I have a major vegetable problem.  In that I don’t eat nearly enough of them (and neither do my kids, by extension). I don’t have a lot of interesting ways to prepare them, I’m not particularly adventurous in trying new ones. It’s not a good thing.

Enter the always versatile Salad.  Salad is a good thing. Lots of different veggies in one place, endless possibilities.  The go-to lunch of any good dieter.  So why do I have such a mental block on them?  I have great intentions. I bring home a head of lettuce, some tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, broccoli, etc.  And it just sits and goes bad in my vegetable drawer, because making a turkey sandwich sounds like a lot less work.  Oy, the washing and the chopping and the putting away half of a chopped cucumber because you don’t need it all, but hope it won’t go bad before you want to use it again…. this can’t just be me, right?

My other issue is that, as well as I try to dice up the individual components, it never seems to combine as well as I might like.  Even when I hit the almighty Salad Bar, the pieces are just too big.  I don’t want one big honking mouthful of broccoli, followed by an enormous slice of cucumber, and then an unwieldy whole leaf of lettuce.

Take, for instance, this lovely box o’ roughage that I picked up at Whole Foods yesterday:

Lots of great color and variety, but ugh.

ENTER: the Salad Scissors.  (Keep reading if you want to win a pair!)

My mom had a pair of these bad boys, and I instantly knew I wanted them. Two scissor blades with a sort of scoop on one side to hold veggies in place and let you toss them around. Lucky me, she had already gotten me a pair for Christmas.  Wohoo!  Just take your bowl or box of veggies, and start chopping away.

Go nuts. Get all of those giant cucumber slices and wedges of bell pepper. Chop the lettuce into little bits, and get the cherry tomatoes, too.  Within a minute, you have this gorgeous mess:

Everything in tiny little pieces, all mixed together.  I am so much happier, I can’t even tell you.  Just one bite, and I get a little lettuce, some carrot, some onion… everybody just gets along.  And, as an added bonus, I find it much easier to distribute dressing, so you can just use the 2 tablespoons you’re supposed to use, instead of ending up with globs on one leaf of lettuce and a whole lot of dry broccoli.

Et voila, lunch is served and you get your nice chopped salad at home.

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So, what do you think? Do you want to win a pair for yourself?  Leave me a comment on this post and tell me either what your favorite salad ingredient is, or your favorite vegetable dish.  I need some ideas!  The contest will close on Monday, October 26 at 5PM Eastern.  U.S. folks only, please, as my beloved Williams-Sonoma does not ship overseas.

And if you’re wondering about disclosure, nobody paid me for this or sent me these things to give away.  I just really like them, and will be swiping no one’s credit card but my own.  Enjoy!