If there’s one thing that has always been a staple in my diet, it would have to be salad. Both of my parents have always been big fans of salad, so they’d turn almost anything into a salad, making ones with different flavors: taco, caeser, cobb, southwestern, always topping them with things like chicken, cucumbers, peppers and different dressings. Salads are more of a meal than a starter in my house, always fresh and filling, topped with something new every time. My mom got me hooked on these shelled sunflower seeds. They add a bit of crunch and nutty flavor.

Sometimes my mom and I would joke that she’s a rabbit – she’s been eating salads for lunch for as long as I can remember, always making it fresh each morning before work and switching things up, rotating toppings and flavors.

Salads are quite good for you. That is, until you dump ranch dressing all over it. Creamy dressings typically have a base of mayonnaise and pack in a ton of extra fat – not the good kind. Oil-based dressings, on the other hand, are full of monounsaturated fats (the good kind), vitamins and antioxidants. It’s also great for face and body scrubs and, of course, cooking. I got inspired to make my own dressings when I received a Misto starter pack of sorts for Christmas. I seriously love this thing! My Misto is easily one of my favorite kitchen utensils. Instead of drizzling or brushing olive oil onto foods, Misto actually sprays olive oil. I don’t buy Pam anymore, spraying all-natural olive oil instead when I coat a pan or bread foods. This starter pack came with a sprayer and a dressing shaker, complete with measurements. I finally came up with my own recipe for this salad.

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

• Lettuce of your choice, I used Romaine
• Sliced Carrots
• Sunflower Seeds
• Cheese of your choice, cubed. I used the best, Cheddar from Tillamook back home!
• Anything you’d like!

For the Dressing:

• 2oz Olive Oil
• 3oz Vinegar
• Garlic, freshly diced or powdered
• Onion, freshly diced or powdered
• Basil flakes
• Oregano flakes

Instructions:

Prepare the salad dressing by simply pouring the ingredients into a dressing shaker or bottle with the cap on tight, and then shake very well.

Start off the salad by washing your lettuce, and then chop it into thin strips.

Place this lettuce into a bowl. Finish chopping anything else, like carrots, broccoli, cucumber or maybe a hard-boiled egg, and drop it in layers or sections over the lettuce.

Add anything else you’d like and finally top with the yummy dressing of your choice! Note: if you make this and pack it to go, bring your dressing along in a separate container. Pouring it on hours before you eat will result in soggy lettuce!

Look at all of that crunchy, cheesy goodness. Dig in!

As always, let me know what you think by leaving a reply. 🙂