The Salad Gallery, Round 2

Around this time last year, I asked the BGG2WL readers whether or not they’d ever pay $36 for a salad. And while many of ’em thought I was crazy for even asking – especially considering how cheap I am – I was left wondering what many actually thought a $36 salad looks like. I then proceeded to post some photos of my own salads, in hopes that I could, in fact, find out.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not convinced that a $36 salad isn’t, in fact, an exercise in elitism. I’m pretty sure that the restaurant that was serving it was offering a tiny salad – no more than a cup or so of food, a trait that is common in restaurants that are high in “style” and low in, well, food – and, unless every single ingredient in the salad was an exotic one, it probably truly wasn’t worth it. For those reasons alone, of course the salad wasn’t worth it.

That being said, there are salads out there that are worth quite a bit: my salads.

My salads kick some serious butt. Why? Because I follow one major principle:

First of all, a meal is supposed to stave off hunger as well as nourish you and keep you lively throughout your day (at least until your next meal.) They’re supposed to be larger than a snack, but not be so large that you leave your table feeling like you just went up a pants size. While my friend with the purple stuff (which was red lettuce), carrots and iceberg lettuce was trying to make a snack turn into a meal… my other friend with the confusion salad was trying to do everything she could to avoid being hungry because she “just ate leaves” for lunch.
Excerpted from Creating A $36 Salad At Home | A Black Girl’s Guide To Weight Loss

And since it’s about that time for me to share my hard work once again, I kinda couldn’t wait to share what I’ve got.

My own personal chicken salad recipe – cashews, celery, onions, and red globe grapes served on romaine lettuce.

Avocado, salsa, fage yogurt, onion, sunflower seeds and green onions and panko bread crumbs on romaine.

Ground turkey, tomato, avocado, onion, fage yogurt, salsa, corn, black beans served on red fire lettuce. Oh, and there’s cilantro in there. Looots of cilantro.

The Greek: Cucumber, red onion, olive, tomato, feta cheese, green peppers, lemon juice, black pepper and oregano on top of spinach.

Strawberries, lentils, onions, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, panko bread crumbs and green leaf lettuce tossed in honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Mango, kiwi, avocado, red pepper, red onion, tarragon, sunflower seeds and cilantro tossed in a lemon juice and black pepper dressing.

As I said before…

If you notice, some of these things I only use occasionally (pumpkin seeds, raspberries, mushrooms, ) while others, I use regularly (olive oil, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, tomatoes.) It’s all about whatever’s available at that time in my house, as well as whatever’s available and cheapest at the market. If radishes are only $0.75 a bushel, please believe there will be plenty radishes had during meal time… salads or not. If black beans are on sale for $1 a pound, I’ll be “making it do what it do.” It’s that simple. The more pricey ingredients – balsamic vinegar, for example – I use sparingly. No, really- I’ve had the same bottle for approximately 7 months sitting in my fridge.

Excerpted from Creating A $36 Salad At Home | A Black Girl’s Guide To Weight Loss

And considering the fact that right now, strawberries, mango, kiwi, lemons, lime, and avocado are super cheap at the farmer’s market right now? It’s gonna be a fruity explosion right now. Gotta love it.

That’s what’s on my salads. What’s on yours?