How to make Friday night the best night of the week

I’m here to impart some special wisdom — how to make Friday night the best night of the week. This is mostly dedicated to introverts or the introvert-leaning.

Fridays are my solo date nights, and instead of taking myself out I’ve been on a kick of staying in to drink a mini-bottle of red wine and eat a giant salad while watching an often-too-embarrassing-to-admit Netflix series. I recently watched both seasons of The Law according to Lidia Poett (not embarrassing) after finishing up Love is Blind Habibi (shameful).

Anyway much to my chagrin, I’ve realized how many people have no idea how to make a delicious salad. What joy they’re missing out on!!

Why should you trust me on this? What are my salad-making credentials? 

1. My parents: I grew up a ‘90s vegetarian, aka pasta with a side of salad. Both my mother and father make the world’s best, and I’m now 40, so I’ve had plenty of time to absorb their knowledge.

2. My diet: I fully believe in the power of raw food, and try to eat as much as possible. Generally speaking, I like to consume at least 70% raw fruits and veggies each day, and when I need a system cleanse, I always go full raw (or full fruit) for a couple of days until I feel good and energized again.

3. My professional experience: During the pandemic, my vegan neighbors, Steve and Des, and I started a raw salad delivery service called Beach Baby Green. We spent one day every week chopping and creating the most beautiful salads you’ve ever seen. The next day, we’d drive around Miami delivering them.

Now that I’ve established myself as an expert, let’s talk about…

How to make a delicious giant salad

(Or go directly to a month of salad recipes!)

The Base 

• A very generous helping of fancy lettuce – something soft like spring mix or butter lettuce. Romaine is too crunchy (unless it’s baby romaine). Iceberg never belongs in a salad. Sorry.

• A layer of raw spinach on top.

The raw toppings

• 3 – 5 veggie and fruit toppings that don’t require heat.

This includes: Carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, beets, Brussels sprouts, jicama, radishes, cabbage, fennel, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, berries, grapes, pears, apples

The cooked toppings (optional)

• 1 – 2 veggie toppings that are sauteed or roasted.

This includes: Sweet potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, parsnips, squash, pumpkin

The deliciously decorative toppings

• 1 nut or seed (raw or toasted without added oil).
  This includes: Sliced almonds, crushed cashews or pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamias, flax

• 1 herb

• 1/2 avocado

The dressing

High quality oil (EVOO or sesame) + sea salt (this is my favorite. In fact, I once packed a ziplock bag of this salt in my carry on and was stopped while going through security. It was momentarily really awkward and hard to explain.) 

Here are two recipes for your upcoming Friday-night-with-wine-and-Netflix.

Simple Green Asian salad – ALL RAW

• Butter lettuce

• Spinach

• Zucchini – spiralized

• Cucumber

• Cilantro or basil

• Avocado 

• Sunflower seeds

• Sesame oil + sea salt

*Chop everything (except the spiralized zucchini) very fine, stuff in a nori wrap like an Asian taco.

Rainbow salad – Partially COOKED

What’s cooked?

• Sweet potato

• Yellow pepper

• Onions

What’s raw?

• Butter lettuce

• Spinach (serve the cooked veggies directly on top so it will steam a bit)

• Red tomato

• Purple cabbage

• Green cucumber

• Blueberries

• Orange carrots (spiralized or sliced thin)

• Dill or parsley 

• Avocado

• Almonds (crushed or sliced)

• Olive oil + sea salt

MAJOR PRO TIP: Sip on some vino and listen to music/podcast/book while making your giant delicious salad.
Buen provecho!

Want more salads? Here’s ONE MONTH of recipes!

With love,

Bethany