With the heat wave that's hitting much of country this month, the idea of standing over a hot stove may be the least appetizing thing on your mind. The good news is that eating well in the summer time doesn't have to mean long hours in the kitchen. Below are five simple salads you can serve your family that are hearty enough for a main meal. Feel free to add or take away any ingredients to make these recipes uniquely yours!

Taco Salad: Combine chopped or torn lettuce or spinach leaves, raw chopped vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions, a can of black beans, a can of corn, and some avocado slices in a big bowl. Toss with crushed tortilla chips (baked if you can find them), grated low-fat cheese, olive oil, lime and chopped cilantro leaves.

Mango and Blackeye Pea Salad: Combine 1 peeled and diced mango with 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 15- oz can blackeye peas, drained and rinsed, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours to let flavors blend. Serve with corn chips.

Couscous and Vegetable Salad: Combine 1 cup of dry couscous and 2 cups of boiling water or stock. Cover for 5 minutes or until couscous softens. While couscous is cooking, chop up a tomato, a cucumber, 1/4 small red onion, and any other vegetables you like. Add to couscous, along with 6 oz of feta cheese, and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, a bit of lemon juice and mint leaves, roughly torn. Mix and enjoy!

Classic Five Bean Salad: Combine 1 can each of:chickpeas, cannellini or other white beans, kidney or other red beans, string beans and canned yellow wax beans. Toss with vinegar, a little oil, sugar and pepper to taste.

Tomato Pasta Salad: Cook 8 ounces of macaroni. Combine with 2 cans of diced tomatoes that have been drained and rinsed. Mix in 3 tablespoons of vinegar, and some dried basil, salt, and sugar to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoonfuls of each ingredient and add more until your taste buds tell you it's done). Refrigerate until cool.


What tops some of your favorite salads?