Trader Joe’s Inspired Cucumber, Avocado and Strawberry Salad

No matter the day, or the season, there’s nothing like cool cucumbers to really enhance the crunch of a salad.

Bolstering a salad also requires a little ingenuity and a mixture of some really great vegetables and fruits.

Truly, there are no wrong mix-ins in a salad, but there are really a lot of options.

Discovering different types of salads is one thing I do on a daily basis.

Why?

Because I don’t eat meat and a staple of a meal generally consists of at least one salad a day.

Keeping the same old, same old, would be boring.

I stave off boring with change.

It’s always exciting to mix things up, with new combinations of crunchiness, veggies, and fruits.

Today, one of my favorite salad recipes is about to be shared.

Who’s ready to mix up my Trader Joe’s Inspired Cucumber, Avocado, and Strawberry Salad?

Fast. Easy. Fabulous!

Trader Joe’s Inspired Cucumber, Avocado, and Strawberry Salad

Shopping at Trader Joe’s is a simple inspiration. As a foodie.

I can’t get enough of the store-wide options.

Most of my time in Trader Joe’s is spent in the produce department.

I am a vegetarian and love their produce options.

My most recent obsession is their edamame beans.

They are ready to go, cold or hot and I just open the container and pop them into most everything I eat!

For this salad, they are really the crunch that you will love!

Pretty much as long as you have a sink, knife, colander and cutting board, you are able to make this salad.

There is nothing tricky to it.

In fact, the most important thing you need to know is that the veggies need to be fresh to provide the best taste possible.

You can make this salad ahead, or right on demand.

What I do know is that it will be asked for over and over, because it is that tasty.

Cucumber Choices

There are a lot of cucumber options vying for your purchase at every grocery retailer.

I, however, am very partial to one particular type of cucumber: the pickling cucumber.

As a child, I grew up eating fresh pickling cucumbers right off the vine of my grandmother’s garden and have never like how other types, taste.

It’s never hard to find pickling cucumbers and I believe they are underrated compared to seedless cucumbers and other basic slicing cucumbers.

What I have discovered is that the pickling cucumber packs a crunch that is hard to replicate.

Trader Joe’s has several options and I generally purchase the small tray of cucumbers because they are prepackaged and thin!

While those cucumbers are English Cucs and other types, they are still close.

Edamame

You might find it odd, but before my Edamame top off my salad, they have been sitting in a bowl, lightly salted.

I do this while I prepare the other add-ins.

The time that the edamame sits, with the salt on, somehow rounds out the taste!

Also, I love eating edamame on their own as a snack.

Tomatoes Snob

Yep, that’s what I am and you should be too!

Experiment with tomatoes then hone-in on the one that does it for your taste buds!

For those of you that prefer to make this salad for a crowd and realize that there are ‘tomato-haters’ in the room, just toss in mini cherry tomatoes.

That solves the complaint of, ‘tomato guts are n the salad!’ A good host is always prepared!

Roma tomatoes that are a little harder are better in this salad, but the softer ones ruin int.

The softer the texture IMO the worse because there’s already soft avocado in there.

Again, it’s just personal opinion.

The Carb I Gotta Have in My Cucumber, avocado and Strawberry Salad.

While I would like to say that I don’t eat carbs at all, I can’t.

I love my Pita binge with lunch and it is a portioned, rationed amount.

So, I enjoy each bite with my salad and then I don’t revisit carbs again that day.

The only exception is for those naturally occurring carbs in non-starchy/flour foods.

If you are abstaining from carbs, cut out the pita bread, it’s that easy.

The Simple Cucumber, Avocado, and Strawberry Salad Recipe

Orange muscat dressing from Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Dressing is so good on this particular salad.

Of course, a good squeeze of lime and lemon together with a dash of Everything But the Bagel seasoning is just as delicious.

This is the perfect meal any time of the day. In fact, you can eat this as a side or a full meal, that is how I do it! ~ DANA XO