Yesterday I was really looking forward to my daily salad at lunch when to my dismay I opened the refrigerator and realized that I was all out of lettuce. How could I make a salad without it’s usual base of butter lettuce, romaine or mixed field greens? I was just about to give up and run to the grocery store when I got the hunch to be creative…this led to concocting a delicious carrot salad! Since March was National Nutrition Month, it fits this year’s theme “eat right with color” to make salads that are other colors than green. Here are a few of my own that I have tried, please share if you have any others!

Yesterday’s Carrot Red Pepper Salad
In a mixing bowl toss together shredded carrots, sliced red and yellow bell pepper, jicama pieces, chives, one tablespoon of skim shredded mozzarella cheese and top with one tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Goddess dressing.

Red and Green Christmas Salad
In a mixing bowl combine halved pieces of cherry tomatoes, cold green beans, 1/4 cup garbanzo beans, diced onions and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Sweet Fruit and Vegetable Salad
In a mixing bowl add together sliced pear, nectarines, Fugi apples, sugar snap peas, one ounce of feta cheese and top with Safeway spray raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Tomato Tabouli Salad
Mix together 1/4 cup cooked bulgar, parsley, chopped tomatoes, mint, lemon juice and black pepper to taste.

Roasted Vegetable Salad
Chop up zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, mushrooms and onions. Mix them with 1 teaspoon olive oil, dill, minced garlic and turmeric. Place on baking sheet and cook in oven at four hundred degrees for thirty minutes, then place in serving bowls and serve.

Jessica Hummel, Nutrition Counselor