I love making salads for lunch that combine a greens component, a protein component, a fruit component, and a nut component. I then drizzle my white sauce all over it. Here’s a picture of today’s salad, containing:
- Greens: lettuce, avocado, celery and cucumber
- Protein: strips of deli pastrami (I like Boar’s Head, sliced thin), and shredded parmesan
- Fruit: In this case, fresh blueberries (because Philip just brought some back from the store), although I tend to prefer red seedless grapes and ripe cantaloupe pieces
- Nuts: Shelled salted pistachios
An example of a four-types-of-ingredients salad.
This is truly a mix-and-match salad, using whatever you have on hand:
- Any combination of greens (lettuce, spinach, sprouts, cucumbers, celery, avocado, etc.)
- Any type of protein that works cold (beef, chicken, turkey, crab, hard-boiled eggs, etc.)
- Any type of nut (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, etc.)
- Any type of cheese, although I love parmesan for salads
- Any type of fruit that will hold up in a salad (apples, pears, mandarin oranges or any type of citrus chopped up, drained pineapple pieces, melon/cantaloupe, etc.)
It’s a great way to use up leftovers and provide a nice, satisfying and filling lunch without going overboard on the calories. The trick is to make everything about the same size – 1/2 to 1 inch or less – easy to pick up on the fork, and to restrain from loading up on any one ingredient (especially those nuts!). Because you get a little bit of everything in each bite, your mouth believes you ate more than you really did. 