Those Great Summer Salads!

The best part of summer is the food!!  For those on an allergy-friendly diet, it's a lot easier and much more common to chow down on the fresh fruits and veggies.  It's a common farm-to-table menu for most households and restaurants, which makes it much easier for most of us to dine-out.  Salads for everyone!  You can do so much with salads; grilled, roasted over a campfire, raw, dressed or undressed, etc.  The list goes on and on..  What's even better is that a salad doesn't have to be over greens necessarily.  What about those favorite potato, bean, pasta, corn, fruit, and even veggie salads?  I love, love potato salads; pierce their skins with a fork and place in microwave on the baked potato command.  Set aside and let cool and then slice and finish on the grill to get that great char flavor.  The fun part is that you can add anything you want to it from there.  You can go greek with capers, red onions, a little feta, with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  You can go traditional with chopped cooked bacon, shredded cheese, green onions, some fresh dill, salt, pepper, and a little sour cream-mayo combo.  I, personally, love to fix a corn and tomato salad; it's a southern thing.  Chopped fresh tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Super simple with tons of flavor and especially good on those summer days.  Speaking of hot summer days; why not try a melon salad.  Your favorite melon such as watermelon (my fave) chopped into bite size pieces or scooped with a melon baller for those pretty presentations.  Add some fresh mint, lemon zest, and a very light amount of extra virgin olive oil; talk about a summertime treat.  Who wants to cook on these lazy days of summer?  I would much rather be outside with my kids playing, swimming, or reading a great book.  You know what makes these even better?  The fact that you can't get much healthier than these!  These salads, some great sandwiches, and homemade ice cream.  I am truly loving an allergy-friendly summer!