When it’s warm outside, I usually don’t like to eat hearty foods, or really hot dishes.  This is a very easy, thrown together salad that I eat for lunch each day.  (My Big Salad.)   I rough chop ¼ green pepper,  ¼ red pepper, ½ tomato, ½ small head of ice burg lettuce, ½ of an avocado, ¼ cucumber, some red onion finely chopped, and some black pepper.  If I’m feeling up to it, I may add two Chik Patties from the MorningStar Farms line of veggie foods, or actual cooked chicken.  I also add any dressing I feel like each day.  The mixture will taste great regardless.  It may seem like a lot to cut up, so feel free to cut a lot up at once and bag the mixture into smaller bags and keep in the fridge to eat through the week.

The one thing I don’t actively add is any kind of cheese to the salad.  I know it’s tempting to pile on the cheese because cheese is amazing, but that can add an unreasonably amount of calories very quickly, and just about counter act any health benefit eating a salad does for your body.  If I want a cheese taste, I’ll opt for a dressing with cheese in it.  A favorite of mine is the feta dressing from Trader Joes, or a creamy Caesar dressing in full regular fat variety.  I don’t bother with low calorie dressing.  It usually tastes horrible.  I’m not interested in suffering.

Feel free to add any of your favorites to your own mixtures: whether it’s fruit, seeds, olives, carrots – whatever, make it delicious, and make it yours.