The Easiest Way to Make Your Salad Less Boring

I get paralysis. Even though the world of salads is incredibly varied, I somehow end up making the same thing week after week, even if I get sick of it. But after flipping through an old salad cookbook that listed ingredients without sizes, I remembered that recipes are not my main concern. You can create a whole new look for your salad even using the same old ingredients. Make your favorite salads interesting by simply changing the proportions.

Changing the amount of each ingredient is an easy way to solve the annoying problem of food boredom because it’s low risk. You will almost certainly enjoy the salad, as you have already tried a similar combination. This saves you time and nerves. You don’t have to browse the internet for new recipes to find the next perfect salad to wear you down. Plus, flexible approaches to salad can save the day when you inevitably come home and realize you don’t have “enough” spinach. Turns out you have the perfect amount, because today spinach is just a side dish.

Most salads are a collection of ingredients stacked together or mixed together, but the pieces are not mechanically dependent on each other, as is the case with other dishes. While achieving a balanced flavor with your ingredients is key, it’s not the same as, say, lasagne, where the ratio of the ingredients can affect the design. Salads are ripe for fuss. Start by switching between the big players. Most salads consist of several main ingredients, minor ingredients, and a dressing or sauce. Let’s focus on the solid ingredients before we add the dressings. Maybe you can make a fabulous spring green salad, and the main part of it will consist of leafy greens mixed with baby potato halves, a few strips of chicken, cucumbers and a pinch of feta. You have extra ingredients for your next salad, but you don’t have to make the same salad twice in a row. Next time, add more chicken and feta to be your base, and reduce the amount of greens and potatoes. Now salad with chicken fillet. Or try one switch and make the base cucumber while keeping the other ingredients the same. Here’s a crispy cucumber salad. A simple adjustment like this can completely change your overused salad recipe even with the same ingredient list.

Dressings are another way to make a new salad a little better. While I don’t recommend using the highest proportion of dressing on your salad, you can (and should) play around with the dressing. If you’re making your own seasoning, treat it as its own little world of proportions. Try increasing the amount of acid or decreasing the amount of sweet. Some salads use yogurt, hummus, or another type of sauce or paste as a flavoring topping. They can take an intermediate position between the main component and the finish. If I increase the amount of hummus to bulk, I usually pair it with the partner ingredient in equal proportions so that it doesn’t overwhelm the salad or weigh it down. Any of these proportion adjustments will take your salads in a new direction. Try one switch at a time, or try them all at once, and never wear out your salads again.