I’ve long known that if one wants to
feed a family inexpensively, one must sacrifice either convenience or
healthfulness. It is very difficult to find nutritious prepared foods. Now that
I have been diagnosed with multiple food sensitivities, prepared foods are
nearly impossible to find at affordable prices. Even a bag of pretzels becomes
a luxury. Cooking every meal from scratch though, becomes tedious and
disheartening. I no longer have the option of having some toast, or a PB&J
when I get hungry. I can’t call for pizza delivery when I don’t feel like
making dinner. This has forced me to cook ahead. I already posted a recipe for
crock-pot refried beans, which are almost always in my fridge. A large
container of brown rice makes it easy to throw together a
protein-and-veggie-laden fried rice for lunch in just moments. I also try to
always have homemade hummus for snacks.
One of my favorite “make-aheads” is
my Starter Salad. Many women, more organized than I am are probably all ready
hip to this little trick, but for me it has been a revelation, and a lifesaver.
I buy two heads of organic lettuce a week, usually green leaf and red leaf. I
tear it up and wash and dry it obsessively, and then I add the hard stuff to
the lettuce. The hard stuff is everything that won’t turn mushy, or get too
over-powering sitting in the salad all week. I use any combination of chopped
celery, scallions, grated carrot, snap peas cut in half, radishes or things
like that. I only add cucumber at this point if it is a very firm English
cucumber. I don’t add tomatoes, avocado, soft cucumbers, any type of cheese, or
olives. I do however have these things chopped and prepped, in separate
containers in my fridge. That way, when I want a salad, I am just moments away
from an amazing Greek salad with feta cheese and Kalamata olives, and a red
wine Greek vinaigrette. If my family is having hamburgers, I can have one too,
on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes and avocado, and even some bacon. If I am
stuck for a lunch idea, I can open a can of tuna, mix it with Veganaise, garlic
and dill, and have a delicious lunch.
Gluten-free salad dressings are not
much of an issue for me even because I almost always make my own. My go-to is a
very simple lemon juice, garlic and olive oil mixture. It comes together in
seconds, and every one loves it.
Starter
Salad
Two small heads of lettuce, washed,
torn and dried completely
Any combination of the following-
2-4 stalks organic celery (always
buy celery organic, its loaded with pesticides)
2-4 large
carrots, grated
½ paper thinly
sliced red onion OR thinly sliced scallions
Sugar snap peas,
sliced in half
Thinly sliced
radishes
Combine lettuces
and vegetables. I store in a zip lock plastic bag with some holes poked in it.
This salad is
perfectly fine on its own, but I almost always use it as a base. My favorite is
a Greek salad. I add Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and cucumbers. I make a vinaigrette
from a little bit of the olive brine, 1/3 cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar,
one smashed clove of garlic, ¼ tsp dried oregano, and salt and freshly ground
pepper. This recipe makes enough for 4-6 large salads. The recipe can easily be
doubled or tripled. Just don’t add more garlic. One clove of garlic is fine,
unless you make a quart of it or something.
The salad base
can also be used to make a taco salad, a base for a grilled chicken salad.
On a busy night,
when getting dinner on the table is all you can do, making a salad can seem
overwhelming. This way, your salad is done. When you are starving at lunch, you
can put whatever gluten-free ingredients you would normally put between two slices
of bread over your salad. There is also the obvious benefit of eating more
greens, and saving money on buying premade salads, that may or may not be
fresh.
