My Favorite Summer Salad Recipes

Eating enough vegetables is a constant challenge for me.  One thing that has helped me recently is making some easy summer salads using fresh fruits and a great lemon zest dressing.  These salads are perfect sides for lunch or dinner.

Lemon Zest Dressing – this is a fantastic light dressing that is great for both of these (or any) summer salad.  Here’s what you’ll need for about 4-6 servings:

1 lemon
2 tbsp (30 mL) white wine vinegar
1/3 cup (75 mL) Stevia in the Raw
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) poppy seeds

I mix all of these ingredients into my Measure, Mix, and Pour container.  If you want to have enough dressing to last a while, just double or triple the ingredients.  Zest the lemon, and then squeeze the juice into the container (I like to use a press to keep the seeds out and to save time).

Strawberry Spinach Salad:

1/2 medium cucumber
1/4 small red onion
1 bag (6 oz/175 g) fresh baby spinach leaves (about 4 cups/1 L)
8 oz (250 g) fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4 cup (50 mL) sliced almonds, toasted

Core the cucumbers and use a simple slicer to slice the cucumbers and onion.  Place it all in a bowl and toss!  This is a delicious salad, and great for dinner.  I recommend buying a large container of pre-washed spinach, because you’re going to be using a lot of it, see the next salad.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

1 bag (6 oz/175 g) fresh baby spinach leaves (about 4 cups/1 L)
1/4 seedless watermelon
2 oz. low fat feta cheese

Place the spinach into a bowl, and use a melon baller to cut up the watermelon and place over the spinach.  Sprinkle the feta over top.  This is a refreshing salad for lunch.