This is such as easy thing to do you'll wonder why you haven't always done it.
No more limp slimy lettuce in the crisper and mealtimes made simple. Save time, save money, tasty meals...what's not to like?
Week long Salad No. 1
Half to one red cabbage, shredded (the mandolin slicer is brilliant for this)
1 capsicum, finely diced
3 peeled and grated carrots
Store in an airtight container. Remove enough each night for that meal only, and add additional ingredients. DO NOT add the extra ingredients to the salad base itself in the storage container.
Day 1: Add halved cherry tomatoes and dress with balsamic vinegar.
Day 2: Add one tin rinsed beans such as cannellini or four bean mix. Fry 2 rashers of diced bacon, and chop some herbs. Toss well with a dressing of one third each balsamic, olive oil and wholegrain mustard.
Day 4: Add grated cheese and finely sliced shallots. No dressing.
Day 5: Add zest and flesh of two oranges. No dressing.
Day 6: Add 1 cup cooked macaroni, italian herbs and italian dressing.
Day 7: Toss with cooked 2 minute noodles and dress with sesame oil and Sushi vinegar.
Week Long Salad no. 2...
Purchase 2 different 'trendy' lettuces...by which I mean not iceberg. So Romaine, Butter, Frilled and so on.
This is mainly because of all of them, the Iceberg lettuce, having the most water content, deteriorates the quickest.
1 capsicum, finely diced
3 peeled and grated carrots
Store in an airtight container. Remove enough each night for that meal only, and add additional ingredients. DO NOT add the extra ingredients to the salad base itself in the storage container.
Day 1: Add halved cherry tomatoes and dress with balsamic vinegar.
Day 2: Add one tin rinsed beans such as cannellini or four bean mix. Fry 2 rashers of diced bacon, and chop some herbs. Toss well with a dressing of one third each balsamic, olive oil and wholegrain mustard.
Day 4: Add grated cheese and finely sliced shallots. No dressing.
Day 5: Add zest and flesh of two oranges. No dressing.
Day 6: Add 1 cup cooked macaroni, italian herbs and italian dressing.
Day 7: Toss with cooked 2 minute noodles and dress with sesame oil and Sushi vinegar.
Week Long Salad no. 2...
Purchase 2 different 'trendy' lettuces...by which I mean not iceberg. So Romaine, Butter, Frilled and so on.
This is mainly because of all of them, the Iceberg lettuce, having the most water content, deteriorates the quickest.
Cut off the bottoms to separate the leaves. Wash them well.
Stack the leaves on top of one another and slice into smaller bits. You can also just tear them with your hands, and sometimes this is preferable as metal can taint the lettuce leaves, making them brown along the cut section.
This is important....you need a salad spinner to spin the leaves bone dry. Your salad leaves will revert to limp and slimy if there is any moisture left on them.
Put leaves into the salad spinner and spin thoroughly. You'll be amazed at how much moisture is collected and it's moisture that makes the lettuce yucky after a couple of days.
Tip into a large salad bowl.
Put a clean paper towel over the lettuce and cover with cling wrap.
Change the paper towel every couple of days to keep it dry.
Voila...perfect salad greens for the whole week....add ingredients as listed above or add your own variations!
No more dead salads in your crisper!
...Mimi...
this is a great idea!
ReplyDeletemy DD is planning a meal prep day in the kitchen today, it will be interesting to see how we fare.