This grilled green vegetable salad is the perfect accompaniment to your summer BBQ. The recipe is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, Paleo, and Whole30 friendly.

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Ah, do I love summer. Sure, there's the warmer temps and the longer days, but then there's also the amazing summer vegetables.

All I want to eat when Memorial Day hits is fruits and vegetables.

Ok, maybe there's a few other things. I'm not a rabbit or anything, and I do enjoy a nice glass of wine or a cocktail, but I digress.

The farmer's markets in Southern California are overflowing with fresh vegetables right now, so I was inspired to create a green grilled vegetable salad with the latest and greatest.

And the beauty of working with such fresh produce is that it needs little manipulation. There's no need to drown it in a creamy, goopy sauce.

A quick sear on the grill with a little olive oil and salt and it's hello summer salad. And that brings me to salt. Yes, salt.

I salt and season nearly every recipe I create, but all salt is not created equal. Sadly a lot of salt you'll find in the supermarket has been heavily refined, with important trace minerals removed and other "extras" added.

When the salt is heated and processed, the good things salt can provide like calcium, potassium, and magnesium often get dropped, and anti-caking agents and even dextrose can be added.

Yeah, people can muck up something as seemingly simple as salt.

I'm a big fan of Real Salt and actually wrote to them telling them I wanted to sing their praises. They're the real deal, having started mining in Central Utah back in 1959. There's nothing added or subtracted, heated or bleached. In fact, Real Salt has a unique pink hue from the 60 naturally occurring trace minerals, all of which lend it a slightly sweet taste and a great overall salt.

I'm a big fan of the brand Real Salt but there are others on the market. You just want to make sure you read the labels well and make sure nothing has been added or subtracted, heated or bleached.

Real Salt has a unique pink hue from the 60 naturally occurring trace minerals, all of which lend it a slightly sweet taste and a great overall salt.

Of course, there are always those who abuse a good thing - hello fast food chains and chip makers.

Too much bad salt will wreck your system, but on the other hand, we do need salt, the good kind, in our bodies to survive. Salt helps a lot of things in our bodies to work from thyroid function to insulin sensitivity. Just stay away from that processed, refined stuff.

So enjoy a healthy summer, starting with this grilled green vegetable salad!

Grilled Green Vegetable Salad {Paleo, Whole30, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian)

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends of the stalks removed
2 zucchini, sliced in strips lengthwise, about 1/4" thick
1 bunch of broccolini, stalks trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil, or enough to coat the vegetables
Salt to taste
2 cups of fresh spinach

Salad Dressing Ingredients

1 tablespoon shallots, diced
1 tablespoon Dijon
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Turn a grill to medium high. Place the asparagus, zucchini and broccolini in a large glass dish and cover with olive oil and salt/seasoning.
When the grill is warm, place the vegetables on the grates or in a vegetable tray, being careful to not overcrowd. The asparagus will be done first, in about 5-7 minutes. Make sure to roll and flip the vegetables a few minutes in, after char marks have formed. Depending on the thickness of the zucchini and broccolini, they should be done in 10-12 minutes. I like getting some char on mine, but if it gets too crispy and is still not cooked through, turn the heat down for a few minutes to cook the inside. Remove all vegetables from the grill.
Meanwhile, place all salad dressing ingredients into a bowl, adding the olive oil last in a steady stream while whisking to combine.
Place the spinach in a bowl or on a large platter. You can slice the vegetables on the diagonal in 2-3 inch pieces and toss with spinach, or you can layer the vegetables in one piece on top of the greens. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and enjoy!