This was my reaction to the OP, too!
Back before Drew Carey had his own show, he was on another short-lived sitcom that I don’t remember anything else about except that one time he had the throwaway line:
“Hey, you know what’s good on steak? Steak sauce.”
In this spirit, I would say, “You know what’s good on salad? Salad dressing!”
The chow hall here has red kidney beans on the salad bar. It sounds odd, but they go really well with a salad.
A strip or two of honest-to-Og bacon, fried and chopped finely, tastes so much better than Bac-O-Bits.
With fresh herbs and vegetables, you have a lot of flavors to play with. I for one see no reason not to try, say, jalapenos on a salad. Why leave spiciness to the grease-laden burritos and nachos? As a bonus, fresh herbs are really simple to grow. If you have a window sill and some flower pots, you’re in business.
As long as you’re trying to eat healthier, why not try your hand at a fruit salad for dessert? Just grab some of your favorite fruits, chop 'em up (even the grapes, it’s important to let the juices flow), toss 'em in a bowl, add some sweet-friendly herbs and spices like mint and/or cinnamon, shake to toss, and let the whole shebang chill in the refrigerator as you’re eating dinner. It’ll be ready by the time you’re done. It’s hard to mix fruit flavors in a genuinely unpleasant way, and a little common sense will keep you from screwing it up.
Welp, them’s my thoughts on the subject.
What everyone else has said, re: variety of lettuce, fresh vegetables and so on. Also, in case no one mentioned it, (or I missed it) when you’re making the salad? Tear, rather than cut your lettuce, it won’t get the brown and wilty edges that way.
Yay you!!! Good luck.
I’m not going to try to compete with all the previous recipes, but I will reiterate that good greens are essential.
In Ohio, mesculin mix can be four to five times as expensive as any other greens so I rarely buy it. However, I will buy one head each of romaine, green (or red) leaf, escarole, endive, and kale along with spinach and take just a few of leaves from each to bulk up the salad with a mixture of tastes and textures. (Go a bit light on the escarole, at first.) I will also throw in dandelions from the yard and some mint from our abandoned herb garden (18 years and the mint keeps coming back, so I eat it). I also don’t stop at the leaf of the greens; the whitish stalk at the base is both crunchy and (usually) peppery. Similarly, celery leaves are slightly bitter, but add a bit of pungency to a mixture of greens.
With that as a base, all the slices of celery, radish, carrot, bell pepper, onion, etc. make a flavorful dish, often even without dressing.
The bagged salads from Dole, Fresh Express, Farmer’s Garden, etc. can be OK when you’re in a hurry, but $2.00 for 10 or 12 ounces makes them expensive, as well.
Okay, made the most kickass tasty salad yet (still gotta try a couple of the others).
Real simple:
Cut tomatoes
Sliced Spring Onions
Sliced Cucumbers
Feta cheese (I prefer soft goat cheese though)
Some sort of herb mix (can’t identify - mothers touch)
Newman’s Own Caesar Dressing
Roast potatoes
Some roast chicken with added spices
Whoever said you can base an entire meal around a salad was kickass right.