Summer days signal hot and humid weather and whenever it comes, everyone is trying to find ways to stay cool and comfortable. This also means that mostly, people are consuming light meals that are both cool and refreshing. Salads fit these descriptions perfectly, especially when we’re talking about summer salads. And we’ll talk all about the dish in this article.
Basically, summer salad is just like your average everyday salad but especially made for the hot season. It is made of fruits and vegetables that are refreshing to the senses. Of course, the most important factor to consider is that they should be light but still nutritional in value. And lastly, they should be easily prepared, since moving a lot during summer is definitely not an ideal thing to do, right?
Just the same, what works well in a summer salad is still the age old ingredient lettuce. Lettuce is mostly stored cool and very refreshing to the taste. Even its crisp property gives a little relief to those who eat it. Besides lettuce though, there are many other ingredients you can throw in a summer salad, and let’s check them all piece by piece.
Fortunately, fruits and vegetables are plentiful enough in the summer months. Whether you are in grocery stores, fruit and vegetable stands or even farmer markets, you’re sure to find wonderful sights and smells of these fresh little gems. And with that said, let’s start talking about vegetables.
Just about any vegetable goes well with summer salads but there are especially better ones available out there. Cool favorites would be tomatoes and cucumbers, and when we’re talking about summer tomatoes, we’re talking about various shapes and colors that can also make your salad very lively. Tomatoes are mostly associated with the color red, but yellow and orange ones are plentiful in the summer months. Bite-sized cherry tomatoes to large beefy tomatoes, the variety is just something everyone can be excited about.
Another colorful vegetable that is perfect for any summer salad is pepper. Bell peppers are very tasty and you can get really creative with its variety. All pepper types: green, orange, red, purple and yellow peppers look very pretty in a salad dish and the color makes them much fun to eat too. For a little bit more crunch, try adding in some squash or zucchini into the mix. Now, that’s one yummy treat for the whole family.
When we’re talking about fruit, there’s also an abundance to choose from to put body into your summer salad. Mostly, we’ll have citrus fruits growing very much during summer season, as well as pears, peaches, apples and many kinds of berries too.
Citrus salads are very welcome since they are mostly composed of juices perfect for the humid season. Try mixing some limes, lemons and oranges together for a simple citrus salad. And if the sour taste of citrus is not to your liking, try making a salad composed of grapes, bananas and strawberries. To top the salad off, put in some marshmallows or whipped toppings. Add a cherry on top and voila! You now have a salad that will make even the pickiest eater water his mouth in anticipation.
In summary, there are quite a number of fruit and vegetable choices tossed together to form a great summer salad. Using a bit of imagination, you can make the summer days just as cool and refreshing as the salad you can concoct. Just be sure to not make it too complicated. You won’t want stressing yourself in the summer days, right?
