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How to make fantastic salads

Bored with your usual salad repertoire? Try these reader suggestions for interesting—and delicious—salad toppings

By Kat Tancock

Make salads a treat - How to make fantastic salads

Web exclusive: June 2009

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Make salads a treat

Forget the cliche of boring salads covered in too-heavy dressing. Salad should be light, refreshing, and full of flavour—something you look forward to, not something you eat out of a sense of duty.

For tips on making salads sensational, we went to the source—readers like you. Here are some salad ideas submitted to Best Health via Twitter and Facebook. Got a tasty idea of your own? Tell us in the comments and we'll add a slide for you, too.

6 Comments

Another great salad idea starts with a dressing made of 2 parts olive oil, 1 part rice wine vinegar, garlic, mustard to taste over romaine lettuce, with pecans, blue cheese and anjou pears and dried cranberries, yumola!

Submitted by kathryn on Sat, 2010-01-09 5:56pm.

Laura, I just used your dressing idea and it's amazing - why would I ever go to the trouble of making or buying dressing again?

Submitted by Kat Tancock, web editor on Sat, 2009-06-27 5:52pm.

a Doctor friend gave me this dressing idea. Mix the greens, nuts and fruit you like into a bowl. Pour one heaping tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil all over the salad. Then a heaping tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. And now, a heaping tablespoon of Canadian Maple Syrup. YUM and very healthy!

Submitted by Laura on Tue, 2009-06-16 12:30pm.

Yum! I bought a couple of baskets of local strawberries yesterday and put some in a salad, they add so much flavour! And the vitamin C helps you absorb any iron in the salad greens.

Submitted by Kat Tancock, web editor on Mon, 2009-06-15 2:01pm.

A friend of mine came up with a salad that is full of yummy falvor and a variety of ingredients. The recipe is below: -mesculin mix -chopped strawberries -chopped candied pecans -gorgonzola cheese -craisins -avocado For the dressing: Spoonful of grainy mustard One diced shallot One clove of garlic Olive oil & apple cider vinegar (approx 3 parts oil to one part vinegar) Salt & pepper to taste Make it a few hours in advance so that the shallots soak into the oil

Submitted by Natasha Penzo on Mon, 2009-06-15 12:10pm.

Herbs can change a salad in an instant. Used singly or in combination, herbs add variety to familiar ingredients. Add some dill or lots of fresh parsley. My favourite is a combination of Sage, Basil and Parsley. I grow pots of herbs on my balcony so have a variety handy. Use a pair of food-dedicated scissors to "chop" the herbs right into the salad.

Submitted by Paulette on Thu, 2009-06-11 9:57am.

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