Salad For Days

Food preparation is one of the most important keys to successful weight loss and weight management. When you don’t have a plan or have food prepared, you often make bad decisions and fall back into those bad habits. 

Now, I LOVE salad. I could eat it everyday. And, I do most days. On days when I work on campus (pre-COVID, of course), I walk to the cafeteria everyday just to get a side salad from the salad bar. It’s only $2.50! I have always been anti-buffet so I always do my best to make it to the cafeteria as soon as they open to avoid germs. 

Since COVID-19, we are all reevaluating those social norms and wondering how they can be changed to fit with the current climate. And, since I’m home now anyway, I had to figure out a way to make my life easier during lunch since I’m also the lunch lady for my kids who are doing school virtually. 

Salad for Days is perfect for this! I usually make this on Sunday and I eat it 1-2 times per day as well as use it as a side for dinner for the family a few times. The best thing about this salad is versatility. You can make it using whatever veggies you wish. 

The first step is choosing your greens. I love a good mix of spinach and romaine. The crunch of the romaine combined with the slight bitterness of the spinach is just perfect for me. I will say that iceberg lettuce has not worked well for me with this particular recipe. It tends to brown and wilt much more quickly than these options. The spinach and romaine will last at least 3-4 days in the fridge in a covered dish. 

For toppings, you can totally use whatever you like. I have found that veggies that contain a ton of water and/or seeds really tend to make the salad wilt and turn brown quicker. I do use tomatoes…but, only grape or cherry and I keep them whole. The veggies I have found that work best are: peppers, red onions, grape or cherry tomatoes and frozen green peas. I don’t always use the peas, because they do add a few carbs. But, it’s always nice to change it up a bit. 

I also boil a dozen eggs at the beginning of the week for us to use in our salads or for breakfast. 

Once I’m ready to eat, I simply plate some of the salad mixture and add cheese, eggs and meat (if desired). I have used deli meat, chicken breasts/chicken burgers, bacon and  salmon/salmon burgers. It really depends on how I’m feeling and what I have on hand. Then, I top it all with a little dressing and some Everything Bagel seasoning and all is right with the world!

Start your week off right and make some Salad for Days!!!

Ingredients (as pictured):

2 bags Romaine salad mix

1 bag baby spinach

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 medium red onion

1 pint of sweet grape tomato mix

½ cup of frozen green peas

Directions:

Pour bagged salads into a large lasagna pan (I use large foil pans) and mix well. Next, slice the peppers and onion and spread the slices and the tomatoes on the salad mixture. Then, top it all with the frozen green peas, cover and refrigerate. 

When you’re ready to serve, plate the prepared salad then top with the protein of your choice. It’s THAT simple! Now, eat you can eat your lunch guilt-free!