RECIPE: Healthy Green Salad

This recipe for Healthy Green Salad is one of my favorite recipes for Paleo. I make it every week and store it in the refrigerator. The key to keeping it fresh is to store it WITHOUT salad dressing. That way, the salad leaves do not become wilted and water-logged. In addition, this salad is loaded with vitamins, antioxidants and most of all flavor. It can pep you up in minutes and is easy on your digestive system. I'll eat this salad at any meal and use it for getting my stomach back into balance. In the past, my doctors have recommended that I not eat too many raw veggies after having a bout of stomach attacks but I've noticed that small amounts of this salad each day is one of the few things that brings my system back into balance.
(* I am purposefully showing this salad in the stainless steel bowl that I mention in the post.)






 
Ingredients
(makes about 10 medium bowl servings; Double the ingredients for larger quantities.)
 
Greens: (I choose 2 cups of any 2 types of greens)
2 cups of fresh kale (without stems; torn by hand)
2 cups of organic baby spinach
2 cups of Swiss chard
2 cups of Romaine lettuce (this is more nutritious than iceberg; tear in chunks by hand)

For color and crunch: (I always use red cabbage and then choose up to 2 of the others.)
1/2 cup of fresh red cabbage
1/2 cup of celery
1/2 cup of baby carrots
1/2 cup of chick peas (also called Garbanzo beans)
1/4 cup of chopped raw almonds (I take a hammer to a small ziploc bag of raw almonds!)

For protein: (choose 1)
1 small (palm size) grilled chicken breast cut/torn into strips
1 cup of small cooked shrimp
1 cup imitation crabmeat
 
For flavor (tangy):
3-4 thin slices of red onion (I use these all the time.)
7-8 black pitted olives (or 7-8 dill pickle chips)

For sweetness:
1/2 cup of blueberries (I always use blueberries because these have powerful antioxidants in them.)
1 medium orange (sectioned)
a handful of raisins


Seasonings / Dressings:

Here are my favorite choices:
quick lemon and honey dressing (see my recipe here)
low-fat, low sugar raspberry vinaigrette dressing
organic Greek yogurt

Instructions:
* Note: For my salads, I switched from plastic salad bowls to stainless steel mixing bowls awhile ago. I find that the stainless steel bowls keep the salad fresher in the refrigerator. My salad lasts for up to 5 days. It would last longer but I prefer the ingredients to be as fresh as possible.

1) Wash the salad greens (choose 2 types from the list) in a colander and spin dry with a salad spinner. I use this one by Oxo.
 

My Oxo Salad Spinner

It's $30 and I know you may say Whoa! I've used cheaper ones before but they broke on me. So, I invested in a better quality one. I've had my Oxo for 2 1/2 years with no incidents. Here is a link to it. Place these in your bowl.

2) Cut the red cabbage into the colander and wash it before adding it to the same bowl. Add the other choices here as you desire. (Make sure you wash them.)

3) Add in your protein choice. In this salad, the protein is used like a condiment. So, cut it up and "sprinkle" it in the bowl.

4) Cut the red onion (and olives if you have them) over into the same bowl.*Be sure to wash the excess salt from the olives. If you have done them as part of a weekly prep, then they should be in your fridge already.

5) Add in the sweetness with raisins and blueberries.

6) Toss the salad either with your hands or two large spoons or tongs.

7) Double wrap the salad with Saran wrap. DO NOT put salad dressing on this salad until you are ready to eat it.

How to serve
Serve cold or warm (I like it warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds.)
Add in your salad dressing to taste. (Check out my recipe for Quick and Easy Honey Lemon Salad Dressing.)

That's it!