Reuben Salad

I struggled with naming this salad. I'm still not sure it should be called Reuben because it is not hot, doesn't contain sauerkraut, has no rye bread, no swiss cheese, and no thousand island dressing.

In fact, the only true Reuben ingredient on my salad is corned beef. But I couldn't call this a corned beef salad. How boring. It's really so much more than that!

My salad was born of my desire to clean out the fridge. I had leftover corned beef brisket, cole slaw, baby spinach, feta cheese, and kalamata olives. Not your traditional Reuben ingredients, but the combination made a very yummy (and super salty!) salad.

I started with the baby spinach, some flax seed oil, and Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe's. (If you haven't tried their seasoning mixes, what on earth are you waiting for???) This seasoning is phenomenal on a salad--crunchy, savory, and salty--and contains black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion, and sea salt. I tossed these together to coat my greens. (Flax seed oil is super healthy for those of us experiencing peri-menopause! Also nutty and delicious.)

I topped my dressed greens with sliced corned beef, cole slaw, crumbled feta, and pitted olives. SO GOOD! This salad is also low carb, so great for those on Atkins.

If you try this salad at home, feel free to mix it up by choosing a different meat (like pastrami, tuna, or turkey breast), a different cheese (like grated swiss, cheddar, or even goat), a different type of slaw, and a different dressing (like thousand island, French, or ranch). You might decide to skip the olives and add cherry tomatoes or another fresh component. The possibilities are endless!