Salad prep for beginners

Salads are really a mash up of your favorite stuff. I have made plenty with no leafy greens at all. The main thing is to have lots of veggies and some protein, other than that you can let the imagination fly. One of my favorite for lunch is bell peppers, cucumber, shredded carrot and cottage cheese.

I used to make a big salad on Sunday and eat it for lunches almost every week. It worked out really well and I want to start doing it again, so I'm glad you brought this up! This is how I do my salads...I prepare a couple different kinds of lettuces on Sunday and store them in the giant two gallon zip lock bags, with paper towel in the bottom to absorb moisture. I change out the paper towel every day. This really helps to keep my lettuces fresh. In a separate container, I store a mixture of chopped cucumbers, celery, shallots, bell pepper, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. In a third container, I store a mixture of chopped egg, chopped chicken, and a little grated cheese. To make my salad, I make a layer from each container in my salad bowl, and Bob's your uncle, I've got a fresh, non-soggy salad pronto!

I know you said you don't use salad dressing, but thought I'd share how I do that too. I make ranch dressing using the Hidden Valley seasoning packet, skim milk, and light mayo. It's delish! I have these little two ounce containers made by Tupperware that are the perfect portion size. They don't leak at all and work out great for salad dressing! I believe you can get them still on amazon.

Thanks for your post; now I'm excited about salad again, which is a good thing! I had salad burn out for a while. I think this time I'll do it every other week, and maybe make a big pot of soup to eat for lunch on my non-salad weeks. Enjoy!