According to statistics, one of the most popular New Year’sResolution falls along the lines of eating healthier and losing weight. Intoday’s society, fast food restaurants are on the rise and to accommodate ahealthier lifestyle, places like McDonalds and Wendy’s are offering saladoptions such as Chicken Ceasar Salads or Mandarin Chicken Salads. While manyseem to think eating a salad at a restaurant constitutes a healthier option, itis not always the case as you may not know how many calories and fat are goinginto your meal. 

Chef Michael Smith, Food Network star and the author one ofWhitecap’s fast selling titles The Best of Chef at Home, loves his vegetablesand has a whole chapter on great salads to make yourself at home. He alsoteaches you easy ways to make your own salad dressing-it’s way easier than youthink! Try one of my favorite salad recipes below, it is so simple but superhealthy and light. 

This is asalad of contrast and balance. The sweetness of the cucumbers is sharpened bythe sourness of the spicy dressing, which in turn is cooled by the refreshingmint. 

Serves 4 

1 largecucumber, sliced as thinly as possible

1 redonion, thinly sliced

1 carrot,grated

a handfulof mint leaves

zest andjuice of 1 lemon

1tablespoon (15 mL) of olive oil

1tablespoon (15 mL) of honey

1teaspoon (5 mL) of soy sauce

1/2teaspoon (2 mL) of sriracha, or your favourite hot sauce 

Toss all theingredients together in a large salad bowl until well combined. Serveimmediately or let it rest for a few hours. The texture will change as theacidic lemon juice and honey in the dressing draw moisture out of the cucumber.The salad will get a bit watery and soften. That’s okay; it still tastes great.Just toss again before serving. 

FreestyleVariations

I oftentoss bean sprouts into this salad. Salted peanuts sprinkled in at the lastmoment are an excellent addition as well. If you’re a fan of Thai flavours, adda splash of fish sauce.