Dress it Up! Seasonal Salad with Homemade Dressing 

Makes 4 servings 

Serving size: 2 cups salad and 2 ½ teaspoons dressing of choice 

It’s dinnertime, and when it’s hot outside, turning on the oven is the last thing you want to do. Beat the heat and serve your family a healthy and refreshing side with this seasonal salad. Strawberries add a pop of color, while radishes deliver crunch. Finishing the salad with a homemade dressing allows the flavors to blend together, ensuring each leaf of lettuce is coated with flavor.   

Making your own dressing from scratch allows you to use only whole ingredients, leaving out the preservatives, added colors and sugar found in commercial products. Each serving of this homemade dressing contains 5 grams of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat from olive oil, whereas store-brought dressings, typically made from a soybean-canola oil blend, may offer only 1 or 2 grams.  

Ingredients 

Salad 

1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped 

6 radishes, chopped 

2 cups strawberries, sliced 

Dressing (pick one): 

Balsamic Vinaigrette     

2 tablespoons olive oil  

½ teaspoon garlic powder  

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar  

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard  

Pinch of black pepper  

Lemon Vinaigrette  

2 tablespoons of olive oil  

¼ teaspoon of Dijon mustard  

1 tablespoon of lemon juice  

¼ teaspoon of garlic powder  

Pinch of black pepper 

Directions 

1. Rinse your salad ingredients and chop/slice them. Add to a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl or mason jar, stir or shake the dressing ingredients.
3. Combine salad and dressing. Mix well and serve immediately. 

Contributor: Elizabeth Coover, RD, CSP, LDN