Today when I was eating my lunch salad, I started thinking about why I hate eating restaurant salads. I am usually disappointed in my salad when I order it. Say I go out for lunch with one of my friends and we both want to eat healthy foods, so we look over the salad menu. I scour it to find a salad that has the widest variety of vegetables in it. If I am lucky I find a salad that has a few asparagus tips, a sprinkling of red pepper slices or a nicoise salad with some nice green beans. Most of the time I find salads with lettuce, tortilla strips, grated cheese and sour cream. Not too healthy!!

So how can I eat a healthy restaurant salad? Well, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I prefer to make my own at home and eat something else from the restaurant menu.

Here’s what I like to put in my salad. I like to include as many colors as possible, not only for a variety nutrients and anti-oxidants, but it’s fun to look at and pleases the artistic eye!

I eat all of the below organic if possible, but some ingredients really need to be organic (in parenthesis).

•     Dark green lettuce like romaine or leafy green

•     Radicchio

•     Sliced carrots

•     Red peppers (organic please)

•     Celery (organic also)

•     Cucumbers (in summer) too cooling for wintertime

•     Avocado

•     Sunflower seeds

•     Leftover lightly steamed veggies from the night before like, green beans, broccoli, asparagus

•     Beans like, garbanzo, black beans or Kidney beans

When I had my vegetable garden I grew mustard and dandilion greens which are great in a salad!
Of course there are many more options for a great, colorful, healthy and tasty salad. Variety is good!

You can be assured of getting great nutrition from this and great flavor, but make sure you eat slowly !!

Raw food requires you to slow down, chew and enjoy.

I’d love to hear your salad experiences and preferences. Post your comments below.