Fresh lettuce. Start there. Don’t even THINK about bringing home a sack of lettuce that was cleaned and chopped in another state, placed in a neat little plastic bag, stored in a food warehouse, delivered to your grocer, sat on the shelf and brought home to your house several days after it was cut. Imagine finding a salad prepared in your refrigerator that was prepared ten (10) days ago. Yummy? I think not! The processor’s solution is preservatives. Don’t feed this to your family or anyone else you car about.
Note: Prior to 1986, sulfites were commonly added to fresh produce in supermarkets and on restaurant salad bars to prevent browning. Reports of sensitivity reactions, however, led the FDA to ban the use of sulfites on fresh produce, especially lettuce put out on salad bars. As of 2007, the FDA requires all foods containing more than 10 ppm of sulfites to declare sulfites on the label. Foods containing less than 10 ppm of sulfites have not been shown to cause allergic symptoms even in people who are hypersensitive to sulfites.
One reason your Sunday Dinners will begin to taste better is because of your commitment to fresh ingredients. Salads should include all the fresh ingredients that YOU and your family enjoy.
We Like:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Celery
- Radishes
- Black Olives
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Cucumber
- Bell Pepper
And Occasionally:
- Eggs
- Purple Cabbage (Shaved)
- Green Olives
- Cheddar Cheese
- Raw Asparagus Tips
And Never:
- Onions
Experiment. Find out what your family likes and provide for them in abundance! Go the extra mile. Chop your vegetables with a cutter to yeild an interesting pattern, use different colored vegetables such as white asparagus or yellow and orange bell peppers. Enjoy!
Other Resources:
Homemade Italian Salad Dressing – Based on Olive Oil & Lemon
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