Let’s face it, for whatever reason, making a salad seems like a very time-consuming task especially if you are short on time, energy but you are craving something delicious to eat. But eating raw is so important to get the most nutrients out of your food...so how do we accomplish all of these desires?...

The optimum goal is to make something healthy, quick, and delicious so you will look forward to eating it often, effortlessly, and most enjoying the journey along the way. So here are my tips for making your salad your wingmen or woman for your daily intake:

1) GREENS ON THE FLY:  Buy your greens already cut and clean.

Buy your greens already cut and clean…this will make it super easy for you to prep. You can choose from Mixed Greens, Arugula, Kale, Spinach...pick your fav. This is an important choice for not all greens taste the same and this is the Hero of your salad, you will want to bulk up on this for your nutrients in terms of ratio to other ingredients. So choose it well.

2) DRESS IT UP: Buy or make a salad dressing that you love AND that is healthy!

Don't rely on the plain old olive oil and vinegar route (not that there is anything wrong with that, but remember, if you are in need of falling in love with eating salad regularly, we want to create that craving so the dressing can be that key to get you on that path). Here are some of my fav go-to salad dressings:

• Curry Balsamic
• Tahini Apple Ginger
• Lemon Garlic 
• Sesame Ginger (great for an Asian Flair)
• Honey Mustard
• Caesar Dressing  
• Ranch Dressing

3) KEEP INGREDIENTS TO A MINIMUM: Keep your cut up and chopped ingredients down to a minimum (1-3 max)

Having to chop too much is the thing that might hold you back because the time that you might “think” it will take might make you unmotivated so choose wisely. Find those key 3 ingredients that you love….onions, tomatoes, cucumbers…choose whichever you like to embellish with but less is more. One thing to keep in mind is grape tomatoes are good because they already bite sizes so less to chop!

4) GET FRUITY OR GO NUTS: Nuts or dried fruits are a completely effortless step, just open the container and top it with it.

This will add more good fats, nutrients, taste, and overall wellth to your salad. But it is totally up to you! My go to is cranberries, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds. 

5) BUT I WANT MEAT! I get it, and there are a lot of quick on-the-go options!

There are a few ways to add that touch to the salad from products off-the-shelf that are delicious to adding some grilled mushrooms to it. Here are some of my go-to when I’m craving that extra “meat” layer to my salads:

• Grilled Mushrooms
• Chicken Flair: Breaded Chicken Breast, Shredded Chicken, Breaded Chicken Patty (just chopped it up) 
• Make into a Crab Cake Salad
• Seitan it up! Seitan has a nice meaty texture and these guys all you have is take out of the packaging eat it cold or warm it up (I like to do that!)
• Make it into a Chef Salad: Peppered Slices,  Hichory Smoked Slices 
• Tofu it up! Garlic & Herb or Asian Style 

6) CAN WE MAKE IT CHEESY? Well of course! There are some products out there that will do just that!

Sometimes toping it off with cheese is a must to get people started. I have tried many vegan cheeses and the ones that I’m recommending are the ones that I enjoyed. 

• Make it into a Greek Salad Moment with Feta Cubes or Feta Crumbles...I like to toss it in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and basil (or if you have Italian seasoning that works too!) it’s so good
• Parmesan Cheese
• Mozzarella - I like to break it up in small pieces and add sun-dried tomatoes and olives with this 

7) LET'S WRAP IT UP: everything tastes better and is more fun in a wrap!

If you don't feel like a salad is enough..even if this is just a mental game, put your salad in a wrap and add more dressing. Make it nice and gooey so you feel satisfied. I LOVE salad wraps!

Of course, if you have more time on your hands and you can get fancy with your salad creations, go for it! Creative salads are always fun and delicious...but it is better to have your fav, on-the-go, down to 5 min or less in hand to up your raw, regular nutrients intake than nothing.

I hope these tips help you up your green game! Love to hear all about it!