Garden Salad

Garden Salad – Who doesn’t love a fresh Garden Salad, especially in the summer time? This Garden Salad is the perfect go-to recipe for a quick side salad for dinner, and can even be enjoyed as the main-course of a meal!

Made with fresh greens and phytonutrient-rich, colorful veggies, this Garden Salad can be thrown together with little effort, and just a few minutes! Ready for all the details? Keep reading!

Garden Salad

There’s nothing like a fresh Garden Salad to welcome in the warm weather. Salads in general are an excellent way to pack in extra veggies throughout the day, with very little time and effort! No cooking required.

I love garden salad recipes, because they leave a lot to the imagination! There really aren’t any hard and fast rules to creating the perfect garden salad, except for following your own taste buds! (Want some extra ideas for what to put on your salad? Click here!) And while nearly all of the produce you could want for a garden salad can be found in grocery stores year round, when possible, I encourage you to buy in-season produce from local farmers for the freshest veggies possible (unless, of course, you have your very own garden at home). I promise, it really does make all the difference in flavor! Want a guide on what’s currently in season? Click here!

Want another delicious, in-season salad to make this summer? Try our Recipe for Tomato Salad!

Organic Vs. Conventional Produce

Here at Clean Cuisine, we often mention organic vs. conventional meat and produce. In an ideal world, all produce we buy would be 100% organic. Organic fruits and vegetables are not only richer in vitamins and minerals as compared to conventional produce, they also have more phytonutrients. (Click here to learn more about phytonutrients!) This, alongside the fact that they have way less harmful chemicals and substances. However, we know just how costly this can be, and at times, even difficult to source.

The thing is, there is no all-encompassing rule that choosing organic over conventional produce is much more beneficial than not. That is because the pesticides levels on plants vary greatly, and depend on a variety of factors. Because of this, we often refer to EWG’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen Lists. This helps us calculate what produce we are okay making exceptions on, and which one’s we only consume if organic.

Want to check your foods individually? WhatsOnMyFood.org is a fantastic resource for educating yourself on exactly what can be found on each of your produce items.

Garden Salad Tips

While salads are quite simple, there are still some easy tips that can drastically improve the quality and flavor of your salad.

First off, you should always make sure all of your salad ingredients are super dry before you add the vinaigrette.This ensures you won’t end up with a soggy, wet salad. It also helps the vinaigrette to “stick” to the ingredients without sliding off in a pool of water. This equals more flavor!

Secondly, I always suggest letting your salad sit “dressed” with the vinaigrette at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the flavors to deepen and make for a much more flavorful salad. In addition, 10 minutes is a short enough time that your veggies stay crisp, and delicious.

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Ready to jump into the recipe? Let’s do it!