Hi friends! It’s been a week over here. I got home from Tennessee late Sunday night and Finn came down with a sudden fever on Monday afternoon (went from 100% normal to down for the count in a matter of two hours).

We’ve had two trips to the pediatrician this week due to fever and vomiting for visit one and an icky cough and dehydration for visit two. The good news is that it appears to be a viral respiratory infection and definitely not COVID or strep. The bad news is that it’s taking a while for his little body to kick this thing.

My week has looked like not a lot of work or much of anything productive and a whole lot of Disney+, snuggles and being slept on top of. <3

I was hoping to get down to Florida to visit my family for Labor Day weekend but we are going to stay put and delay our trip a couple of weeks to make sure we don’t spread/bring germs. I am also still playing the waiting game to see if I’m going to come down with any version of this.

LET’S TALK SALADS NOW 

Switching gears to food here…I was editing food photos for a recent eats post and noticed that there was an abundance of salads so I thought I would salad-theme this part of my eats to give you new combo ideas. I think I’ve been eating so many salads lately because it’s been SO hot and it’s an appealing lunch choice in the heat of the day.

You’ll see that my salad combos are different but also rather repetitive. I always keep these kinds of things on hand and mix and match them.

• GREENS: Various greens mixes (mixed greens, spinach, arugula, baby romaine, etc). I pick one for the week.
• PANTRY TOPPINGS: Canned items like artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and chickpeas.
• PROTEIN: Canned seafood, deli turkey, cooked chicken, smoked salmon, etc.
• FRIDGE TOPPINGS: avocados, tomatoes (although I actually never refrigerate my tomatoes!), fruit like blueberries and strawberries, veggies like cucumbers and carrots, etc.
• NUTS/SEEDS/DRIED FRUIT/ETC: pistachios, pepitas, pecans, cashews, dried cranberries, hemp hearts, sunflower seeds, etc
• GRAIN-ISH: quinoa, brown rice, couscous, grain blends, lentils, etc
• CHEESE: feta, goat cheese, cottage cheese, shredded cheeses, etc

I typically kind of go with a theme for the week so I might steam some quinoa and lentils and use that in my salads or open a can of chickpeas and use them in my combos. It also makes the prep faster through the week because I know what I have cooked/available in the fridge. I promise you that nothing you see below took longer than 5-10 minutes to prepare!

8 SALAD COMBO IDEAS

Mixed greens, hearts of palm, tomatoes, smoked salmon, feta, dried cranberries and pistachios. Sea salt, balsamic and olive oil to finish. I didn’t have any ripe avocados on this day and salads without avocado feel so incomplete to me!

Spinach and arugula blend tossed in lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt, hearts of palm, tomatoes, feta, pepitas, avocado and dried cranberries. A lot of times I am not in the mood for any kind of meat protein at lunch.

Mixed greens, chickpeas, artichoke hearts, blueberries, pepitas, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers,  feta, dried cranberries and hemp hearts with avocado oil, balsamic and sea salt.

Out to eat lunch salad while I was in Tennessee of spinach, green apples, grilled chicken, dried cranberries, candied pecans, goat cheese and poppyseed dressing.

Kale caesar chopped salad from Whole Foods with tomatoes, avocado and hearts of palm added.

Packed this salad for a lunch in Tennessee. Mixed greens, a barley, peas and lentils mix from Whole Foods, avocado, smoked salmon, chickpeas, dried cranberries, tomatoes, pepitas and feta with avocado oil and a small drizzle of balsamic. Smoked salmon makes for a delicious and different salad topper!

Chopped mixed greens, quinoa, avocado, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, feta, dried cranberries, pistachios, artichoke hearts, blueberries, olive oil, balsamic and sea salt.

Mixed greens, artichoke hearts, avocado, cherry tomatoes, Whole Foods barley, peas and lentils mix, dried cranberries, balsamic, avocado oil and sea salt.

Hope you guys found this helpful! I will say that I am feeling ready to bid these salads farewell and make my first pot of soup soon. Fall is on the horizon! 🙂

QUESTIONS

Do you like more sweet or savory toppings/dressings on your salads? 

What salad toppers have you been enjoying lately? 

Is there a salad ingredient that you just have to have? Like how I am with avocado…

What are your Labor Day weekend plans?