It's a toss up

Summer's heat, as well as its garden-fresh produce, cry out for cool summer salads.

And that's a good thing, says Teresa Hunsaker, a home economist with Utah State University's Extension Services. Fruit-or-veggie-packed salads can boost your intake of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that are linked to reducing health risks such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

"Unfortunately, the average daily consumption for men and women is fewer than four servings," said Hunsaker, who recently taught a "Cool Summer Salads" class in the Extension's Weber County office.

If you haven't broken out of the iceberg lettuce rut yet, take your cues from restaurants, where the small dinner salad of the '60s evolved to the salad-bar wars of the '70s and '80s. Today's trendy mesclun greens, also called "spring mix," usually includes a variety of mild and bitter flavors, such as romaine, baby spinach, radicchio, red oak leaf, red leaf, lollo rossa, arugula, mustard or chard. An added benefit: Darker greens are healthier than the nutritionally wimpy iceberg.

Entree salads are on the rise, according the National Restaurant Association's 2005 industry forecast. Today, it's hard to find an eatery — from high end to fast food — that doesn't offer a salad topped with grilled chicken. You'll also find many versions of the taco salad on menus, as well as varied protein toppings such as smoked trout, salmon or crab cakes.

And there's no rule that salads must contain lettuce — cabbage, potatoes, fruit, pasta, grains and even gelatin can play starring roles. Hunsaker's simple favorite during fresh tomato season consists of tomato slices, minced garlic and slices of basil leaves, with a little balsamic vinegar.

For the price you'd pay for an individual restaurant salad, you can quickly mix one up at home to feed a whole family. It's easier than ever with today's pre-cut bagged veggies, although Hunsaker says she prefers to wash and core her own lettuce. She stores the leaves between layers of paper towels in a Tupperware container. "But you can always opt for the commercial with coleslaw, mesclun, pre-sliced mushrooms, bottled fruit and so on," she added.

You can jazz up your usual salad mix with grilled or roasted veggies, seeds (sunflower, sesame or pumpkin), sugared nuts, toasted coconut, pasta, chopped hard-boiled egg, kohlrabi, fennel, olives, corn, citrus or other tropical fruits, cooked rice or other grains, cheeses or dried fruit, such as cranberries, said Hunsaker.