Too many times, people equate eating healthy — better choices, more veggies and fruits, less refined junk — with tasteless boredom. That’s because many of us grew up without a lot of variety in these items. Or they were overcooked or not prepared in any inventive way that brought out their natural goodness.

For example, what was a salad? Iceberg lettuce (no real taste or nutritional value), tomatoes, maybe carrots or cucumbers, some sort of dressing. Salad a few days later? Same thing. Yeah, who wouldn’t get bored with that and run screaming for something else?

This is where a slight learning curve comes in. You have to experiment. Look around. Go searching for cool recipes on the ‘net. Try. Fail. Try again. Succeed. It’s not drudgery unless you make it so. Keep an open mind. Get curious. It will become more enjoyable when you find recipes that fit your tastes and needs.

Back to salads: A salad can be 1,001 things. That’s why I never get tired of them. I don’t make the same one over and over. And I use items that come with lots of taste on their own plus I make my own dressings which have more flavor and don’t have chemical junk in them.

Below is one of my favorites. It’s satisfying, tastes amazing and is filled with items great for your health. Plus it comes with another usual criteria of mine: It’s easy. Is this a “salad?” Yep, it is, and I purposely chose it to get you away from the idea that all salads start with lettuce. They can … but they don’t have to. Enjoy!

Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado Salad