Dinner Tonight: Oriental Salad

I didn't feel like making much tonight, or eating much for that matter. Often that means salad as a meal. Lately I've been experimenting with other foods, so I thought, why not with salad too? I looked for what I had on hand and threw together what I am calling Oriental Salad.

I started with salad mix, which I typically buy in bags. You would be amazed at how cost effective that is. Buying straight iceburg lettuce salad is not so cost effective, but the other more exotic varieties are, because to buy all the ingredients to make it yourself cost way more than just buying the small amounts in the bagged version. This time I had purchased a salad mix with lettuce, radishes, carrot slices (not just the shredded slivers), and snow peas. Not bad as the base for an oriental-style salad.

Next, I tossed in some peanuts and cashews for crunch. Some people talk about how nuts are bad for you because they are high in fat, but I side with those who say you need some fat in your diet. Then I tossed in some mandarin oranges and, for the dressing, some lite raspberry pomegranate (okay, maybe not that authentic Asian, but hey, I said I was using what I had on hand). A very small handful of chow mien noodles for some added crunch (can you tell I like crunchy?), and voila! The flavors of the oranges and the dressing balanced each other very well, and this salad was both easy to prepare and tasty to eat. I'm going to have to keep this one on file to make again.