Lunch Salads Made in Advance

What should I eat for . . .lunch?

I will be honest: I am not the best at bringing my lunch to work. I should be. It would save me a lot of money, calories, and angst in deciding what to eat each day.

Some weeks I am diligent and bring lunch to work; other weeks not so much.

And this does cause concern because lunch is important to me. By 11 a.m. (actually 10 a.m.), I am already thinking about lunch, trying to ignore the rumbles of my stomach.

What to eat, what to eat, what to eat?

I am trying to eat healthier, which — at lunchtime — is not as easy as it sounds. Salads, for example, are not always easy to come by at work.

There have been a few times when I did prepare a fresh salad the night before. Granted, it was for dinner and the leftovers then became my lunch.

I am realist. I will NOT cut, dice, and prep a salad for myself every morning. I am not that motivated. Produce also goes bad, which poses another challenge.  I need something that will work for me–a lunch that is healthy, economical, won’t go bad, and EASY to prepare. The following is my attempt at doing just that.

Tip #1:  LET-US (ha, ha get it?) talk LETTUCE.

Purchasing bagged lettuce allows me to grab and go with the comfort of knowing the lettuce is most likely fresh.  When I have prepared a salad, the lettuce was often brown and wilted by the next day.

Tip #2:  Prepare “the toppings” for your week’s worth of salads in advance.

In a separate container, you can prepare all the salad toppings in advance.  Be sure to check below for some salads to try out.

Tip #3:  Bring tupperware or plastic container.

Tupperware containers or plastic, reusable containers are multi-purposed. You can eat out of them–you need a bowl after all–AND you can store the remaining lettuce (from the bag of lettuce) in it. I do, however, recommend rinsing out your container before storing the remaining lettuce.

Tip #4: Lemon juice will help keep produce fresh a bit longer.

As I mentioned, produce goes bad quickly making it difficult to prepare a week’s worth of salads in advance.  I lightly pour lemon juice on my salads (especially the ones with fruit) and toss.

So let’s get EATING . . .

Using the above secrets, I was able to prepare salads for the week in advance.

Salad #1: Fruit with Protein

Ingredients:

• Strawberries, cut
• Blueberries
• Mandarin oranges, cut
• Almond Slivers
• Sliced chicken or turkey (I am lazy so just went with the processed deli meat — shame, shame I know)
• Raspberry vinaigrette (stored in small container)

Deviating from Salad #1:

Another option to give you some additional variety is to substitute the chicken or turkey for YOGURT. Instead of a salad, you can make a yummy parfait. Add granola for added goodness and protein.

Salad #2: It’s all about the Feta

Ingredients:

• Feta (no more than 1/4 cup)
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Sliced chicken or turkey
• Recommended dressing: EVOO Garlic Basil Italian Dressing

Salad #3: Mexican Fiesta

Ingredients:

• Black Beans
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Corn
• Black Olives
• Avocado (I WAIT to add this until that morning; I pick this salad depending on the ripeness of my avocado.)
• Cilantro (topped)
  

You can MIX and MATCH your Salads with any of the following toppings (sample listing only) :

• Almond Slivers
• Apples
• Bacon
• Bean Sprouts
• Beets
• Bell Peppers
• Black Beans
• Blueberries
• Celery
• Cheese (Gorgonzola, Feta, Blue, Mozzarella, Cheddar)
• Chick Peas
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Cranberries (dried)
• Egg (Hard Boiled)
• Grapes
• Onion
• Raisins
• Sesame Seeds
• Shrimp
• Snow Peas
• Steak
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Tuna

HAPPY EATING!