24cdemx2 _b.jpg SH08D179SALADSEASON April 22, 2008 -- Pork over mixed greens. (SHNS photo by Jennifer Rotenizer / Winston-Salem Journal)

One way to transition into lighter meals is with salads that take advantage of leftovers.

Take a little leftover meat, toss it with a few choice greens and other vegetables, and another dinner comes together quickly and with little effort.

To make these salads substantial enough to call them dinner, consider adding a starch. Potatoes, beans, pasta, rice, couscous or quinoa all will help make for a salad that keeps you full until the next meal. Croutons help do the trick, too.

Making this kind of salad can be as simple as tossing whatever ingredients are on hand with a favorite bottled salad dressing. Of course, some meats pair better with certain vegetables and dressings.

Steak, for instance, stands up to creamy and strongly flavored blue-cheese dressing. Chicken and fish do better with a lighter vinaigrette. Pork goes great with mustard, so a Dijon vinaigrette is a natural choice.

The list of vegetables that can go in these salads is nearly endless. In addition to the usual carrots, celery, onions and cucumbers, consider blanched asparagus or green beans, olives, marinated artichokes, radishes, bell peppers, fennel, avocados and chile peppers. Other additions include nuts, hard-cooked eggs and cheese.

And feel free to choose different kinds of salad greens, such as baby spinach, arugula, a mesclun mix or maybe a combination of such lettuces.

To keep your salad from seeming like a jumble, limit the vegetables to four to six.

Certain combinations of meat and vegetables seem made for each other, but personal preference rules here. I like steak with potatoes and celery with either arugula or spinach. Fish, especially tuna, goes well with olives and beans. Pork marries well with red bell peppers and citrus fruit, such as oranges. Chicken works wonderfully with asparagus, artichokes or both.

Below are a few of my favorite salads. Feel free to mix and match vegetables and dressings to find your favorite way of springing into salad season.