The Starter Salad

             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.