Wellness Weekly

By Sandy Considine

Who doesn’t like salad? I could personally eat salad every day. If you fall into the same old routine of salad making it becomes “no salad today”. You know! the same lettuce and tomatoes with ranch or Italian. It becomes boring. Take your salads to a new level and a new taste and you will crave a salad; salad will become the whole meal at times.

I don’t know about you, but I often turn to lighter, simpler meals when the weather heats up. When the produce is inexpensive or I’m going to the garden for produce and at its peak flavor throughout the summer… you will find a fresh salad on our dinner table each evening.

In addition to amazing taste and being easy to make, all salads have an impressive nutritional value!
I think everyone wants meals that can be pulled together in minutes so we can get back to enjoying life!

So, turn bland into amazing and creative and enjoy your salads.

Shrimp Avocado Tomato Salad
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsps. olive or avocado oil, divided (I use avocado oil for cooking and olive oil as the drizzle/dressing)
1-2 fresh garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 large avocados, diced
8 oz. mixed cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 green chili, seeded & sliced
a good handful of fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 large fresh lemon, both juice and zest of
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add shrimp, and minced garlic, then cook for 3-4 minutes, or just until shrimp turns pink and is no longer translucent.

Season shrimp with sea salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat.
In a large bowl add cooked shrimp, chopped tomatoes, diced avocado, sliced chili, and chopped cilantro leaves.
Drizzle with remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil and squeeze in your fresh lemon juice, add zest, then very gently toss to combine everything together.

Italian Style Tomato Avocado Chopped Salad!
Ingredients
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 large English cucumber, halved and sliced
1 medium red onion, diced
8 ounces small, fresh mozzarella cheese balls

Dressing:
1/4 cup basil pesto
2 Tbsps. lemon juice
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
Make your dressing in a small bowl, by whisking pesto sauce and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Season to your taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
In a large bowl, arrange all salad ingredients nicely, as shown.

Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad, and toss all your ingredients very gently to combine well.
This really is best eaten right away, but it stays good

Tomato and Artichoke Salad
24 oz ripe cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 jar (around 14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 Tbsps. capers, drained and chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs of choice (parsley, basil and/or cilantro)
sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 fresh lemon, juice and zest
2 Tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
freshly shredded parmesan cheese, to taste

Instructions
In a large serving bowl, add the tomatoes, artichokes, capers, herbs, and green onions.
Season generously with sea salt and pepper. Add lemon juice, zest, and extra virgin olive oil.
Toss gently to combine, then serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Green Goddess Shrimp Salad
Dressing:
1 large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or unsweetened coconut yogurt
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 fresh green onion, chopped
2 Tbsps freshly chopped cilantro or any fresh herbs of choice
1-2 anchovy filets in olive oil

Salad:
2 small heads of romaine lettuce, chopped
2 crisp garden cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
16 oz. peeled and deveined cooked shrimp

Instructions
In a small food processor or high-speed blender, place all the ingredients for the dressing.
Blend until smooth.

If you want a thinner dressing, you can add a few additional teaspoons of vinegar or water.
Taste test and add a touch of sea salt or freshly ground black pepper if desired.

In a large serving bowl, add lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, fennel, and cooked shrimp.

Drizzle your salad with the creamy green Goddess dressing and toss to combine.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Please feel free to email on what you what to know about for a future article at
sandra.considine@yahoo.com