Q. I'm looking for a nice salad to serve that doesn't require a lot of effort and can be a main dish salad or a side dish salad. I've tried some of your past salad recipes, and my wife and I have loved them. Just wondering if you have another salad up your sleeve?

A. I love using spinach leaves for the base of salads because it's an easy and enjoyable way to work those dark leafy greens into my diet. They are just loaded with all sorts of good stuff (antioxidants galore and powerful phytochemicals). I recently went to an Italian restaurant in San Jose, Calif., (Amici's) and shared a wonderful salad with my sister. I loved the salad so much that I made what I think is a lighter rendition the very next day. The dressing is easy to whip up because you just blend prepared pesto with some balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. The rest of the salad ingredients add flavor and color and texture without adding too many calories or grams of fat or saturated fat (toasted pine nuts, reduced-fat feta, roasted red pepper, sliced red onion and chopped tomato).

SPINACH PINE NUT SALAD WITH LEMON BASIL DRESSING