Salad Inspiration

I really enjoy a hearty, colorful salad. I love salads that are packed with protein, veggies and have a nice balance of sweet and salty ingredients. A salad can be thrown together quickly and provide a nutrient-packed meal. I am always looking for foods to fuel me throughout the day, I get up early for my workouts and need to be sustained through my work day. I find that I do not "crash" mid-day with a salad, the way that I do if I have carbohydrates for lunch. I have recently become a bit bored with my typical "go-to" salad recipe, so I began to explore Pinterest for some inspiration. Here's what I found:

Taco salad: flax seed tortilla chips, cherry tomatoes, avocado, brown rice, queso fresco cheese, tofu (could use other protein substitute) and kidney beans

Power Salad: Avocado, pine nuts, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, spinach 

Winter Kale Salad: kale, scallions, dried cranberries, parsley, toasted pine nuts and soy-balsamic tempeh 

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad: Quinoa, spinach, onion, peppers, garbanzo beans, kalamata olives, feta cheese, parsley, basil, oregano

Lean Green Power Salad: Kale, avocado, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, pecans, crumbled goat cheese with lemon vinaigrette

Don't these look great? I like to choose salad recipes that don't take a long time to put together and with ingredients that I already have in my pantry. All of these salads are on my list to try out. I hope to make at least one of them next week for a lunch or two.

Do you like to make salads for lunch? What do you like to put in your salad? What other foods do you eat throughout the day to sustain you during your work day?