Salads aren’t just for summer.

If you’re goal this year, like most people, was to eat better and get into shape, then check out these easy and cheap recipe for a green salad. I didn’t have a wooden bowl, so I rolled my garlic around a regular plastic bowl and then left a few, small pieces of garlic behind to mimic the potency of the original recipe.

While the original salad was created by Melissa, the previous winner of The Next Food Network Star, I added a few nuts and sliced apples to give my version a little more flavor and crunch. It was perfection. Even my kids asked for seconds.

Café Green Salad from the kitchen of Melissa d’Arabian
Recipe courtesy Melissa d’Arabian

Ingredients
• 1 garlic clove, sliced in 1/2
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Small splash soy sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
3 cups mixed greens, the darker the better (not iceberg)
Rub the inside of a large wooden bowl with the garlic clove and then either discard it or save it for another use. Put the mustard in the bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (a French secret!) vigorously for about 10 seconds to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle in the olive oil as slowly as possible with 1 hand while whisking as quickly as possible with the other hand to emulsify. Lay the salad greens on top of the dressing and toss just before serving.