Goodness – it’s May! Happy May, everyone!

It’s seriously almost is summertime, which may mean you’ve started bikini shopping and clearing the junk food out of your kitchen cupboards. Not crazy about what you see in the mirror? Don’t worry; you can do a whole host of good for your mind and body simply by incorporating more whole foods in your diet. If you want to lose weight/tone up, without totally losing your mind, I think it’s most important to focus on what you’re adding to your diet instead of what you’re taking away. The more fresh fruits and vegetables you eat, the more natural energy you’ll have and (because produce is extremely fibrous) the less room you’ll have for junk. Need an extra incentive? Eating salad can save you money. (Oh, and did I mention, May is National Salad Month!) Check out these beautiful, frugal, nutritious salad recipes from some of my favorite frugal living bloggers and get ready to strut your stuff in a two-piece.

1. Apple, Carrot, and Beetroot Salad: This recipe comes from Frugal Farmhouse, which is a great blog to check out if you’re starting to get into frugal meal planning and need some inspiration! Want to make this recipe even lighter/more nutritious? Use one tbsp of oil instead of two and substitute the sesame seed for chia seeds.

2. Healthy Spinach Mango Summer Salad: Jessica & Sarah from Pretty Providence have written a really fabulous blog about how to live a consciously frugal life that’s still fashionable and tons of fun. While this is, admittedly, not their most frugal salad recipe, it’s oh-so-healthy and worth making if you want to work it this summer!

3. Frugal Breakfast Salad: Barb from Frugal {local} Kitchen is pretty much my hero; she’s a mom of 5 whose commitment to whole foods means she feeds her family a delicious, 80 percent unprocessed diet. Barb’s breakfast salads may seem a little unconventional until you start eating a lot of fruit and veg. The more salad you eat for lunch and dinner, the more you’ll wake up craving it for breakfast. Trust me. Check out her three delicious breakfast salad recipes (my favorite is this cooked kale-based breakfast salad!)

4. Watermelon & Prosciutto Salad: Sweet and hot, the combination of flavors in this salad is awesome! This recipe from Fabulously Frugal is a wonderful option to whip up for a cool dinner on hot summer nights (I could totally dig into this after a long run!)

5. Skinny Cheeseburger Salad: I just discovered Samantha from FruGAL Fit Chef and I am so glad I have! Her blog is filled with extremely creative recipes that make it possible to maintain a fit physique while satisfying cravings for savory and sweet. Seriously, she has a recipe for faux cookie dough made with nutritious oats instead of all the fat and sugar!