Throwing Together a Salad...

Instead of worrying about specific recipes, try these general principles to quickly throw together a tasty salad from whatever you have lying around. Make up the bulk of your salad from nutritious, fibrous veggies – leafy greens, peppers, lettuce etc Once you've got a belly full of nutritious food, start making it enjoyable to eat... Flavour – herbs and spices, sauces (watch the sugar content), fruit such as chopped apples and pears, berries such as dried cranberries. Garlic granules are great too. Quick tip – apple sauce tastes great on fruity salads. Chop two apples into small pieces, cover them with water, bring to boil and simmer for 10 – 15 mins until soft. Then purée in a blender.

Texture – nuts, seeds, carrots and peppers add a variety of crunchy textures. Softer foods like cucumber, tomatoes and mushrooms add softer textures.

Quick tip – home made garlic croutons. Take one slice of toast, smear one tablespoon of olive oil on, the sprinkle on garlic granules and chop into small pieces.

Meat – self explanatory, meat can always make a salad tastier!

Dressing – vinaigrette is usually 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Alternatively, one tablespoon of olive oil makes for a great dressing.

If you want to avoid the dressings, try foods like tomatoes and cucumber to make your salad less dry.