During the summer, I often find it difficult to make a warm meal - it's often too hot to cook, or I arrive home too late to grill. When that happens, I find myself inventing lovely salads [0] full of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The best part is that since you don't actually cook anything, it almost feels like cheating. To celebrate the summer salad, we thought we'd present an entire week based on salad and salad accoutrements. To start off, here are some basic salad tips - check them out, just

• When selecting ingredients for your salad, be sure to use the freshest options available. You want your greens to be fresh and your fruit to be ripe.
• Don't be afraid to experiment with flavors and textures. Add crunch with edible snap peas, celery, toasted nuts, ramen noodles, potato chips or seeds.
• Salad recipes are easily modifiable. Don't be afraid to substitute your favorite fixings for other ingredients.
• Simple seasonings can really jazz up your basic green salad. Consider adding chives, fresh herbs, paprika, fresh black pepper.
• For a heartier salad add cooked chicken, beef, tuna, tofu or hard-boiled eggs.
• Salads don't have to include leafy greens. You can try a simple combo of shredded carrots and celery, or peas and nuts.
• Although you can put whatever ingredients you like, consider letting one ingredient do the talking.
• Try not to drown your salad in dressing. You only need a little coat. If you find you're using dressing to mask the flavor of the salad, try mixing up your ingredients until you find something you prefer.

Do you have a great salad tip? Let us know below!