Salads have a bad rep as being a boring diet food, or a simple precursor to the real meal, but a good salad with the right ingredients can be your ticket to getting a load of vitamins and antioxidants in one low-calorie – yet yummy and healthy meal! The trick to keeping salads interesting is to switch up the ingredients each time you have one, so your taste buds don’t get bored. By adding fruits, nuts, dried berries, lean meats, beans and/or cheese to your salad, you can make a delicious, highly nutritious meal that will also help you widdle your waistline.

They key is to be wary of fattening salad dressings and keep the portions in check (i.e. you can have as much lettuce and raw veggies as you wish, but keep the higher-calorie toppings; nuts, cheese and dried fruits to a minimum per serving) One tablespoon of full-fat salad dressing can range from 80 to 160 calories, so be careful to measure how much you use, more than a few tbsp of dressing could add up to 350 calories if you’re not careful! Light dressings are a much better option and usually come in around 40-50 calories a tbsp. I like Annie’s Organics brand which has a variety of yummy low-cal options.

So, who says salads have to be a boring diet food? I think they’re perfect for summer and a great addition to any healthy eating plan! Here are a few recipes that will keep your taste buds happy all summer long:

Feta with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries
2 cups Mixed Greens
3 tbsp Crumbled Feta Cheese (blue cheese can be used too)
1 handful dried cranberries
2 tbsp Walnut pieces
½ apple, diced
Light dressing

Optional: Add grilled chicken or lean beef strips

Asian Chicken Salad
2 cups Mixed Greens
1 cup, grilled chicken strips
1 cup pear, diced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup carrots, sliced
Light Ginger dressing (Annie’s Organics is great!)

Mexican Southwest Salad
2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
½ can black beans, rinsed and well drained
3/4 cup chopped tomato
3/4 cup chopped jicama
3/4 cup corn kernels, uncooked (or frozen or canned)
Half a ripe avocado, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Light lime vinaigrette

Optional: Add grilled chicken (flavor with fajita seasoning for an extra kick), chopped fresh cilantro

Mandarin Orange Salad with Almonds
2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
¼ cup Mandarin Oranges, drained
2 tbsp Almonds (pieces or slivers)
3 tbsp raisins
Light dressing

Optional: Add grilled chicken or lean beef strips

Healthy Greek Salad
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 tbsp crumbled feta
5 kalamata olives, pitted
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper and salt to taste

Optional: Add grilled chicken or grilled lamb

Strawberry-Spinach Chicken Salad
2 cups Baby spinach
1 cup grilled chicken
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 tbsp Almonds (pieces or slivers)
Light dressing
1 cup grilled chicken

Optional: Add a few tbsp of feta cheese

Edamame Salad with Roasted Corn
1/2 bag frozen shelled edamame
1 cup corn, roasted (frozen or canned)
1/4 cup diced red onions
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
1 1/4 tbsp finely grated ginger root
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon

Additional Salad Toppers:
green beans, peas, snap peas
berries (think blueberries and raspberries, pineapple, etc)
hard boiled egg
nuts (pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are great!)
beans (black, kidney, garbanzo, etc)
grains (bulgur, cous cous, kasha, etc)
dried fruits