Salad, Salad and Another Salad

3 Salads - all very easy!


I feel guilty that I did not get to make a posting on Wed as promised - so to alleviate my guilt I am offering up 3 simple summer salads  :)

Cucumber Salad
Makes 4 servings
1 PPV per serving.
5 simple ingredients come together to make a fresh and healthy salad.  Based on the Indian sauce called Cucumber Raita so it pairs well with hot and spicy foods as well as grilled chicken or fish.  It is a salad - not a sauce - so keep the cucumber cubes at a size that works well for salad.  

2 medium English cucumber (about 6 or 7" long)
3 or 4 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
3 or 4 Tbsp finely chopped chives
1/3 C plain, fat free yogurt, I usually use Greek, but any will do just great
2 Tbsp lime juice, I use it from the plastic bottle

Peel and chop the cucumber into even sized cubes then chop the herbs and mix all the ingredients together.  Taste it and add salt and pepper to your palate.

Sometimes I add a little kick with red pepper flakes, sometimes I change out the mint for dill or cilantro.

Corn Salad
Makes 4 servings
2 PPV per serving.
This is my version of corn salad and it changes every time I make it, but I keep the PPV low by not adding any other ingredients that are starchy or oily.

2 ears of corn, cooked (sometimes I steam them and then char them on the grill to give them a slight roasted flavor).  Sometimes I use canned or frozen corn - in which case you want about 3/4 C for 4 servings.
1 med fresh red pepper (or half a red and half an orange mixed together)
1 large or 2 med fresh tomatoes
2 or 3 Tbsp fresh basil (or cilantro or sage)
2 or 3 Tbsp fresh parsley
2 or 3 Tbsp chopped chives

Dressing is 2 or 3 Tbsp of lime juice or rice wine vinegar and 2 tsp (measured) of the best olive oil I have.  Add salt and a dash of cayenne pepper,  Mix it all together and whisk to combine.

Remove the cooked corn from the cob.  Dice the peppers and tomatoes into even sized cubes.  Finely chop all the herbs.  Mix everything together and add the dressing.  Refrigerate the salad for about an hour to allow the flavors to combine.

Alternate Bean Salad
Makes 4 servings
3 PPV per serving.
Very very simple bean salad with only 4 ingredients.  You'll see that I only use 1/2 a can of each of the canned beans because I like to keep some back to use on tossed leafy salads, but this recipe is so easy you can use all the beans and double the number of servings.  BTW - sometimes I give it an extra kick with a dash or two of hot sauce...

3/4 C green or white wax beans (or mixed) cut into about 1 inch pieces and lightly cooked
1/2 can (7 oz) red kidney beans
1/2 can (7 oz) garbanzo beans
1/4 C medium or hot tomato salsa

Mix everything together and place in the fridge for about an hour to allow the flavors to develop.

Let me know if there are any quick and easy salad recipes you make.  I'll happily run them through the recipe builder on the WW website and repost them on the "Insider Trading" page.