How to Meal Prep Salads And Keep Them Fresh
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Going out to lunch is so tempting, especially if you work at an office near a lot of fast and tasty quick-service restaurants like I did. So I’m gonna share my 5-ingredient formula for meal prep salads to save me on days I don’t have leftovers.
Being prepared is an essential part of reducing your spending on food. I love meal planning, I did a video on that a while ago, I also make freezer meals a part of my weekly routine, you can see my tips on that in another video, but we focus so much on dinner that lunch can be this silent budget killer.
I usually take leftovers from dinner for lunch but on days I don’t have leftovers I make sure I have something meal prepped and in the summer that’s almost always a salad. But how? You might ask. I don’t do those pretty jar salads Pinterest is obsessed with. If you know me you know one of the reasons I don’t love cooking is that I HATE dishes and I need to be able to eat my salad in the container I’ve packed it in, just not possible with a jar. And I am a hungry girl. I need more than what I can fit in a jar.
If I used a jar big enough to feed me I would need to use a backpack as a lunch box.
So I’m gonna show you what I do and how I do it in my kitchen! Let’s go!
how long can you meal prep salads?
I hope that was helpful. When I do it like that those salads will be fine all week and I’ll definitely use them by the end of the week
Some Meal Prep Salad Ideas
The secret to any salad is this simple 5 ingredient formula
Greens + Protein + Fruit/Veggie + Dressing + Crunch
That’s how I do all my salads. Is it food blog worthy? No, I don’t have a food blog I have a personal finance and frugal living blog. So the formula is simple.
A Few of My Favorite Meal Prep Salad Recipes
Kale salad with a lemon vinaigrette from the garlic diaries. I’ll throw in some chicken or chickpeas but it doesn’t need anything else.
Chopped Thai Salad from Pinch of Yum is so good
And a mixed green salad from Green Valley Kitchen with feta and golden raisins, yum.
I hope this video inspired you to make some of your own meal prep salads with whatever ingredients you’ve got laying around. Salads and salad dressings are great for using up lingering pantry items so grab a few and come up with your own creative salad idea!
And if you want more help figuring out how to use up pantry staples then check out this video over here and subscribe for more money saving tips every week!
Jen Smith is a personal finance expert, founder of Modern Frugality and co-host of the Frugal Friends Podcast. Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Lifehacker, Money Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Business Insider, and more. She’s passionate about helping people gain control of their spending.