Jennifer Garner Shared Her Foolproof Salad Recipe — and the "the Key" to Its Greatness

Jennifer Garner leads a complex life. On one hand, she's the buff hero who takes down villains in action flicks; on the other hand, she owns a pet chicken and has a "pretend cooking show." But on October 27, the Camping actress combined her heroic and domestic sides, coming to the defense of salads everywhere. If you think all salads should be prefaced in their descriptions with "sad" and "desk," Garner is here to change everything you thought you knew about the veggie-packed dish. 

In a video that showed her standing in a sun-filled kitchen, the actress got to work chopping up vegetables before a giant bowl of greens. She started right out of the gate with the salad tips:

"I add lots of goodies to my salad, but first: veggies," she said. "They add lots of crunch. You don't need croutons if you have something crunchy in there." Also on her list of salad musts: broccoli, nuts, and an avocado — "or two, whatever you need!"

In the caption, Garner went ahead and made a shopping list of sorts, listing out the exact ingredients you'll need to make a salad that's as delicious and robust as the one she eats for lunch every day. 

In addition to mixed greens and veggies, she also adds fats (avocado will do, as will cheese or nuts), grains or protein, and last, the dressing. "I use straight olive oil and red wine/balsamic vinegar," she shared. In short, here's the key to a Garner-level salad: "The key for me is to pick a variety of the above and CHOP it up so that you aren’t battling a dinner plate-sized honk of lettuce every other bite."