The best way to stay fit in the summer is to enjoy some fresh and light salads. It’s so easy to fall into the rut of making the same mix of veggies that those delicious salads lose their appeal. If you are looking for a way to stay fit this summer, try some of these recipes!

1. Trusty Caesar Salad

If you want to make this healthier and a bit more filling, try adding some grilled chicken for protein and skip the creamy dressing and go for the table-side Caesar!

2. Mexican Salad

This is my favorite to make with leftovers from tacos. Add some taco meat, olives, radishes, tomatoes, carrots and red peppers to some romaine lettuce. Try some shredded Mexican cheese and tortilla strips to top it off. If you don’t have the strips, just use some crumbs from your tortilla chips bag! I like to finish it off with Ortega taco sauce for a dressing, but if you want to go more traditional, wishbone makes a great chipotle ranch that is a great fix!

3. BBQ Chicken Salad

New to my rotation is a BBQ chicken salad. Start off with a bowl of romaine and add in some carrots, corn and red onion. I also added some black beans, mushrooms and red peppers. Next add some grilled chicken and some tortilla strips, and finish it off with a combo of your favorite BBQ sauce and some ranch.

4. Buffalo Chicken Salad

Spicy is my FAVORITE. I love to use iceberg lettuce because it has a nice crunch, but romaine works great too! Add in some carrots, tomatoes and celery pieces. Take some chicken strips; I prefer crispy breaded pieces that are sold in the freezer section, but any chicken will work! Heat them up and toss them in your favorite hot sauce! After adding them to the salad, drizzle on some ranch or blue cheese dressing and sprinkle some blue cheese crumbles, yum!

5. Gorgonzola Salad

This is the newest addition to my rotation. Use spring mix as a base, then add in some walnuts, dried cranberries, a diced bosc pear and some gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Top this off with a white balsamic dressing. To die for, I promise. This recipe is courtesy of Silver Spoon catering, a South Jersey catering business ran by my cousins!

6. Leftover Salad

This is typically my once a week salad. I try to use up whatever leftovers we have in the house. I got in the habit of using the same ingredients to make a steak salad, but using any protein will work! Romaine is my staple, then I add in radishes, carrots, mushrooms, and pepper. Then add in your steak pieces, cheese crumbles and top it off with balsamic dressing.

7. Dannie’s Chef Salad

I never understood what a chef’s salad really was because then each chef’s salad would be different. So here is my chef salad, my staple everyday salad that I like to make. Romaine base with my favorite veggies: radishes, carrots, cucumbers, chick peas, red pepper and black olives. I add in some breaded chicken and cheddar cheese for protein, and top it off with Italian dressing. Can’t forget the Italian style croutons to top it off!

So, here’s a salad recipe for each day of the week! With these in your meal plan, I am sure you won’t get stuck in a salad rut, and that goal to stay healthy in the summer won’t seem like so far of a stretch anymore!