Even though salads have been enjoyed since ancient times, the variety can be both tempting and visually pleasing. As we become more and more health conscious, salads become more popular. Usually people think of vegetables when salads are mentioned.

However, there are numerous fruit salads at every family gathering and pot-luck in the country! Salads can contain anything from apples to zucchini and anything in between, just use your imagination.

Although lettuce has been the starting point for most salads, there are many other foods
favorites you can start with:

*Watercress, cabbage or spinach

*Oranges, apples or grapefruit

*Beans or frozen peas

*Broccoli

*Potatoes

*Meats and seafood

Just about any food you can think of can be turned into a salad with a modest amount of creativity! You can create many kinds of salads:

*Jell-o salads with fruit

*Fruit salads with yogurt

*Green salads with every kind of
vegetable imaginable

*Coleslaw

*Potato salad

*Tuna salad

*Chicken salad

Again, the varieties are endless, and the list can go on and on to eternity.  One of my favorites includes a green salad with sunflower seeds or cashews, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onions, carrots and ranch dressing.

With the dressings you can get just as creative, ranch, French, blue cheese and Italian are your basic dressings. Now try some of these, mix a little concentrated orange or lemon juice to French dressing or mayonnaise for a delicious fruit salad dressing.

How about a dressing for grapefruit made with, sugar, pepper, paprika, dry mustard,
grapefruit juice and catsup?

Add a little chili powder to concentrated juice, horseradish, a cooked egg and mayonnaise for a spicy new taste.

Every nationality has their own favorite flavors in salads, get together with a few friends for a salad party; you would be amazed at the variety you will see.

If you are doing research into diets, you may come across one that tells you to only eat raw foods. While this diet is good in theory, it may not be practical for most people. Raw foods are often the best for your health however, and they should be a part of any diet. Not only are raw foods full of nutrients, they are also readily available in most stores where you buy groceries. As with any food, however, there are some safety issues.

When you think of raw foods, vegetables and fruits are probably the first things that come to mind. These should be staples in a healthy diet, and should be consumed at every meal. You just have to decide which of these raw foods are your favorites, and remember to buy plenty each trip to the store. Remember when eating these raw foods that they must all be washed thoroughly before you eat them. They may have e coli on them, and this is not something you want to mess with. Even if the fruit has a rind, you still want to wash it. If there is something unsavory on the rind, you will push it through to the fruit when you cut it with a knife.

Though you should not eat meats as are part of a raw food diet, some people do like to eat raw fish, otherwise known as sushi. Though I have never tried this myself, I know a lot of people like it, and enjoy an evening out just to get some. Any raw foods you consume like this should come from a restaurant that is clean, and has a good reputation. You do not want to eat bad fish, especially if it is raw. If you are pregnant, you may want to skip this altogether.

If you decide to go with raw foods exclusively, talk with your doctor to be sure you are getting a balanced diet. Some raw foods are better than others, and you don’t want to become weak because you aren’t getting what your body needs. Your doctor or a good nutritionist can help guide you in the right direction, and will give you the low down on raw foods and what they can do for you and your health. They should be able to help you with a simple menu plan to get you started if you want to eat better, but aren’t really sure where to start.

Many people think that the vegetarina lifestyle is boring - you eat the same bland fruits and vegetables every day of the week. How boring is that? Little do they know that when you become a vegetarian you can eat the same foods that you eat now, only you exchange the meat for something else.

With burritos, skip the meat and eat one with rice, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. There are many vegetarian foods you can buy frozen; it just takes a little bit of looking and being a wise and aware consumer.

Vegetarian foods don’t have to be boring; there are a lot of foods out there that you can still enjoy.

Casseroles are a great way of eating vegetarian without missing the meat - they can be made using eggplant, squash, spinach and many other vegetables for high protein and no meat.

Vegetable stir-frys are another wonderful food for you to enjoy. Stir-fry vegetables can be purchased frozen or you can buy fresh vegetables and create your own stir-fry. The choice is yours.

There are different ways to start your vegetarian diet without going into meat withdrawal:

*Make a list of the vegetarian foods you already enjoy, like casseroles, macaroni and cheese, salads, vegetable soup, cheese pizza  and quiche. You can eat these meat free meals for dinner three nights a week - the rest of the time continue to eat meats.

*Change your favorite recipes around to make them meatless.

*Study and find new vegetarian dishes that you like and slowly introduce them to your diet.

*Gradually change all of your dinners to vegetarian meals

*Find different alternatives for your lunches at work

*Salad bars

*Vegetarian friendly restaurants

*Most sandwich shops have vegetarian alternatives

*Change your breakfast menus -  toasted whole grain breads topped with peanut butter and fruit smoothies are two options

Purchasing vegetarian cookbooks will open up a whole new world of tastes for you. Take chances and be creative - you’ll be happy that you did.