It’s summer time and that means that the heat is on. This is the season that most of us don’t want to cook in the house so we either grill or eat lots of salads. Thankfully I happen to love a good salad. Here are some of the salad’s that you may want to try out on your family. How about a cucumber salad?  It’s colorful, delicious and it’s gluten-free.

Cucumber Salad

Here is what you will need:
2 large English cucumbers
1/2 onion
2-3 tomatoes

{For the dressing}
3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. salt
 Make the dressing: add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Slice the cucumbers and onion. Dice tomatoes, remove excess juice. Place in a bowl.
Add the dressing and toss to coat. Salt/pepper to taste if needed.
It tastes best when refrigerated for at least an hour to let the flavors combine.

Another one of my favorites is the Avocado and Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad with Skinny Chipotle-Lime Ranch.

Avocado and Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, grilled and diced
• 10 oz grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 medium avocados (semi-firm but ripe), peeled, cored and diced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn
• 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled Cotija cheese

• 1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt (I recommend Fage)
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, then more as needed
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 chipotle chile peppers in adobo
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp dried chives
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

To make this dressing, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chipotle peppers are well minced. Add in a few more tablespoons of buttermilk to thin as needed. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss. Plate and serve with Chipotle-Lime Ranch.

There is also an easy to make super delicious Summer Quinoa Salad.

Summer Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: