As American as baseball, apple pie and my born-on-the-4th-of-July husband, chicken salad takes center stage on picnic menus and buffet tables across the fruited plain. In our refrigerator, chicken salad is as much a staple as eggs and butter. It is Mike's favorite choice for a quick satisfying bite, whether sandwiched or piled onto a bed of greens, that he (operative word is "he") manages to put together himself. Needless to say, I try to always have it on hand!

No doubt you've figured out that I am into colorful food. I am not a nutritionist, but somehow, it has always seemed logical that the more saturated the color, the more saturated the nutritional value, and that's a good thing! For that reason, beets, broccoli, dark leafy greens, berries, sweet potatoes, red cabbage and every other richly pigmented produce will regularly find their flamboyant way on to my plate. Eat the rainbow, so they say. And happily, I do just that!

Red cabbage is one of the best super food bargains, for it's incredible nutritional value and it's cost effectiveness. And furthermore, eating cruciferous vegetables in their raw state is enormously more beneficial than eating them cooked! Did you know that the nutrient rich compounds in cruciferous vegetables come to life when  chopped or chewed!

I can't think of succotash without thinking "Sufferin' Succotash!", or better yet, to quote Sylvester the cat, "Thufferin' Thuccotash!". It's a depression era exclamation made popular by Sylvester and other Looney Tunes characters. Sadly, most of us haven't got a clue what succotash really is, but it's a fun word to say.

A Narragansett term meaning "broken corn", succotash was an early American dish of corn and lima beans, now usually served in casserole form and found on many Thanksgiving tables. Here is another grain and legume dish that supplies all the essential amino acids to fulfill the body's protein needs, in an inexpensive plant based form, like beans and rice or peanut butter on bread. Add garden fresh sliced tomatoes to the plate  and here is a salad that can become the basis for a completely healthy meatless meal!