Friday, April 8, 2011

Quick and Easy Salad method

Quick and Easy Salad method

Cooking takes too much time. It's possibly the most common excuse used to avoid eating healthy. Why bother taking an extra hour for every meal, when Carl's Jr. Is just nearby the corner?




The truth of the matter is eating healthy can be accomplished in under two minutes with a dinky weekly prep work. Enter the salad.


Simple Salad Recipes


The idea of this salad is simple and literally squeezes into the program of the 9 to 5 worker. Set aside an hour on Saturday or Sunday to prepare some cups of the following ingredients:


Salad Ingredients

some cups salad greens
Snow peas
cherry tomatoes
red Holland bell peppers
broccoflower
cucumber
pine nuts
avocado
grilled chicken.

Most of the ingredients (peas, tomatoes, broccoflower, cucumber, and bell peppers) can naturally be chopped and stored in Tupperware containers. To prepare the avocado, half the fruit, make some lateral into the pulp with a pairing knife, and naturally scoop across the inside edge of the skin. The pine nuts will add a stronger flavor if roasted. Spread the nuts across a cookie sheet and bake at low heat (~250 degrees) for about 5 minutes. For the chicken, I advise breast meat, grilled lightly in olive oil. All ingredients can be stored in Tupperware and should stay fresh for the rest of the week (though I would advise tossing any unused ingredients after 10 days).

Actually manufacture the salad is the easy part. Pop your lids, use your hands, and scoop desired amount of ingredients into your lunch bowl, it takes almost no time. If you're headed to work, keep a detach thermos for your salad dressing and add the salad dressing right before eating. Speaking of which, here's the dressing recipe:

Balsamic Vinaigrette

0.75 cup extra virgin olive oil
0.75 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, pressed or crushed
0.5 tsp oregano
Dash of salt and pepper

This recipe couldn't be simpler. Toss all the ingredients in a jar, shake thoroughly, and refrigerate. On the quick and easy side, it doesn't get quicker or easier than that. A mason jar works well for mixing, but even a simple Tupperware container will suffice. The oil and vinegar will finally separate, so be sure to give the dressing an extra shake before pouring over the salad.

For a better demonstration, watch this video on preparing a two dinky salad.


Quick and Easy Salad method