BIG Greek Vegetable Salad (Real Food, Paleo, Vegan, Whole30)

I love a good salad and can eat one for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it was not always the case for me. I realized that my previous disdain for salads had to do with the store-bought dressing that, somehow, tasted bland and yet full of chemicals at the same time. But give me a bowl of vegetables with croutons and I would eat that all day long. Well, just the croutons. I dabbled with a homemade dressing around seven years ago (a nice balsamic if memory serves) and my love affair with salad dressings began.

My household typically enjoys a salad with dinner several times a week and I usually rotate between five or six dressings that can be thrown together in just a few minutes. One favorite is a raw vegetable salad with this Greek-style dressing. It may take a few minutes longer than our usual ones but trust when I say it is awesome. The vegetables are easily swapped and stay crunchy so it keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days, too. Having a prepared salad in the refrigerator is like money in the bank, right? Dinner becomes all that easier and all is right with the world.

First, make the Greek dressing:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup organic olive oil (or a mixture of olive oil and avocado oil)
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon organic Dijon mustard
2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Run all of these ingredients in a jar or glass using an immersion blender, or regular blender, until fairly smooth - set aside.

For the chopped vegetables:

1 large organic yellow squash, diced into chunks
1 large organic zucchini squash, diced into chunks
1 red organic bell pepper, diced into chunks
1 organic cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced into chunks
19 oz of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered, if whole

Add the dressing to the vegetables in a large bowl and toss to combine. Serve or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

This dressing is super strong, due to the amount of garlic and onion so watch how close you to talk to someone. Unless you don't like that person. In which case, get up in there!

It is delicious served alongside roasted chicken or tossed with a (clean!) cured meat, such as pepperoni. Add some olives and pepperoncini or banana peppers and you are as good as...money in the bank.

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