Salad for lunch

[Mojooo]

You need to make a salad for lunch. The supermarket is nearby.

You are at work with kitchen facilities but obviously can't spend 30 minutes arsing aorund preparing something - so it needs to be quick and easy to put in a bowl, mix and eat.

Which ingredients would you buy for soemthing of an all round health salad?

[redtwin]

Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, sliced ham and/or chicken, bottle of fat-free honey mustard salad dressing. Slice everything into the bowl, drench with salad dressing and devour.

I had exactly that (well it was just ham, no chicken) for my lunch today.

[Mojooo]

Cheers. Never had salad dressing. Isn't it spose to be unhealthy? Although noted you put fat free.

Will buy a load of ingredients and stick them in the fridge.


Also, I sometimes buy the Sainsburys pick and mix salad - they have green beands and thigns like kidney beans - but I guess some prep has gone into making that ready for sale?


Anyone ever mix fruit and veg?

[redtwin]

The salad dressing may have E numbers or some other preservatives that will kill me 100 years from now, but I don't bother reading the label. I buy the fat free as it means I can use more of it with less guilt.

As for mixing veg and fruit, see my original post I used lettuce *and* tomatoes.

[ambuletz]

if you want to be really lazy, just buy the pre-mixed packets of salad, and packets of mixed lettuce. the only thing you wont get in the pre-mixed ones will be tomatoes. so buy those seperately and cut up. Then just buy whatever dressing you like to add. If you want protein then just go in the cooked meats section and buy whatever you fancy there.

[Mobile Chicane]

The following is tasty, healthy, filling and should cost you no more than £4 to make two huge portions (save half for the next day):

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 can chick peas, drained
6 spring onions, sliced
2 sticks celery, diced
tablespoon sesame seeds
glug sesame oil
squeeze lemon juice

Mix everything together in a large bowl, and add freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

[jinkster]

Bag of mixed salad leafs - chopped tomato, slices of mozzarella cheese, ham, and some maille dijon mustard, olive oil on the leafs!

[toasty]

bacon, you need bacon

[Cheese Mechanic]

Easy healthy salad lunch.

Lean ham/or fish, tuna etc

Mixed salad in pre pack form

Boiled eggs

Spring onions

Tomatoes

Fat free fromage frais as dressing.

Takes 2 mins to prepare

[utgjon]

What I make for work each day...

- Spinach leaves
- Tuna
- Cherry tomatoes
- Grapes
- Buffalo Mozzarella
- 'Home-made' vinaigrette...3:1 Olive Oil/Balsamic ratio with 1.5 teaspoons of granulated dijon mustard. Make a batch at home and it keeps.

Healthy, piss easy and tastes lovely.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

i just had bulgar wheat spring onions, baby plum toms, fetta, lemon juice, olive oil and cucumber was very tasty actually

[D1ngd0ng]

Boil some new potatoes in the skins till al dente then slice into thickish rounds (about 5-8mm)
Halve some cherry tomatoes
Add some cold meat (cooked sausage, chicken etc)
Serve with your dressing of choice

[CypherP]

I've been chopping and changing between homemade sandwiches and salads, but for my salads I'm doing:

1 large tomato (diced)
Spinach leaves or Rocket
1 slice of good quality ham (diced)
Grated or cubed extra mature cheddar
Chopped radish
Spring onions (or chillies)
Coleslaw (instead of cheddar)

I just make it up with whatever I buy that week.

[Mojooo]

I have reverted to making at home the night before - at the moment I have been doing

cucumber
tomato
lettuce
carrots
+
some lemon juice
salad dressing

I think the lemon and salad dressing somewhat hide the blandness of the vegetables.

I might upgrade to cherry tomatos as the tomatos cut up make a mess and lose their juice.

---

At Sainsburys own pick nmix salad they have a combo of what looks like kidney beans and chick peas - can you buy those items tinned and chuck em in or dothey require prep?

Edited by Mojooo on Tuesday 31st January 17:45

[Mobile Chicane]

Mojooo said:

At Sainsburys own pick nmix salad they have a combo of what looks like kidney beans and chick peas - can you buy those items tinned and chuck em in or dothey require prep?

You can buy these tinned - they just need draining.

Sainsbury also sell a tinned 'mixed bean salad', comprising kidney beans, canellini beans, short lengths of green beans, diced pepper and sweetcorn in a sort of sweet and sour sauce.

I lived on this as a student. £1.22 a can, and it's delicious.

[Mojooo]

Cheers will look into that.

On another note...

Is there any pressing reason why you cannot prepare all your fresh vegetable on a Sunday night into 5 portions for the week? Or is the stuff for thursday/friday likely to start going funny if cut up?

My friend sugegsting cutting the vegetables up but leaving them in their own pots and only mixing them the night before/on the day.

[redtwin]

Cut lettuce will go brown and manky looking after a while. I have heard it is better to tear the leaves than cut them as it won't go brown as quickly. Could just be an old wife's tale though.

For the minute and a half it take me to chop up a head of lettuce it isn't worth it doing it days in advance.

[Mobile Chicane]

Mojooo said:

Cheers will look into that.

On another note...

Is there any pressing reason why you cannot prepare all your fresh vegetable on a Sunday night into 5 portions for the week? Or is the stuff for thursday/friday likely to start going funny if cut up?

My friend sugegsting cutting the vegetables up but leaving them in their own pots and only mixing them the night before/on the day.

Vegetables roasted in a glug of olive oil - onion, garlic, peppers, courgette, sweet potato etc - will keep all week covered in the fridge.

I like to add some frazzled chorizo to this, with canned chick peas, chopped flat-leaved parsley (grow this), and a Moroccan preserved lemon chopped in (or lemon zest grated over).

[OzzyR1]

Just spotted this thread, some great ideas which I intend to take on board.

Bumping to see if there are any more??

[Spiffing]

I have started doing this, I get 3 good lunches out of:

Bunch of spring onions
Can of kidney beans
Can of chick peas
Can of sweetcorn
A couple of small balls of Mozzarella
Can of artichoke hearts
Jar of Olives
Salad dressing
Bag of leaves, or a lettuce.
If I have any left over pasta I chuck that in as well.