My Greek Salad

When this is a blog on healthy eating, there is no way I can avoid talking about benefits of including raw foods in your diet, specifically salads.  Salads can be made of any raw/cooked eatable fruit/vegetable/non vegetarian produce. 

The first thing to consider is always the purpose the salad is to serve.  Is it the main course, dessert course or just an accompaniment to other dishes on the table?  The role salad plays in the whole menu essentially decides what kind of salad it is going to be. 

For everyday healthy meals, I find salads the backbone of the eating plan of my family.  I have also noticed that we tend to avoid making salads a part of daily meals when we find the process, or the ingredients too complicated for daily eating. 

I usually make my version of what is really a 'Greek Salad'.  I don't go out with any set ingredients, and usually make use of whatever I have in the fridge.  Of course, there is an exception to this rule - I(my family really!) MUST have feta cheese in the salad.  We just LOVE the saltiness of Feta combined with the flavors of the salad - a little bitter greens, sourness of vinegar/lemon and other flavors.  We just can't do without Feta.  Caution : Feta being a very salty cheese, a little really goes a long way and you don't need to add too much to enjoy its unique taste!

Serves 4
Note : There aren't any strict measurements for this recipe....just go with the flow and add less or more of any vegetable according to your preference.....after all, YOU have to eat it:)

My usual Ingredients :
1 cup lettuce/greens torn into bite size pieces (any kind would do really - iceberg, romaine, arugula, any kind of salad leaves!)
1 cup cucumber chopped into little cubes
1 cup cherry tomatoes chopped into halves (you can use cooking tomatoes too, just chop into cubes)
a handful of black pitted olives
1 cup mixed colored bell peppers (green, red, yellow)
1 large orange peeled, deseeded, demembraned(remove the white membrane covering the flesh) and chopped
a handful cranberries (dried or fresh)
1 tbsp flax seeds(optional)
1/2 cup walnuts chopped
50-75 gms feta cheese

Dressing:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar (I normally use either Balsamic Vinegar/Red Wine Vinegar)
a pinch of dry mustard powder
a minced pod of garlic (optional)
1 tbsp any fresh herb - basil/parsley finely chopped (optional)
Sea salt/freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method :
1.  For the dressing, pour vinegar in a small bowl. Add a pinch of mustard powder and mix well. Pour olive oil in a thin stream to this and mix vigorously so that the oil is fully blended. Add the minced garlic and herbs (if using), and salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients well. and keep aside while you prepare the salad.
2.  Assemble all the vegetables in a large glass/wooden salad bowl.  Throw in walnuts, cranberries, flax seeds, orange, olives...
3.  Pour the prepared dressing over it and mix everything thoroughly.
4.  Crumble feta and gently fold it in the salad.
Note: feta is always put in the salad after the dressing has been mixed, since it is a very soft cheese and would totally disintegrate if put in earlier.