Auntie Carol’s Secret Salad Equation
Coming off of a long Fourth of July party weekend I am feeling like I shouldn’t be eating anything BUT salads. This past weekend I way overindulged in s’mores, wine, Twizzlers and chips, guac and blueberry buckle. It’s how we celebrate the fourth, like total gluttons, and I love every second of it. #balance
But when you get whiplash from snapping back into reality Monday morning, I am almost ALWAYS reluctant to putting greens back into my system, especially salad.
When I graduated from college and started working full time, I was still figuring out how to make healthy food that I actually loved eating that wasn’t totally basic and awful. At the time I cared more about calories and less about if I would actually enjoy what I was eating. My salads consisted of romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes with a balsamic dressing and a protein. BORINGGG.
It’s no wonder that after a year of eating that for lunch Every. Single. Day. that I had sworn off salads for lunch forever. I brought myself to the point where I hated salads. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can load up a salad with veggies and fruit making it delicious AND healthy. I just simply didn’t know how, but Auntie Carol did and does.
As I mentioned in my blog, “Summer Picnic Essentials”, my Auntie Carol makes THE BEST salads of all time. I kid you not, every time her salad comes out, people flock, everyone gets second helpings and it is one of the few dishes that is completely gone at the end. They are just so freaking good.
A couple of weeks ago when I was writing the other blog I emailed my Auntie Carol asking for her Secret recipe. I told her, THE PEOPLE MUST KNOW!! And then asked her permission to share this equation with you. There is a science behind this all, a method to her madness! She was kind enough to let me share it with you. This may very well change your world entirely, so in advance, ‘you’re welcome’, and THANK YOU to the GOAT of salad making, Auntie Carol.
These guidelines are a direct copy and paste from my Gmail conversation with her.. here we gooooo!!
“Here are the main guidelines for salad dressing.
1). Everything needs to be chopped into small cubes (even lettuce, spinach etc.). No one should have to have to use a knife when eating it.
2). Salad should consist of Half lettuce & Half fruit or vegetables. I usually use green & yellow zucchini (cut into cubes).
3).Cut grape tomatoes evenly into ¼
4). Add something interesting with the vegetables. (figs, green apple, orange, blueberries, avocado, red cabbage, thawed frozen green peas)
5). Add something with texture (chopped nuts, bacon, etc.)
6). Mix it all together.
These are my guidelines to make your own salad dressing:
2/3 cup oil, 1/3 cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Dijon Muster, 1 tablespoon of Honey …. basic mix and then can change it up….
Ways to change it up
Add 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, hummus, or an Avocado to make a creamy dressing
Add 2 tablespoons of citrus, ex. lemon, lime, orange”
I really think this deserves a round of applause. Exact, simple and clear guidelines on how to make a salad that everyone will love.
One really important part that you don’t want to forget is to make your own salad dressing. This truly is a game changer with all salads. It tastes amazing and is WAY healthier for you than almost all store-bought salad dressings. Bottled dressings are full of extra chemicals and sugar. Yes, they add sugar to their salad dressing.
Auntie Carol’s salad dressing recipe can be made in a mason jar where you just shake it up on your own. Or if you want to go next level throw the ingredients into a magic bullet and whip it up. The magic bullet turns it into this creamy goodness that makes your mouth water. It thickens as you mix.
I personally also add salt, pepper, and chopped garlic to my salad dressing because I am Italian and more garlic makes everything better.
So there you have it!! The world’s best salad equation at your fingertips! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think once you try it out!
Until next time, Bon appetite!
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I really appreciate a good salad. Mostly because salads could really suck if you don’t put love and care into it. My best friend Rachel and My Auntie Carol make the BEST salads, and if they make it, everyone’s eating it, even the guys. They were my inspiration for this picnic essential because I have watched as people swarm around the salads that they bring to parties. These are always healthy and delicious leaving you completely satisfied. 
I have always loved kabobs with chicken or shrimp. Partially because it’s a fun thing to say, the pronunciation of ka-BOBs automatically puts a smile on my face, but it’s also fun and easy to eat. When prepping for picnics I try to think about what would be the easiest dish to bring. A dish that’s either totally prepared or would be easy to cook once I get there with the least amount of prep and clean up needed. Kabobs are a great option. All you have to do is defrost the shrimp, and cut up the chicken. Throw it in a bag of olive oil and an Italian seasonings packet or a teriyaki sauce, and mix it all up so it’s entirely covered and coated in the sauce. Stick the shrimp or chicken on the skewer then pack it all up. Grill it once you get there. Easy peasy, and a great way to get the protein in. 
Guacamole and cut up veggies is the best appetizer to have at any party all year long, but especially during the summer. For starter’s, almost everyone I know loves guacamole. At any party, once the guacamole comes out people swarm around it, and you better run over too or it’ll be gone before you get there. It’s a serious concern at every party we have. 
Nothing screams summer more than biting into a juicy ripe watermelon and having the sweet red goodness streaming down the sides of your mouth. Having watermelon at a picnic is the ultimate summer essential. It’s the perfect dessert that leaves you hydrated, full and satisfied. I prefer to have watermelon up cut into chunks, but some prefer the quarter moon cuts. Whatever tickles your fancy, or is easier for you, people will love it either way. It’s the great healthy dessert option for you to have over the plethora of sugar-filled store-bought baked goods that everyone else will be bringing. 
My Uncle Jim had a couple of different people speak at his funeral, but the message was consistent. He loved everyone, always. It did not matter who you were, what walk of life you came from, or whether you had just met on a plane. He made you feel special, loved and like you were the only one in the room. He had an energy that would light up every room he walked into. He loved to make people laugh and was the funniest man I have ever met. He was constantly cracking jokes, but never making fun, again leaving you feeling special and light. Any time I would walk in the room he would start singing, “There she is… Miss America…” He would sing songs loudly, dance regardless of who was watching and dress up as a Teletubby or Austin Powers depending on the occasion. He never held back his own joy and had the type of laugh that would make everyone laugh. He has always reminded you, without actually saying anything, to not take life too seriously. My dad was one of the last to speak and he ended it with saying that he was, “Our leader in happiness” and that he was. He truly was a light in all of our lives. 
were consistent with every person who came over our house to visit. All of us just spent a lot of time sitting around the kitchen counter telling stories of Aunt Donna, just like she would have wanted. My Aunt was fiercely loyal, protective of her kin, unapologetically her unique self, and was always helping others. She would help me study for tests at Sunday dinners and was always there whenever I needed her even if I didn’t ask. She would proudly talk about all of my siblings and our cousins to anyone she would meet, just because she was proud that we were all related. When she was younger she would help the neighborhood kids who were being neglected by bringing them peanut butter sandwiches and bathing them in her parent’s pool. And she continued to do that as she grew up. She never had much, but she would always take the time to stop and help the wounded, hurt or less fortunate. Doing whatever she could to make their lives better, even if that left her with nothing. She did all of this without any care of what others said or thought of her. She was quirky and beat to her own drum. She was unique, interesting and absolutely wonderful in every way.