Salad Prep Made Easy

Salads are one of the healthiest meals you can have. If you've been following me, you've probably seen me mention that I love them, a time or two -- or gazillion. It's true, I'm a huge fan of a bowl of greens loaded with veggies. But putting together a worthwhile mix takes time. And if you're short on time, like I often am, freshly making a salad, just doesn't always fit into the schedule. 

Each week I plan my meals ahead of time. If I have salad on the menu more than once, I find that prepping all the ingredients in advance helps save time and frustration. When I don't have everything prepped, the mere thought of freshly chopping lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cabbage, etc., is enough to make me second guess my meal choice.

I put together a photo tutorial of how easy it is to prep all of your ingredients. Check it out.

And ...

There are a couple of things I'd like to mention. One, if you don't have a salad spinner, I strongly encourage you to buy one. They make all the difference when storing lettuce in a plastic zip lock bag. If there's too much water inside the bag, the lettuce will go bad very quickly. The salad spinner knocks off all the excess water -- and I mean, all. I'm still amazed my how much water comes of lettuce that looks fairly dry to me.

The second thing I'd like to mention, is you should buy a large plastic storage container if you don't have one already. I find that storing all the ingredients in one container is so much easier. In the past, I have used two or three containers because I didn't have just one large sized one, and almost always, I'd forget about one of those containers and end up skipping some ingredients.

If you like salads or are looking to incorporate more salads into your diet, take my advice and prep in advance. It make take a little time to chop everything, but you'll only have to do in once. As soon as everything is placed inside the storage container, you pop it in the fridge and you're done. Now, anytime you want a salad, all you have to do is get a bowl and put it together.