When you’re looking to make better choices with your diet (or save some money!), one of the easiest things you can do is Preparing meals for a week In advance, so you have healthy food ready to go.
But is it possible to prepare meals? Salad And keeping it fresh all week?
We asked Kylie Burke a Certified Holistic Health Coach and the owner radiant and abundantto help us put together some tips for beginners, including how to make salads for the week.
How do you keep your salads fresh all week long?
While preparing meals for your week may seem daunting, it can make it easier for you to stick to your meal plan for the week and save money.
The best part: It’s possible to prepare everything you need for a week of salads ahead of time when you follow our lead.
1. Wash and divide the vegetables
If you’ve been preparing a week’s worth of salads, the most important first step you can take is to wash and dry your vegetables.
It should be completely dry in front of you Put them in the fridge.
If you want your morning departures to be super quick, consider dividing the greens into different containers, one for each day of the week.
When choosing the greens to use in your salad, keep in mind how long they need to be kept in the refrigerator.
“Because they have a larger body, kale and purple cabbage won’t wilt as quickly as baby spinach or other light-bodied greens,” Burke says.
2. Add some crunch
While the freshness of a green salad is an important aspect of preparing a meal to eat for a week, it’s also important to consider your taste buds.
If you get bored of eating the same thing all the time, you are more likely to forgo the salad and buy some fast food for lunch instead.
One easy way to keep your salad fresh every day is to create a variety of textures, one of which is crunchy.
we Craving for crunchy foodsAnd it’s important to give it to yourself with healthy extras instead of an afternoon bag of chips.
Some great topping options for adding crunch to your salad include:
- roasted nuts
- Pepitas or pumpkin seeds
- Whole wheat toast
- tortilla slices
- sunflower seeds
- roasted coconut
- chia seeds
- Crunchy vegetables like carrots, radishes or peas
3. Don’t forget the protein
Adding an element of protein to your salad will help you stay full for longer, and it also adds another ingredient to your meal that can be changed from day to day.
If you choose to add protein to your salad, you will likely want to store this separately from the other ingredients to preserve its freshness (more on that below).
Here are some protein ideas to add to your salad:
- Chicken (Burke recommends buying roasted chicken and chopping it up for easy, inexpensive food)
- A piece of meat
- Bean
- Tofu or tempeh
- Bean
- nuts
4. Ready Layer
When it comes to add-ons, the most important thing to remember is that you should work smarter, not harder.
“If you have a short time, let the store do the work for you!” Burke says. “The easy meal is made using prepackaged items like shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, sliced radish, or anything else that’s pre-sliced at the grocery store.”
Your toppings should be stored separately from the greens to ensure high-quality freshness—or you can use the layering technique to keep everything in one container (again, more on that below).
5. Try the salad dressing
While there are plenty of ready-made healthy salad dressings on the market, you can also make your own in a food processor with minimal effort.
Have a few sauces on hand to instantly transform the flavor of your salads.
Here are some of Kylie’s favorites for adding variety:
- Peanut sauce for a Thai kick
- Cobb Salad Farm
- Vinegar and olive oil for a Greek salad
- Miso sauce for Asian taste
- Sriracha for some kicks
6. Use multiple containers
Once you have all of your different ingredients ready for the week, getting suitable containers Having it on hand can make a big difference.
You’ll want a variety of sizes and, if possible, enough containers that you don’t have to wash them every night to refill them the next day.
For each day you prepare a salad, you will need containers of these ingredients:
- A large bowl of vegetables. Make sure this container is large enough so that you can combine all of your ingredients from the other containers and eat them straight from this bowl.
- Medium bowl for wet ingredients. This may include tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers.
- A small bowl for your seasoning. Pour it in when you’re ready to eat, not a moment before.
while you don’t You have Keeping your ingredients separate can help keep your greens crisp and keep them fresh as the week goes on.
It is especially important to keep the dressing separate, as this may wilt the greens within a few hours.
7. … or deploy strategic layers
If you don’t have the time or Tupperware to keep the greens separate from the other ingredients in your salads, strategic layers come in handy.
“Put heavy objects on the bottom so you don’t crush the greens,” says Kylie. “This will prevent the items from spoiling as quickly.”
Grains, proteins, and cheese go at the bottom, then make your way to cooked veggies, raw veggies, and finally greens.
This keeps your vegetables fresh and prevents them from cracking or mushy.
Even layered, you still need to be careful with wet ingredients like diced tomatoes, which can wilt vegetables quickly.
8. Add something absorbent
One way to keep vegetables looking fresh in the fridge during the week is to place a paper towel at the bottom of the container where you store them.
This will help absorb any excess moisture and ensure that the greens stay fresh. Just be sure to remove it before eating.
If you keep wet ingredients in the same container as your salad for that day, you can also use a paper towel to separate the ingredients and protect the vegetables.
How to avoid boredom
Simple changes like the toppings you put on your salad or the sauce you use can ensure your salads stay fresh on your taste buds all week long and keep you feeling full.
Here are some tips.
1. Prioritize diversity when shopping
Challenge yourself to avoid buying the same ingredients every week. When you’re shopping, keep the following in mind:
- Search for A variety of bright colors To get various vitamins and antioxidants.
- Choose a flavor enhancer such as citrus, fresh herbs, or dried fruit.
- Consider adding pickled or fermented items like pickled beets, carrots, kimchi, or even sauerkraut.
- Make sure your toppings add a variety of textures to your meal.
2. Skip the lettuce
Salad doesn’t always have to contain lettuce. You can use lettuce at the beginning of the week and then replace it at the end of the week with a heart green such as turnip.
This helps avoid the wilted lettuce salad on Thursday.
3. Skip the leafy greens altogether
Or if you want to try some alternative salads, consider eating the salad at the beginning of the week and then switching to cereal bowls at the end of the week.
Cereal bowls can be vegetable-based — and they’re easy to keep in the fridge for a week at a time.
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