May 7th...Summer Salads, Zucchini time!

Well I think summer is officially here, I actually have a tan on my arms and Monday morning's Boot Camp class, the ladies were all over-heating!  Not that were complaining but it was pretty freak'n hot.  Since the warm weather has arrived it's time for summer salads.  I prefer homemade salad dressings, little bit of your favorite oil, mine right now is a Avocado oil and a Pistachio oil, mixed with any kind of citrus juice and some fresh herbs and spices.  You can pretty much put in on anything for a burst of flavor.  I have my fancy new wide peeler, sooo many cool things you can do with this...I know many of you have already discovered this tool...OK so I'm a late bloomer, anyhow I've seen zucchini salad recipes on so many magazine covers, that I thought I better try this.  So here we go...   

 In a bowl mix 1 tbsp of your favorite Oil, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tsp Parsley flakes, 2 tbsp finely chopped Red onion ( I forgot to put it in the picture), 1 tbsp chopped Sun-dried tomatoes(packed in oil), 2 tbsp chopped Black olives and a dash of salt and pepper.  Whisk together... 

 I decided to cut my Zucchini in half, then peel it...trying to figure out how to eat this salad somewhat gracefully...

Pour your dressing over the zucchini, toss together and leave in the fridge to chill for about 30 mins...

And here you have it!  This salad was so tasty, the longer it sits, the better.  I could have eaten the whole bowl because it's so refreshing and so light.  This recipe is based on a serving for 2 people...if you have to share it.  Be sure to measure out the oil.  Many recipes just say to just drizzle it over your salad but that can be dangerous cause your more likely to over do it and have extra unwanted calories.  You could add almost anything to the salad, peppers, sliced almonds right before you serve it for added protein and crunch, and water chestnuts for added crunch as well.  Think of this as your base to start with and let me know what you come up with!