Happy Monday and I am officially in my 3rd trimester! Bring on these next 12 weeks of pregnancy! I made my pre baby to do list and yikes, it’s exhausting just looking at it. But, all the hard work and planning will pay off once baby girl is finally here with us. Stay tuned on the blog for my 2nd trimester recap in the next week or two.
I don’t know what it is, but I don’t feel like summer has officially started yet. Maybe it’s because we didn’t have much of a spring, that I don’t have any fun Spartan races planned or that we’ve been very baby focused lately. So I decided to start making it feel like summer is here by stepping up my salad game. Did you know we subconsciously change the way we eat as the seasons change and our bodies will crave in season produce depending on the time of year? If you’ve been craving more fresh salads, vegetables and berries there is a reason for it. Those are the types of cravings to give into so if you are like me and want all the fresh foods lately, dig in!
Ever since warm weather has hit I have been all about loaded salads. I only like salads if they are packed with additional vegetables like grape tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, steamed or raw green beans, and I love adding fruit, healthy fats and of course a protein. If you follow me on Instagram you will get a glimpse of my often times daily loaded salads. If you need some salad inspiration, follow me here.
Now that there are so many other fruits and vegetables in season, I like to prep some of these salads to keep in the fridge for snacks and sides to meals. These salads are also great options to bring to any cookout!
- Berry and Mango Fruit Salad
- Raw Beet & Apple Salad
- Medley Tomato Salad
- Asparagus & Fingerling Potato Salad
- Summer Watermelon Fruit Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Bacon Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad with a Lime Dressing
Salads can be boring and completely unsatisfying. Who wants to eat iceberg lettuce with one tomato wedge, red onion and radish? No thanks! Get creative with your salads and start adding your favorite vegetables, fruits and healthy fats to them. Once you do, you will never look at a restaurant side salad the same ever again.
This Medley Pepper Salad with Cucumber and Tomato Salad takes minutes to throw together and would be a great meal prep dish or cookout dish to pass. You could also switch it up with other raw vegetables of your choosing. Don’t be a person who makes boring salads. Be the person who makes epic salads!
- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- Juice of two limes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup cilinatro
- salt and pepper to taste
- Add all the chopped veggies to a large bowl. Add the lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, cilantro and salt and pepper. Mix with a large spoon until fully combined. Serve immediately or place in fridge to chill.
- Enjoy!