Healthy Eating The #1 Ingredient You Should Be Adding to Your Salads but Probably Aren’t, According to a Food Editor It makes every bite pop. By Carolyn Malcoun Carolyn Malcoun As EatingWell's Associate Editorial Director, Carolyn Malcoun searches for cool farmers, chefs and other food stories to tell. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin and a culinary arts degree from New England Culinary Institute. She started at EatingWell as an intern in the Test Kitchen in 2005 and joined the editorial team soon after. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on February 28, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Victoria Seaver, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Victoria Seaver, M.S., RD Victoria Seaver is a registered dietitian and Editorial Director for EatingWell.com. She completed her undergraduate degree in nutrition, dietetics and food science and her masters degree and dietetic internship at the University of Vermont. Victoria has been a part of the EatingWell.com team since 2015. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Jenny Huang I really, truly love salad. My family eats hearty salads for dinner at least once a week (more frequently in the summer). And it’s my go-to lunchtime meal. One thing I started doing was making clean-up-after-dinner salads that I bring to work for lunch. What that means is this: I put salad greens into a container, then add leftovers from dinner as I put things away. Not only is it a great way to use up bits that I wouldn’t typically save, but it also makes for some pretty interesting salad combinations. And one of my favorite salad toppers came out of this process—pickled vegetables. 21 Easy Salads for Lunch I was cleaning up after taco night, so making taco salad was the obvious move. I scooped some leftover seasoned ground turkey on top of the greens (at this point, it was cold, so it wouldn’t wilt the lettuce), along with a spoonful of beans. The leftover shredded cheese went in there too. Then, I looked at the pickled onions. Well, duh, those would be good in there too! I took them out of the brine with a fork and set them on a paper towel to drain before adding them to the container. This step is key, as the salty brine can wilt the greens. The next day, I dug into my taco salad and knew I had made the right choice. Every bite was packed with flavor, and those pickled onions gave my salad extra zing. I make pickled onions every week or two, usually when we have tacos or falafel for dinner. So why hadn’t I been doing this for every salad? It’s not like I hadn’t had pepperoncini in salads before—or olives for that matter. I find that the pickled onions go with just about everything, and I love adding spicy pepperoncini to a salad with chopped fresh mozzarella and salami or pepperoni. I'm a big fan of pickled veggies in general, so I also regularly buy ginger-lime pickled carrots, which I throw over a salad with leftover steak or chicken, chopped cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. No matter which pickled vegetable I reach for, I know my salad will never be sad again. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit