Salads are part of most of our family meal plans. Here I share some tips and fun & unexpected toppings to keep them exciting.

Toppings.

Use a veggie peeler to create carrot ribbons - beautiful and pleasant texture.
Splash seasonal summer veggies like zucchini and yellow squash in vinegar to add as a salad topping and create fun textures.
Throw some berries on there, even for savory salads. Good antioxidant boost and most can stand up to savory flavors.
“Cheat” with easy add-ins like frozen peas and edamame. They’re wonderful textual elements.
To keep salads exciting, splurge every once and a while. Buy a fancy cheese, protein, or top-dollar salad dressing from the refrigerated section, or pick some dressing up from your favorite restaurant.
Sprinkle with steak seasoning, everything bagel seasoning, or a seasoning with a coarse texture to add a fun textural element.
Keep some cooked bacon in the freezer. Even one sliver of savory bacon sprinkled on your salad can bring everything together and make it feel indulgent.

Tips.

2 best methods for preparing lettuce, both methods keep 5 days or so (depending on the freshness of the produce to begin with). :
Wash and put through a salad spinner. Seal in a plastic bag or storage container.
Wash, place flat on kitchen towel or paper towels, roll up and place in plastic bag.
Season tomatoes with salt on your cutting board before placing in salad. The salt releases water and prevents excessive wetness and watering down of your salad dressing.
Always dress in batches. That way, if you don’t eat it all, you can still have leftovers. If you’ve dressed too much, the salt in your dressing will break down the lettuce making it inedible the next day.

AND always schedule time to meal prep so you actually make these yummy salads to nourish yourself during the week!