How to Build a Week of Make-Ahead Salads

A week of make-ahead salads

Self-care and salads go together, don’t they?  When you are eating well, you tend to feel more energy. And that energy leads to pursuing more of your passions, spending more time on your priorities, and feeling better on a daily basis.

I want to help you with your goal of eating healthier at lunch. Whether you take that lunch on the go or you eat it at home. You could spend less than an hour a week prepping a lunchtime salad that will feed you for five days with these simple tips and tools.

Want to get a free chart for how to prep salads for the whole week?

A week of make-ahead salads

Have your make and take containers ready:

As you prep your ingredients, they need somewhere to be stored. That’s why I like the Large Square Cool & Serve – I can keep all my ingredients for the week’s salads in one space in the frig. I can chop and prep into this portable “salad bar” and pull it out every morning for a fresh new salad.

To build your salads, go for leak-proof containers to eliminate extra clean up.  The Make & Take Mason Jar Set is the perfect container for building your salad and for transport. 

What to do about dressing:

I love that the lid of the Make & Take Mason Jar set is divided to store the dressing to eliminate soggy salads. If you don’t have this and you are using a glass mason jar (careful to not drop it) then simply put the dressing on the bottom of the jar.

For dressing, it’s easy to make homemade options with the Measure, Mix & Pour. Control the ingredients and flavors in your dressing, and even store the dressing in the same container. 4 recipes are featured on it – Italian, Ranch, Asian, and Caesar.

Gain the grain:

Get creative here with adding rice or quinoa to your salad, or try whole grain pasta. These grains can add some great texture to a delicious salad. I love using my Rice Cooker Plus to cook these up at the beginning at the week without any boil overs in the microwave – and the grains are fluffy!

Chop those veggies:

When you have the right tools, this chopping is not a chore. Instead you are done in just a couple of minutes.  I like to get my tools out and my foods washed and ready on the counter, then prep away with the Quick Slice (cuts even slices in one simple rocking motion), Veggie Spiralizer (turn your veggies into noodles!), Close & Cut (quickly split grapes, cherry tomatoes and even butterfly chicken breasts for fast cooking), and the Simple Slicer (perfect even and thin slices of fruits and veggies in a fast way).

Go for the greens:

The darker, the better here. Romaine, kale, arugula, spinach, cabbage…you can mix these and chop them all together or just pick one that you like. Dark greens carry more vitamins, but if you like iceberg lettuce, that’s okay too. Just throw in some romaine with it.  And always wash your greens – a Salad Spinner comes in handy here (I’ve had mine for 15 years).  And to chop the greens up quick, try the Salad Chopper.

Pick your protein:

Grill up 5 chicken breasts or pork chops for the week using the Grill Pan, or cook them in the microwave in Rock Crok. Both of these tools make cooking faster! And remember, butterflying your chicken breasts or boneless pork chops with the Close & Cut will make them cook even faster!

Or maybe you would like eggs for your protein, simply steam a dozen eggs over boiling water in the MultiPot in 18 minutes.  Or just throw some chickpeas or black beans into your salad!

Check out my latest episode of Jen’s Joyful Kitchen LIVE where I share tips, tools and a tasty recipe for your make ahead salads!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get notified of future episodes and LIKE my page on Facebook to see the videos live on Thursdays at noon CST.

I am an independent consultant with Pampered Chef, affiliate links are within this post.

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