10 Healthy Summer Salads

Need new salad ideas for the season? The healthy summer salads below are easy to make, unique, and packed with freshness.

Today marks the official first day of summer, a.k.a. salad season. One of my missions in life – and specifically here on TNB – is to eradicate the “sad salad” and get people excited about eating vegetables.

I define the “sad salad” as that afterthought side dish you throw together when you realize you need a little color and freshness in your meal, but aren’t feeling very creative. You know the one: half-dead mesclun greens, mealy tomatoes, maybe a bagged crouton or two, and some suspiciously goopy store-bought dressing.

I think we’ve all had the sad salad one too many times – both in restaurants and at home. I mean, if this is the only instance of vegetables people are consistently exposed to, no wonder so few of us can manage to get our 5 daily servings.

Summer is the perfect time to experiment with new salad concepts and ingredient combos; especially if you can get your hands on local produce from a farmers market/farm stand. Whether you’re gearing up for a bbq, picnic, having people over – or just brainstorming new weeknight meals – the healthy summer salads below are easy and packed with fresh flavors (and vegan, of course). I hope they inspire you to try something new!