How I Build My Salads

I love salads because they are the perfect food for any meal,  except maybe breakfast, are extremely easy to make, and work for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Sometimes people get turned away from salads because it lacks protein or it doesn't taste good. But these problems are relatively easy to solve with good ingredient selection. So here are my tips to build a really good salad.

1. Pick a theme. Ask yourself the question what do I want my salad to taste like? If you are looking for a salad that is more traditional try for something like a Caesar salad or if you are looking to switch things up gear your ingredients towards maybe an Asian salad with sesame seeds and nuts. And then depending on your theme pick a dressing
2. Mix up your greens. If you are anything like me then you get bored of eating the same things over and over again. That is why I recommend mixing and matching up greens. For example, if you are planning out some meals, one day you might use romaine lettuce and the next you might use iceberg lettuce. Better yet double up on the greens, do a combination of lettuce and spinach or two different types of lettuce or throw some arugula in there. The differing textures and tastes of each leafy green not only allows for the taste to not get repetitive but also also allows you to change the way in looks in the bowl.
3. Add some extra veggies. Do not limit yourself to just leafy greens in terms of veggies. Add a burst of color and flavor by throwing in some halved-cherry tomatoes. Add in some olives for some sourness and literally any other vegetable, they all have some combination that makes them taste amazing.
4. Pick a protein. This is what is going to give your salad the needed sustenance to fill you up. For this I definitely recommend picking a protein that does not have much flavor on its own so it can slot into basically any salad. Grilled chicken or chickpeas are great examples of this because they both take on the flavors of their surroundings effectively.
5. Pick something crunchy and hard. This is meant to give your mouth another break from the potential monotony of eating a plain salad. In a more traditionally caesar salad stick with some garlic and butter croutons, and in a more Asian salad pick wonton strips or something along those lines.
6. Finally pick some mix-ins. You want something that will complement the rest of the ingredients without stealing the show. I think for an Asian inspired salad consider adding some toasted sesame seeds or for a Caesar salad consider adding some parmesan shavings.

For this salad here is opted to theme it towards an Asian style. I have a combination of red romaine and iceberg lettuce, there are some wonton strips on top, Asian dressing, and some sesame seeds and cashew nuts hanging out in the bottom.