I feel like salad.

I've been on a salad kick lately. I found these Skinny Girl brand salad dressings at Walmart, and I love them. They are fat free/sugar free, and they are quite tasty.

I feel like a good yummy salad will have a few qualities --

1. A mix of textures

2. A variety of flavors that go well together (for example, fruit, nuts, and cheeses go well together)

and 3. Lots of color!

It's so true that we eat with our eyes first. When I look down at a pretty salad, I am so much more excited to eat it!

I try to have my pantry and fridge packed well with things I know I like in salads -- a variety of fruits (fresh and dried), veggies, proteins, greens, nuts, crunchy foods like chow mein noodles and tortilla chips, cheeses, and dressings.

Here are some salads I've enjoyed.. I hope they inspire you to make a salad for yourself soon. They really are so tasty and satisfying. And I have to say that I always feel great about my day when I know I've had 2-5 servings of fruits/veggies in just one meal!

Spring Mix salad with raspberries, feta cheese, pecans, craisins, and poppy seed dressing:

Spinach, gala apples, pecans, blue cheese, craisins, and balsamic vinaigrette:

Green leaf lettuce, hard boiled egg, black beans, tomato, red onion, cilantro, tortilla chips, and light ranch dressing:

Spinach, blueberries, pecans, mandarin oranges, feta cheese, green onion, and poppy seed dressing:

Spring Mix, roasted butternut squash, tomato, bacon, green onion, blue cheese, and light blue cheese dressing:

Spinach, red onion, orange segments, beets (I just buy canned beets, but you could roast them, too), pecans, goat cheese, and poppy seed dressing:

Broccoli slaw, craisins, mandarin oranges, pecans, chow mein noodles, and poppy seed dressing:

Spring Mix, rotisserie chicken, yellow and red grape tomatoes, nectarines, blue cheese, sugar snap peas, and balsamic vinaigrette:

Spring Mix, carrot (I used my peeler to peel carrot strips), grape tomatoes, red onion, blue cheese, and mixture of light catalina and light blue cheese dressing:

Spring Mix, mandarin oranges, strawberries, pecans, craisins, feta cheese, and poppy seed dressing:

Fat free refried beans warmed in bottom of bowl, green leaf lettuce, green onion, tomato, purple onion, cilantro, tortilla chips, and light ranch dressing:

Green leaf lettuce, mandarin oranges, steak (I marinated it before cooking it), chow mein noodles:

Spring Mix, green apple, red grapes, almonds, dried cantaloupe, blue cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette:

And now my mouth is watering and I want a salad!