We all get tired of the classic lettuce in a bowl, with some cucumbers and croutons thrown on top, and some dressing drizzled over.  With the New Year rolling in, and the resolutions that come with it, there's the common goal of eating healthier.  Instead of eating a bland salad that is almost painful to put down, I've compiled a list of 5 salads that you'll actually be excited to eat.

Apple Spinach Salad

First up is the Apple Spinach Salad. This salad includes spinach, apples, cranberries, pecans, onions, and cheese. Typically pecans and feta cheese are used, but you can really substitute any nut or soft cheese in this salad. Also typically served with some sort of vinaigrette, but you can use any dressing you'd like. You can also throw in some grilled or baked chicken for some extra protein.

Thinly cut the apples and onions, throw the spinach and other ingredients in a bowl, and toss it together. Drizzle some of your dressing overtop and wallah you have transformed a boring spinach salad into one with multiple layers and flavors. And the apples provide a nice fall feel to the dish!

Southwestern Salad

The next salad is a Southwestern Salad recipe. The key in this salad is the chicken, the recipe I found uses pre-cooked Flamed Grilled Chicken. This chicken has a special kick from being the cooked the way it is, giving that southern barbeque taste.

The salad also includes romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, canned black beans, cherry tomatoes, corn, and onion.

Cut the romaine into salad size pieces, prep the veggies into slices or cubes, and chop the chicken breast. Throw the lettuce in a bowl, and then layer the veggies, beans, chicken, and cheese on top. The recipe suggests tossing the salad with skinny salsa ranch dressing, which sounds delicious but the salad should be great with a dressing of your choice as well.

Oriental Chicken Salad

Next is a play on the Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad. For this recipe, you'll need romaine lettuce, red cabbage, shredded carrots, toasted sliced almonds, chow mein noodles, and green onions chopped. And you'll also need chicken tenders, sliced up.  For the dressing, you'll need greek yogurt, honey, rice vinegar, dijon mustard, sesame oil kosher salt, and nonfat milk.

To make the dressing you'll just stir all of the ingredients together in a bowl. For the salad, the lettuce and cabbage get tossed in a bowl, then the chicken, noodles, onions, and carrots placed on top. Drizzle with dressing and then toss together.

Avocado Greek Salad

Avocado Greek Salad is next. The dressing is a classic Greek salad dressing consisting of red wine vinegar, garlic, dried oregano, and salt. The salad includes cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper, red onion, feta cheese, olives, and avocado.

Mix the dressing ingredients together, just like the last salad. Toss the salad ingredients together as well. Easy enough!

This salad is great served with any meat option as well to add some extra protein to it.

The Fruit Salad

Lastly, this salad isn't a traditional one in the lettuce sense, but it is a classic. The fruit salad. The possibilities are endless on this one. You can make any combination of fruits for this salad, including taking a tropical twist or a classic fruit salad.

A classic fruit salad might include cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwi, blueberries, and strawberries. A tropical twist might include mango, banana, kiwi, and pomegranate.

A fruit salad is a fun, light, tasty twist on a normal salad. This is one of my favorites even for just a quick snack!