste so good. Add fresh leaves of parsley, chives, and mint to give lettuce a lift.

2. Toast your own croutons.

Big, crunchy croutons are something that many people enjoy and may even pick out of a salad to eat. Toast your own for pennies, using stale bread tossed in olive oil and spices. Toast bread cubes in a hot oven until they are dry and crunchy, and store them in an air-tight container for up to a week.

3. Dress and toss the entire salad first.

Pouring salad dressing on at the table can result in some leaves getting too much dressing while others get too little. Take the time to add dressing and toss the salad prior to serving or putting in your dish to eat, so that the dressing is uniformly distributed throughout the greens. Add the dressing to the bottom of your salad without tossing to keep it crisp when traveling or taking lunch to work, and toss before eating.

4. Add a little protein.

If veggies simply don't seem to fill you up quite enough, add some more protein to your salad. Think a little bit outside the usual chicken or cheese, and try hard-boiled eggs, canned shrimp, or even cubes of tofu for extra protein that will satisfy a hungry appetite.

5. Don't forget the seasoning.

One issue that some people may find is that their salad is bland and tasteless; this may be due to a lack of seasoning. Simply adding salt and pepper to your salads before serving can make a big difference. Don't add salt to salads that will be eaten later, as the salt can cause veggies to wilt when stored.

6. Add at least one unique ingredient.

Make a simple salad your own unique dish with at least one unexpected component. This might be some crunchy sunflower seeds, luscious lobster, or fresh berries to add a touch of sweetness.

Summer is an excellent time to find the freshest and most flavorful produce widely available, and a great opportunity to eat more vegetables. Try these six suggestions to take your salad from simple to scrumptious, and feel like you are dining out in the comfort of your own kitchen! If you do want to dine out locally, consider visiting Stardust Restaurant.