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How’s that for a little alliteration to start your week? Did you see what I did there? It’s okay if you missed it. But it shouldn’t stop you from making this salad and eating it on repeat like I’ve been doing for the last month. You can even call it something else if you want to. I won’t get mad.

We’re deep into summer and it is HOT HOT HOT. I swear this year is hotter than any summer we’ve ever had. At least it seems that way in Connecticut. Which means I’m not all about cooking every day and heating up my apartment. Our air conditioners do cool our apartment down quickly, but they are from the 80’s just like everything else in our apartment so they are not energy efficient at all. I can hardly wait to see what our electric bill is for last month. Everyone on Facebook has been crabbing about their electric bills so I like to think I’m prepared for the worst, but if this year has taught us anything it’s that it can ALWAYS get worse.

Wow, that took a spin to Negative Nancyland. My apologies. Let’s turn this right around and talk about how delicious this salad is! I wanted to create an easy recipe that you could whip up in minutes if you’re having a dinner party (not that those are allowed these days) that all of your guests could eat regardless of diet restrictions. Whole30? Check. Vegan? Check. I think that about covers it, but if you’re new to these lifestyles that means this recipe is free from all animal products, sugar, dairy, gluten, and soy. All that and STILL full of flavor! It’s a dinner party win, but I love making this for myself for dinner when I don’t feel like eating anything else and also don’t feel like spending forever in a hot kitchen. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

thehungryhungryhiker

Simple Seven Minute Side Salad

An easy to follow recipe for a side salad that all of your dinner guests will enjoy.
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Prep Time 7 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 clove garlic papery skin removed and cut in half along the length
  • 3-4 handfuls mixed greens of choice
  • ½ cup shredded carrots
  • ½ English cucumber roughly chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil light flavor
  • 1 + ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch fresh ground black pepper

Method
 

  1. Get out a large serving/salad bowl. Rub the cut side of the garlic clove all over the inside of the bowl. Discard garlic clove.
  2. Place the mixed greens and the carrots in the bowl. Use kitchen shears to roughly chop until the salad pieces are at your desired size. Add in the chopped cucumber. Use tongs to mix the salad.
  3. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, sea salt, and black pepper to a small bowl and whisk vigorously with a fork to combine. When combined, pour half of the dressing over the salad greens and toss the salad with the tongs until well coated. Add more dressing and toss salad until coated to your liking. Serve immediately.