Tip of the Day: Beat the heat with a summer salad

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Aug 6th 2008 @ 6:00AM

While in the throes of the sticky days of summer, you don't need to heat up your kitchen to make a filling and gourmet meal. It's the perfect time for a healthy and filling salad.

Salads are the perfect and healthy answer to the hot days of summer. They are not only a way to avoid adding extra heat to un-air conditioned spaces, but also a way to make use of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Veggie lovers can go nuts with a number of ingredients from the simple lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, to added sass like chick peas and beans, seeds, and pre-prepared toppings like bruschetta, salsa, or guacamole. With all of the great, perfectly sweet fruit hitting the stands, this is also a great time to add some lemon and kiwi to your tossed salad, or make a fresh raspberry vinagrette.

But if you demand more sustenance with your salad, you could always add fish. Since seafood cooks so quickly, it's a great way to add protein and added flavor to your salad with minimal heat. Quickly fry up some scallops, for example, and place them right on your salad. The pan juices can substitute for salad dressing. Toss some cooked shrimp with mayonnaise for a shrimp salad on its own, or on top of your favorite salad ingredients.

Get added ideas from cookbooks like A Good Day for Salad and Fresh at Home.

Filed Under: Tip of the Day, Ingredients
Tags: fruit, salads, soup, summer, vegetables