Salads are no longer just diet food, composed of lettuce and dressing. Browse through our gallery of delicious concoctions, including light and fresh, hearty and savory -- these big, bold combinations of prime produce and flavor-packed add-ins make it easy to get your veggies on.

We used chicken breast and turkey bacon for a leaner version of this popular salad. If you prefer, you can use roasted turkey breast instead of poached chicken.

Make your own delicious dressing with low-fat buttermilk, or if you're away from home, lighten the richer salad-bar version by adding a dash of lemon juice or vinegar.

This is a light and healthy version of the classic restaurant salad. 

The classic potato salad can be a little heavy on the spud and light on the vegetables. This reboot flips the equation, making up the difference with green beans, leeks, and celery for crunch, and adding cubed tofu for more protein.

Arugula brings a peppery nuance to this salad with haricots verts, yellow wax beans, and white beans, and is a bountiful source of disease-fighting antioxidants.

In this classic French dish, components are typically kept separate, not tossed together. But you can still mix it up with delicate ingredients. Simply put bulkier items at the bottom of your bowl, and layer lighter ones on top.

Taco salad has a reputation for being high in fat and calories, but this rethink improves the score on both counts. Ground turkey takes the place of beef, while nonfat yogurt, lime juice, jalapeno, and cilantro make a creamy dressing. Toast your own corn tortilla wedges to use instead of oily chips.

Try this main-dish salad at home, or use as a primer for a healthy, Far East-flavored meal you can toss together the next time you're at a salad bar.

Say good-bye to mayo-laden pasta salads and hello to a plateful of whole grains and veggies. This dish gets creaminess from a bit of creme fraiche and Mediterranean flavor from garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.

Simple as it is beautiful, this light and bright salad is a perfect side for any summer meal.

Change up this recipe by using half olive oil and half walnut oil, and top the beets with tossed walnuts. You can also use a mixture of beets such as Chioggia, golden, and red.

Toss roasted cauliflower with dried cherries, sliced almonds, green olives, radishes, watercress, parsley, blue cheese, and a tangy vinaigrette for a crunchy, surprising salad.

When making this chicken salad, be sure to use organic grapes (especially when buying imported ones) -- the flavonoid-rich fruit ranks among the foods most contaminated with pesticides.

Cooling melon and cucumber contrast with the heat of sliced chile and smoky grilled pork in this easy Vietnamese- and Thai-inspired recipe.

Rather than cook quinoa, sprout it overnight to make this fresh, detoxifying, raw-food, light dinner.

The tendrils of young pea plants are popping up at more farmers' markets and specialty grocers. Add their delicate flavor to this substantial salad.

This planet- and people-friendly dish of soy beans and veggies is a high-protein, plant-packed meal that won't make you miss meat (or cheese ... or butter) one bit.

Basil leaves complement the creamy avocado and the sweet-tart papaya. Try it as a healthy snack or as a refreshing side salad.

Corn and orange provide sunny color to this salad -- along with whole grain goodness and vitamin C -- while green edamame and avocado offer a contrast -- and protein.

Roasted to deepen their sweetness, apples and winter squashes bring mellow flavor to peppy watercress.

Cumin and cayenne give this Southwestern-inspired grilled chicken cutlet dish heat, while pumpkin seeds and cabbage make it crunchy.

Folate- and antioxidant-rich cauliflower mixes with red wine vinegar, olive oil, currants, and a pinch of sugar in this simple salad.

Sweet, meaty beets would overpower most light, raw vegetables, but celery, lentils, and blue cheese are up to the challenge. Nuts are also welcome: Just about any kind will work, including walnuts, toasted pecans and hazelnuts.

When choosing a cheese, remember that bold, assertive flavors, such as feta or blue, pack a lot of punch -- so use them sparingly. Your salad's chief protein source should be lean meat or beans, like chickpeas. Think of the cheese as a little something extra.

A mix of thinly sliced zucchini, fennel, radishes, and scallions, along with capers and lemon juice and zest, this light and tasty salad is as fresh as it gets and is easy to make virtually year-round.

Prepare this salad and store in the refrigerator, without the cilantro and pistachios, up to two days ahead.

A chef's knife can be used to thinly slice the vegetables, but a Japanese-style mandoline, also called a Benriner slicer, makes the job easy and the cut perfect -- a great and relatively inexpensive tool for vegetable lovers. The recipe makes extra dressing; serve it on the side.

Seviche is a classic seafood dish with roots in South America. Scallops are marinated in lime juice and "cooked" by the acid in the lime; the flesh becomes firm and opaque and the flavors bright and fresh-tasting.

Create your own salad mix with a combination of three leafy-green varieties, each with its own unique color, texture, and flavor. In this salad, peppery, dark-green arugula contrasts with sweet, crisp red-leaf lettuce and light-green, lacy, bitter frisee. (A member of the chicory family, frisee is more delicate and has a less bitter flavor than chicory.) If you prefer a lighter dish, you can easily keep this salad lean and simple by omitting the walnuts and goat cheese.

Grains make a salad more substantial. They also continue to absorb moisture as they sit, so if you've made the salad in advance, you might need to add more dressing or lemon juice to perk it up when serving. For a change of pace, try substituting 3 1/2 cups of another cooked whole grain, such as brown rice or quinoa, for the barley.

This fresh salad contrasts the subtle flavor of butterhead lettuce with the piquant taste of radish and the sweet flavor of carrots. The season's first sprouts add an earthy dimension to this simple dish.

This vegetarian version of the classic recipe substitutes white beans for the tuna and lemon zest for the anchovies. Some beans are smashed so that they will cling to other ingredients.

Maple syrup heightens the sweetness of the pumpkin, while red pepper flakes give this salad a kick.

This salad is bursting with vitamin C, and your body absorbs extra cold-fighting antioxidants from the combo of pink grapefruit, which also contains the phytochemical lycopene, and healthy fats like those found in cashews.

Try this nutty salad as a side dish or serve it over greens for a light meal.

Loaded with slow-digesting veggies and a protein-packed egg, this salad makes the perfect lunch. The avocado and olive-oil-based dressing deliver enough healthy fats to make you feel full.

This salad features madras curry powder, a blend of spices that includes turmeric, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon -- all of which are antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and detoxifiers.

Be sure to use crisp apples with a tart edge, such as Empire or Winesap, for this salad.

Quinoa, which is used like a grain but is really a seed, can be found at natural foods stores and many supermarkets.

This delicious salad is satisfying enough to be eaten as a meal.

Making your own yogurt cheese is easier than you may think; all it takes is a little time. It will be ready in three hours, or you can make it before you go to bed and let it drain overnight.

To ease mealtime preparation, cook the corn and beans early in the day, toss them with olive oil and smashed garlic, and keep them in the refrigerator. To remove corn kernels from the cob, hold the ear upright on its flat end on a cutting board; with a sharp knife, cut along the length of the cob to remove the kernels, turning the cob as you go.

Protein-packed lentils are the basis of this bright salad.

If you decide to make this dish ahead of time, add the final papaya and cilantro just before serving.

Flavor aside, kale holds its own among fellow members of the Brassica family, including broccoli, brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi. The low-calorie green provides an excellent source of both vitamins A (as beta-carotene) and C, along with a decent amount of fiber. Kale also delivers vitamin B6, which helps maintain healthy nervous and immune systems, as well as iron and calcium.

Chickpeas and feta take care of the protein requirement, olive oil brings good fats, and whole-wheat couscous and broccoli make up the healthy carbohydrates.

Sardines, anchovies, canned salmon: These tinned fish are a healthy treasure -- low in mercury and full of protein -- and they're a cinch to keep on hand in your pantry to press into service for this easy salad recipe.

A mixture of grains often served as a warm breakfast cereal, Kashi's 7 Whole Grain Pilaf also works beautifully as a savory side dish. Look for it alongside rice and other whole grains in natural-foods stores.

Small and mighty, these baby cabbages cleanse the body and may help prevent cancer. And pecans contain more antioxidants than any other common nut.

Tofu, not mayonnaise, gives this dressing a silky texture without the extra saturated fat. The cilantro-lime flavor makes it a perfect accompaniment for Latin-inspired dishes such as fish or chicken tacos; simply add shredded cabbage or radishes on top.

Spice up the traditional tomato and mozzarella salad with this antioxidant-rich dressing, or use it as a light sauce for firm white fish, grilled chicken breast, or pork chops.

For a quick side dish, combine steamed green beans and boiled new potatoes or kidney beans (rinsed and drained); top with the vinaigrette.

Miso is both tasty and good for you: The fermented soybean paste contains zinc, manganese, copper, and vitamin B12. Try this dressing on a salad of thinly sliced carrots, cucumbers, baby spinach, and sliced oranges.

The sunflower seeds and spinach in this salad are top-notch sources of magnesium, which enables your body to create dopamine. The avocado's vitamin B6 produces serotonin, a calming neurotransmitter.

The subtle sweetness of blueberries is an unexpected addition to a salad of peppery arugula.

Parsley salad has an earthier flavor than one made with lettuce; the pine nuts, capers, and red onion make each bite even more interesting and tasty.

A spinach, orange, and jicama salad gets an additional antioxidant boost from a citrus vinaigrette spiked with cumin seeds. Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C. For maximum health benefits, cut or juice them just before serving. Vitamins A and C and iron are also provided by baby spinach.

No melted-butter baths here. Instead, succulent sweet lobster is tossed with Ruby Red grapefruit dressing, a pleasingly tart counterpoint with a hint of mint.

If fresh is unavailable, look for packages of prewashed baby spinach. Blood oranges are named for their vivid red-streaked flesh.

A great dish to bring to a party, this salad is simple to make and stunning to look at.

Chopped coarsely and dressed in a vinaigrette full of chives snipped from the herb garden, the most common vegetables (Boston lettuce, celery, and cucumber) make a delicious starter. Choose whatever greens look the freshest; the point is to combine greens with different textures and flavors.

When made with olive oil, salad dressing needn't stay on the side -- it's a healthful addition to greens. Use this tangy vinaigrette to dress up a simple green salad made with spinach, arugula, or mesclun.

This salad uses classic Asian lettuces. 

This recipe uses 8 to 10 cups of greens. Experiment with different varieties of chicory, such as endive, radicchio, and escarole.

Crisp calamari provides protein and adds texture to our delightful spring salad, which also features tangerines and asparagus.

Bacon in a salad doesn't necessarily scream "healthy!" but because the meat is used in moderation, this dish is still a winner. Just two slices (for four servings) impart a smoky flavor into the vinaigrette that coats the greens.

Sweet Meyer lemon and Vidalia onion pair perfectly with the tart taste of radicchio. The chickpeas in this salad pack a protein punch.

This crisp, tangy salad pairs tangerine vinaigrette with fresh endive. A mixture of almonds, feta, and oregano adds a sweet, salty, aromatic finish.

The combination of fresh seafood with fennel, capers, and tomatoes is typical of Sicilian dishes.

Earthy textures make this salad as interesting to look at as it is to eat. French lentils are firmer than many other varieties, so they won't get mushy or break apart as they simmer. Don't be turned off by the gnarled appearance of celery root. Once caramelized, the vegetable's citrusy, licoricelike flavor shines.

Avocado and walnut oil (or olive oil) make the dressing for this salad, a refreshing mix of crispy apples, kale, and walnuts.

This easy, year-round salad has tart apple, salty celery, and earthy sunchokes. Walnuts provide nuttiness and healthy fat.