Green salads are lovely, but just plain lettuce isn’t much fun — and, also, lettuce alone doesn’t really fill you up. So take a look in your fridge and see what you can chop up to make your salad prettier and tastier.

Cut the ingredients up and serve them side by side; don’t mix them up until you are ready to sit down and eat, and they are less likely to get soggy. Giving each ingredient its own container is also a great way to pack your lunch.

This week’s recipe is a perfect medley of vegetables (and avocado) to stir into your lettuce greens. Or go crazy and spoon it over a slice of buffalo mozzarella.
It’s so colorful, it’s like a party for your taste buds!

If you missed my blog on how colorful foods nourish your body, check it out here.

Recipe: Colorful Salad Sides

Small heirloom tomatoes (or any other kind of tomato, diced or crudely chopped

Orange champagne vinegar (or any other kind of vinegar)

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh basil leaves

Corn sliced off the cob

Chopped avocado

Salt

Directions:

Splash the tomatoes with the vinegar and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt over the mixture and stir in the fresh basil leaves. Salad side no. 1, done.

Slice the corn off a leftover ear of grilled corn (from last night’s dinner). If you have other leftover vegetables (hello, asparagus, broccoli or brussel sprouts), feel free to cut them into bite-sized pieces, too. Salad side no. 2, done.

Roughly chop a ripe avocado. Salad side no. 3, done.

Arrange the sides in a pretty dish and spoon over lettuce greens or mozzarella. You can also tuck them, alone or with lentils or black bean, into a lowfat tortilla or piece of pita bread.

You can also eat the sides all by themselves. You’d be surprised how full you can get on a bowl of vegetables drizzled with just a little bit of oil.

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