There’s nothing quite like the warmth of summer being balanced by a cool, crisp salad.

I’m guessing that most people don’t agree with the title of today’s post. If you take a peek at advertising, summer is the season of: cookouts, watermelon, ice cream, lemonade, corn on the cob, and much more. However, I don’t see too many ads that promote salads as summer food.

A salad is something I truly enjoy. I’m not talking about “salads”; you know, the ones that are coated in dressing and filled with fried tortilla strips, pieces of bacon, and any other indulgent topping. I mean salads that are based around fresh, un-fried veggies and may be topped with some protein. Although I enjoy them almost anytime of year, summer is the best season for them. They’re cool and refreshing.

As I reviewed the archives of Junes past, I noticed that at the mid-month point, I had written a salad recipe almost every month. There were a couple that featured quinoa and one that had warm beet greens. Today I’m sharing one of my favorite lettuce-based versions: Blueberry & Chicken Salad. What I like about this recipe is that it has a dressing that I’ll actual incorporate into the salad, as it is light and contains no oils or fat. It gives the salad an extra boost of flavor without turning it into an unhealthy dish.

It’s only two days until the official start of spring, although we’ve been fortunate to have the feel of summer here for almost a whole ten days. Time to dig through your recipes (or your imagination) and begin creating the salads of summer.