I never would have guessed that tossing a few leftovers together would turn into such a beautiful meal...

Sometimes I just don't feel like cooking.   I absolutely love to cook, but even a kitchen-loving, food-blogging dietitian like me needs a break from the kitchen every once in a while!  And on the day that this recipe was born, I was very much in a "let's scrounge around the kitchen and see what I can find" kind of mood.  And the result was so beautiful (and tasty!) that I had to stop to photograph it and write up the recipe! 

I know, some of you might be thinking, "that doesn't look like random stuff from the fridge.." but it really was!  I had a little bit of cooked salmon from the night before that I hadn't finished.  Then there were those orange slices that I used a couple days earlier when taking pics for my golden beet smoothie recipe.  I had an apple and some spring mix that I got for my green smoothies during the week.  

As for the addition of cranberries and walnuts....those were actually the result of me trying to clean my pantry.  I usually buy nuts and dried fruit in the bulk bins at the grocery store, which means I have a collection of about 400 bulk-bin-baggies (okay, maybe not quite 400... ;) ) with little bits of various nuts and fruit.  So I was able to finish off two of those little baggies by adding the nuts and cranberries. 

I actually wasn't expecting to have this much awesome stuff in my kitchen when I went searching, but it got me thinking about just how much meal planning really does pay off... 

If I hadn't taken the time to plan out a few meals for the week and bought these ingredients for other meals, then I wouldn't have had all this great stuff on hand when I  didn't feel like cooking.  I probably would have had to go out and buy something, which would have cost more money and probably wouldn't have been as healthy. 

So this gorgeous salad will now be a motivation for those weeks when I really don't feel like sitting down to make a meal plan and grocery list.  Hopefully it will help me remember just how easy it is to eat healthy later on if I've spent those few extra minutes making a plan. 

Do you like to plan meals ahead of time?  Leave me your favorite meal planning tips in the comments; I'd love to hear some new ideas!!  Happy meal planning! :)

Fresh Salmon Salad with Apple, Walnuts, and Cranberries

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 2 cups spring mix or greens of choice
  
• 2-3 ounces cooked salmon
• 1/2 apple, chopped
• 1/2 orange, sliced or chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
• dressing of choice

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients on a plate and serve! 

Note: Top with the dressing of your choice, or squeeze some of the orange juice from the orange slices over the salad and add a drizzle of olive oil for a quick homemade dressing!

Happy Eating!

~Amber 

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