Salad Shakers

One of the biggest things I have had against salads is that they take too long to prepare when they have a lot of good veggies in them.  If you have to cut all the veggies up, add dressing, and mix it can take a while.  I get 30 minutes, at the most, for my lunch.  Usually something else cuts into my lunch, making every second absolutely precious to me.  Thus, finding this method has literally saved the salad’s place in my lunch rotation.

The secret of this method is that the dressing doesn’t touch the greens until right before you eat them, keeping the greens fresh and unwilted for a long period of time.  First, your pour in the amount of dressing you want for each salad – which is less than you might think.  Since you will be shaking these up, the dressing goes farther than a typical salad where some things are coated and the bottom bits have nothing.  Afterwards, you add your vegetables.  This mix in particular has carrots and cucumber chunks in the bottom, because both are hardy enough to stand up to being soaked in dressing for a pretty long time.  Any more sensitive ingredients, like proteins (which can get waterlogged in dressing), egg crumbles, or celery can be layered on top.  The last thing to go in is the lettuce mix of your choice.

When you are ready to eat, you simply shake the jar and eat.  Instead of having to cut all the veggies right then, or have them go soft in a plastic bag, you can have a fresh-tasting salad in seconds.  For ease of access I suggest you pour the salad into a bowl or put it on a plate, but you don’t have to.  If you don’t want the extra dishes (or don’t have them) just a fork will do.  keep reading . . .