Super Salads

Salads make fabulous lunches! However, I'm someone that needs a lot of variety; I can't eat the same lunch every day or I start to feel like my food is boring and unsatisfying. Today, for my prep work, I decided to focus on creating salads for the week ahead.

I went to Whole Foods and picked up a variety of greens and vegetables. I precut and washed most of the vegetables and grilled meats, boiled eggs and planned my menu. For my dressing, I always use an oil and vinegar. Balsamic Vinegar and Red Wine Vinegar are my favorites.

Monday: Romaine Lettuce, cucumber, red onion, green bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and beets topped with grilled chicken.

Tuesday: Baby Spinach with strawberries and blueberries (sometimes I add a little feta), grilled salmon on the side.

Wednesday: Mixed Spring Greens with edamame, cilantro, snow peas, red bell pepper and topped with thinly sliced steak (I prefer this with an Asian style dressing like a sesame vinaigrette)

Thursday: Romaine Lettuce, Red, Yellow and Orange bell pepper chopped, broccoli florets, radishes, carrots, red onion and cilantro. I like to top this with hard-boiled egg and/or grilled chicken.

Friday: Mixed Spring Greens with beets, hard-boiled egg, red onion, green bell pepper and cucumber topped with grilled tuna.

I always avoid or use sparingly: dried fruits (raisins, craisins, etc), creamy dressings or mayonaise based dresssings, bacon, croutons, cheese, and nuts. I always measure out my dressing or if I have to order a salad out, ask for the dressing on the side.

This is sort of an odd thing about how I like my salads, but I have to eat them on a real plate with a real fork. The salad has to be cold and I don't add my dressing until I'm ready to eat it. Often times, when I pack my salads, I put everything in individual ziploc bags and assemble it at lunch time. That just keeps everything fresh and crisp. It adds a little more work/time in the prep, but I would rather take a couple extra minutes and have a phenomenal lunch rather than have a soggy, mediocre meal. :o)