YUM.

As the days get hotter and hotter, salads are becoming one of our go-to meals. After all, they're fresh, delicious and totally easy to make - what's not to love? So, if you're looking for something to brighten your lunchbox, freshen up your picnic, or put a colourful spin on a BBQ - don't worry, we've got you covered. Here are three of our favourite summer salad recipes.

Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

It takes a total of 15 minutes to make, from the moment you begin to the moment it is on your plate - you'll be enjoying this perfect summer salad from Gimme Some Oven in no time flat.

Here's what you need.... 

For the salad...

• 6 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced (or, if you're really an avocado fan, you can add two)
• 4 ounces of crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• half a small red onion, thinly sliced

For the dressing...

• 1/3 cup avocado oil (or any oil, such as olive oil)
• 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• pinch of ground dry mustard (optional)
• salt and pepper

Here's what you need to do...

1. To make the dressing, all you have to do is whisk the ingredients together until they are combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper - or more, depending on how you like it.
2. To make the salad, toss all the ingredients together with you're desired amount of dressing.

Orange Lentil Greek Salad

Bright, colourful and totally tasty - what more could you want from a salad? This recipe from TwoPupleFigs takes 35 minutes for prep and cooking time and dishes up four servings - so it's the perfect meal for a small get-together. For the lentils:

• 1/2 cup of lentils
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

For the salad: 

• 3 cups of spring mix
• 2 oranges, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 cups of cherry tomatoes
• 1 pear, sliced
• 2/3 cups of kalamata olives, pitted
• 1 cup of sliced cucumbers
• 1/4 cup of chopped mint
• 1/3 cup of cubed feta cheese (optional, omit if vegan)

For the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons of pitted olives
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of orange juice
• 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

Here's what you need to do...

1. Cook the lentil in the water, bring the water to boil on high heat. Then lower the heat to low and cook the lentils until tender for 25-30 mins. Once cooked, add the salt and cool the lentils to room temperature and colder.
2. While this is going on, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients
3. For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
4. To finish the salad, toss the salad ingredients, cooked lentils and salad dressing.

Watercress Salad with Basil Clementine Dressing

Taking just 25 minutes to prep and cook, this recipe from Green Healthy Cooking is the perfect plate to be serving up as the weather continues to get warm.

Here's what you need...

• 4 oz watercress (113 g)
• 1 large chicken breast (10-ish oz/ 300-ish g)
• 1 large beet
• 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels
• 1 cup basil
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp mustard
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp clementine juice (which is approximately one big clementine) 

Here's what you need to do...

1. Cook chicken breast in a pan until it is done, then wash and spin-dry the watercress.
2. Peel beet and spiralize or julienne or cut into very, very fine stripes.
3. Add watercress to salad bowl, top with spiralized beets, corn and chicken breast cut into stripes.
4. Add basil, maple syrup, mustard, rice vinegar and clementine juice to blender and blend until smooth.
5. Pour dressing over salad, seconds before serving.