Summertime is salad time. It is a great time for salads of every kind. Most fresh produce is at is tastiest and its cheapest. Warmer days mean more time spent outdoors instead of in the kitchen. Summer also means barbeques and picnics that often require a quick and easy salad that can be put together at the last minute. These recipes are simple and feature produce that is readily available and often on sale during the summer. You can serve these salads as a healthy side dish with grilled chicken or eat a larger portion as a meatless main dish.

Tomato-Cucumber Salad

1 tomato
1 cucumber
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Cut the tomato and cucumber into bite-sized pieces. Add the vinegar and olive oil. Toss to coat. If you don't have red wine vinegar, you can substitute balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar or even lime juice. This recipe makes two generous servings of under 100 calories each. It also has 353 milligrams of potassium, 2 grams of fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Toss in a single serving pouch of tuna for a light one-dish meal under 300 calories.

Avocado-Tomato Salad

3 small avocadoes
4 medium tomatoes
1/8 of a red onion
1/4 cup cilantro
Juice of 2 small limes

Cut the avocadoes and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Chop the red onion and cilantro. Gently mix the ingredients together. Refrigerate for one hour. Plan to eat this salad the same day you prepare it. This recipe yields 6 small servings. It is a little higher in fat, but it is the good fat found in avocados that will keep you satisfied. It also yields over 700 milligrams of potassium, 9 grams of fiber, and over 60% of the RDA of vitamin C.

Peach-Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
4 peaches

Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. While the quinoa is cooking, whisk together the lime juice and honey. Dice the peaches and add to the honey-lime dressing. When the quinoa is finished cooking, add it to the peach mixture and stir gently to combine. Serve warm or refrigerate for a cold salad. This refreshing salad makes four servings at 164 calories each. It has less than 2 grams of fat and less than 2 milligrams of sodium. It provides 216 milligrams of potassium, 21% of the RDA of phosphorus, and 45% of the RDA of riboflavin.

The nutrition information was estimated using SparkRecipes.com Recipe Calculator.

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