Salad a la Stephanie

This salad is fast for those of you who aren't into washing and cutting up fresh lettuce and veggies yet, and it looks so nice with all those colors!

Ingredients

• bagged lettuce (I use butter lettuce, pre-washed and cut from Trader Joes)
• cherry tomatoes
• walnuts, raw
• dried cranberries
• garbanzo beans (optional)
• avocado (optional)

Basic Salad
First put as much lettuce as you'd like to eat into your bowl. Wash and dry some cherry tomatoes and add them on top (I love tomatoes so I add a lot, JM worries it's giving him arthritis so I just give him a few for at least some vitamin C). Then sprinkle some walnuts and dried cranberries on top and that's it! You can add any dressing you like. I recommend an oil based dressing if you're looking to be healthy. I like Balsamic Vinaigrette or Italian.

Optional Ingredients
However, if I add the avocado I don't even use a dressing because the oil and flavor in the avocado acts like one on its own. PS I always wash the outside of the avocado with natural oragincy dish soap first before cutting it (you don't know what it's touched)! For extra protein I sometimes add some canned garbanzo beans, which I also always rinse off and pat dry. It's so easy!