Things are starting to heat up at Just Salad with our popular new Buffalo Chicken Wrap. The wrap unites fresh iceberg-romaine lettuce, all-natural grilled buffalo chicken, crisp celery, crunchy tortilla strips, and reduced fat cheddar cheese, all chopped into a freshly-pressed whole-wheat tortilla.

The suggested dressing is Buttermilk Ranch, but many of our customers have decided to kick it up a notch with our new Smokey Poblano Ranch — a daring mix of smoky poblano peppers and smooth buttermilk ranch.

Order a Buffalo Chicken Wrap today for Pick-Up or Delivery!

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Chef Laura on Martha Stewart Radio Today!

Chef Laura Pensiero, our head chef and nutritionist, will be a guest today on Mario Bosquez’s “Living Today” show. Tune in to XM 157 at 1pm EST today (1/26/10)!

Don’t have XM radio? Not a problem! Click here to download a free trial version of XM radio so you can tune in.

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Add Soup For Just $1.99

Looking for an easy way to ward off the winter cold? Warm up at Just Salad by adding a small soup to any salad or wrap for just $1.99.

Also, remember to check out our Soup Special of the Week: Three Lentil Chili. A rich and hearty blend of three different lentils, spices and vegetables, it is the perfect vegetarian alternative to your standard bowl of chili!

Just Salad and Chef Laura Pensiero have always seen eye to eye when it comes to fresh food.  For those of you who don’t know Chef Laura, she was instrumental in helping Rob and Nick put together the salad choices and dressings at Just Salad before it opened its doors.  Laura also creates our special “chef designed” salad combinations that have attracted legions of devoted Just Salad eaters.

Now Laura has tossed together something new for fans of her flavor-forward nutrition-savvy style: her new cookbook, Hudson Valley Mediterranean. In it Laura demonstrates her trademark “balanced” perspective on eating and cooking: food that is good for you must always taste great to you.

Like us, Laura has a balanced approach to healthy living and loves seasonal produce.  Her food is rich in flavor while it introduces people to sophisticated, healthy, great-tasting ingredients.   We’re proud that two of Just Salad signature salads, the Immunity Bowl and the Hudson Valley Salad, made the cut and are included among all her great recipes.

“I love walking into Just Salad and seeing young people bringing in their reusable bowls for a healthy meal,” says Chef Laura. “They know that good nutrition and good taste should never be mutually exclusive.  That idea was very much on my mind when I wrote Hudson Valley Mediterranean. It was my chance to convince people that eating well and eating healthy go hand in hand.  I also think that eating seasonally and locally can increase the pleasure you take from every meal.  As I write in my book, nothing can replace the blissful flavor of a peach at the peak of ripeness.  If you’re a New Yorker, you’re much more likely to get that from a local grower right here in the Hudson Valley than anywhere else.”

I’ve always loved working with Rob and Nick, in part because Just Salad so fully captures my philosophy of nutrition and my inner hungry girl!  We have similar palates and really enjoy fresh, flavorful ingredients.  But the biggest thanks goes to Nick’s dad, Peter, who is a frequent diner at my restaurant, Gigi Trattoria, in Rhinebeck.  It was he who first made the connection between the Trattoria’s emphasis on fresh, local ingredients and Rob and Nick’s goals when Just Salad was still on the drawing board.

In Hudson Valley Mediterranean, I’ve take a four seasons approach to mealtimes, but also have given people lots of possible substitutions based on what may catch their eye at the market, and I hope this tempts people to head to the kitchen with my cookbook and start having fun.  You’ll be pleased at how well you do!”

Eating healthy isn’t about sacrifices. Instead, Chef Laura writes in this month’s issue of O, The Oprah Magazine it’s about balance and enjoyment.  Just like at Just Salad, it’s all about variety and choice. Mix it up! Why torture yourself with boring food? Fresh food tastes better making it more pleasurable and appetizing. By following a Mediterranean style diet, just like Chef Laura cooks at her restaurant Gigi Trattoria and writes about in her new cookbook, Hudson Valley Mediterranean, you ensure a balance of veggies, fresh fruit, whole grains, and lean protein! At Just Salad, you can easily implement these ideas when either picking from one of our Chef Laura designed salads or custom building your own.

Be sure to check out this month’s O, on newsstands now to see the feature article written by our own Chef Laura! (or check it out online)

Are salads healthy?

Oh yeah!  As a chef, registered dietitian and proud partner at Just Salad, I was a bit troubled by a recent piece on the Today show which asked,” how did the salad leap from a nutritional boon to a full-blown health hazard?”  While I completely agree that pitfalls exist in the world of salad, it is also a great opportunity to pile your bowl with tasty and healthful ingredients.

I’ve designed many Just Salad selections to deliciously offer:

Wanna design your own? Visit our Nutrition Calculator: http://www.justsalad.com/nutritioncalc/, and see how your selections can positively influence your salad. Also check out Our Food: to find out about the ingredients we use to put together fresh “one bowl meals”

Talk to me: laura@gigihudsonvalley.com. I’d love to hear your ideas and look forward to sharing some helpful tips to build a healthy salad (and avoid the pitfalls) next week.

Chef Laura

We are pleased to announce that our grilled chicken is now all natural, straight from Sanderson Farms! This means that our new chicken has:

• No added hormones
• No additives
• No artififcial ingredients

Marinated for 24 hours before hitting the grill, this new chicken is out of this world. Make sure to stop by and try it out!

- Chef Laura