Five Reasons to Put Greek Salad on Your Holiday Meal Menu

If you are hosting or attending a holiday meal this year, you can bet that the menu will be filled with tons of traditional dishes. Your table will probably contain at least one conventional salad. But why not switch things up and provide a tasty Greek version? Your guests may not be down for experimenting with exotic cuisine for the holidays. But adding a Greek salad to the holiday table is a good idea for many different reasons.

It's super-easy to make.

The Greek salad (traditionally called, horiatiki) has only a few major ingredients. Lettuce (and/or spinach), tomatoes, cucumbers and olives make up the bulk of the salad. Diced green peppers, onions, and feta cheese add additional zest. The dressing is even a cinch to make. Olive oil, vinegar (or lemon juice) and oregano provide the perfect dressing for this salad. Let the kids help with this dish; it's a great way to get them involved during the holidays, while alleviating a bit of the load.

Get fancy with leftovers.

If you have made a great big bowl of Greek salad, you might just have a little bit left over. To get rid of the remaining salad, chop up some of that leftover turkey (or ham); toss it into the salad. Then, stuff some of the mixture into a pita. This is a great way to satisfy the late-night holiday munchies without going overboard.

More roughage, please

You've got to admit that most holiday menus contain tons of dishes that are heavy on carbs, fat and sugars. Of course these menus typically include vegetables as well. But adding a Greek salad is a great way to help round out the meal, adding a tasty bit of "necessary roughage" to the digestive system.

Other health benefits.

Those accustomed to Greek salad know that it is heavy on tomatoes and olive oil. These two ingredients in particular, are especially good for the body. Tomatoes are rich with lycopene-an extremely potent antioxidant, which helps to fight various cancers. Olive oil also protects against cancer and helps to fight heart disease. You'll also get lots of vitamins from the raw onions and cucumbers (vitamins C, B6, and A, respectively.)

Diversify your Holiday palate

Every season, many families have the same trite entrées and sides on their holiday menu. Sometimes it's good to shake things up a bit, by introducing new flavors. The Greek salad isn't so exotic that dinner guests will be put off. In fact, this salad is particularly popular because of the way the ingredients tend to "marry" after they have been combined. Serve the dish slightly cooler than room temperature for best results. (You should note that the salad doesn't keep very well overnight; so eat up!)

SOURCES:

www.epicurious.com
www.foodnetwork.com
www.recipes.com