The simplest of salads

Try this sometime (if you haven't already) - go into any all-American restaurant and tell them you're eating a vegan diet today. Ask what they have that you can eat.

There's a 90% chance that the very well-intentioned response will be, "We have salad." With a generous, delighted smile of a server who honestly thinks that's all a vegan could ever possibly want to eat.

I could understand that if I was 98-pounds-soaking-wet. But really - I don't live on salads!

All too often, to add insult to injury, I find that the so-called "salads" on the menu are covered in strips of meat, cheese and egg : (

Well, as I like to joke - Just because I eat a vegan diet, does not mean I'm a bunny!

Like many Midwesterners, I think of a green, leafy salad as a side-dish, not a meal.

And, I seldom want one of those fashionable salads with a sugary sweet dressing, a slick of oil poured across the top, or with fruit syrup flavors. Just a nice, healthy, refreshing accompaniment to my main dish.

So, with that in mind, here's how I've been eating my every day side-salads lately:

Super Simple Salad
A bed of Greens (Sliced Romaine Hearts or Mixed Baby Greens are my favorites)
Diced Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and/or Bell Peppers
Some nice Green, Kalamata, or Oil-cured Olives
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice drizzled over the top
A generous sprinkle of Garlic Salt
Oregano sprinkled over the top

It's a lovely-tasting, every day sort of salad. No sugar, no oil, no fruit, no meat. Just nice, delicious salad : )