Salad question

Okay, it's mostly me posting here, I know, but screw it. I have a salad question and I'm hoping to get some suggestions.

I eat a garden salad pretty much every day now. Sometimes twice a day. I really like a good garden salad. But there are a few things in a typical salad that I don't like, namely tomatoes and cucumbers. I'm warming up to the cucumber (well, you know what I mean) but I strongly dislike tomatoes. Sorry tomatoes.

So my garden salad is usually some version of spinach or 50/50 spinach and spring mix, celery, carrots, red cabbage, red bell pepper, and red onions. Sometimes I'll throw in some sprouts, sometimes some raw fresh green beans, sometimes some raw snow peas (in pod).

I don't love salad dressing, but I've grown to really like a tsp or two of Italian dressing, or just a little balsamic and olive oil. HATE ranch and all "creamy" dressings. Hate them.

Okay, all of that is to say, am I missing something? Should there be something in this salad that isn't? It's not that I'm sick of this salad -- when I'm eating it regularly (and i have to say this last week I've been eating HORRIBLY due to job stress), I CRAVE it -- but I'm wondering if there's something I might think about adding to it. Keep in mind, we're talking garden salad. No eggs. No ham.

Thanks for the (hopefully upcoming) suggestions.

Man Salad, Version 1

There's not much prep for this salad. Just throw it all together and mix. Just leave out whatever you don't have / don't like. 

Ingredients:

Chicken (I like to pull the meat off half a breast and go with that)

Dried Cranberries

Pine Nuts

Feta Cheese

Banana Peppers / Pepperoncini Peppers

Chunks of Bacon

half a bag of salad greens

Good Olive Oil

A splash of vinegar

Salt + Pepper

I like to get all the main ingredients in a bowl and then put the salt and pepper on top. Then I drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the top while tossing it around with tongs. I also like a little bit of the juice from the canned peppers splashed in there. It's good with a slice of my grilled bread. 

Country French Salad

Oh Yeah, kids. We're doing it up, warm salad style. This recipe is a good way to get yourself eating greens in the winter, when you probably want something hot. It adds a few calories in the form of egg and bacon, but sometimes you gotta grease up roughage to make it taste right, am I right?

Hell yeah.

Ingredients (for one person)

-3-5 slices of bacon

-1 egg

-1 head of romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise. (you only need 1/2 for this recipe, so stick the other half in the fridge)

-dijon mustard

-honey

-1 small shallot

-red wine vinegar

-olive oil

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Get the bacon frying in a medium sized saucepan. Also, fill a small saucepan with about 2-3 inches of water and and 1/8 cup of vinegar to it. Bring this to 180 degrees. You can use a thermometer if you want, but you'll know it's at the right temperature when there are bubbles along the sides of the pan. 

2. While the bacon is cooking, whip up the dressing by mincing the shallot and combining it with a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of the mustard, a few splashes of vinegar and some olive oil to top it off. Whisk or beat together with a fork. 

3. When the bacon is nice and crispy, remove it to a paper towel for draining

4. Pour off most of the bacon fat in the saucepan and turn the heat to low

5. Put 1/2 of the head of lettuce flat-side down in the pan. Be careful. The amount of water in lettuce can make things splatter a bit. 

6. While the lettuce warms, crack your egg into a small bowl and slip it gently into the 180 degree water. Leave for 3-5 minutes. 3 minutes should still leave a bit of liquid in the center, while 5 minutes should mostly solidify things. If you hate runny centers, you can leave the egg in there for up to ten minutes and it should be fine. 

7. When the lettuce is mostly warmed, pull it off the heat and chop it into wedges. Remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon and place it on top of the warmed lettuce. Crumble the bacon on top, drizzle the dressing on top of that, salt it, pepper, and chow down. Blammo.

Oh yeah - this is good with bread. Especially Braden's extra garlic-y garlic bread. Recipe to come.