**This post is part of a month-long series as I participate in the Salad as a Meal Challenge.
For me, the greens are one of the most important components of a salad (that is, when you choose to use them!). If I don’t like the greens in the salad, I won’t like the salad as a whole.
Each green has its own texture and flavor. My absolute favorite is butter lettuce, which is soft and sweet. I also like spinach for it’s chewiness, romaine for it’s crunch, and baby lettuce is always a hit. If you like greens with a little zing, try endive or radicchio (both bitter), or some peppery arugula. Mix up a whole bunch of different greens for a variety of tastes and textures.
The wonderful thing about salads is that once you have a great greens base, you can throw pretty much anything in with it! In the salad pictured above, I used butter lettuce, baby heirloom tomatoes, orange pepper, diced chicken (cooked in my homemade bbq sauce) and some leftover potato salad.