Cooking takes too much time. It's perhaps the most common excuse used to avoid eating healthy. Why bother taking an extra hour for every meal, when Carl's Jr. is just around the corner?
The truth of the matter is eating healthy can be accomplished in under two minutes with a little weekly prep work. Enter the salad.
The concept of this salad is simple and easily squeezes into the schedule of the 9 to 5 worker. Set aside an hour on Saturday or Sunday to prepare several cups of the following ingredients:
Salad Ingredients
- Several 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 simply be chopped and stored in Tupperware containers. To prepare the avocado, half the fruit, make several lateral into the pulp with a pairing knife, and simply 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 suggest 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 suggest tossing any unused ingredients after 10 days).
Actually making 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 separate 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 could not be simpler. Toss all the ingredients in a jar, shake thoroughly, and refrigerate. On the quick and easy side, it does not 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 eventually separate, so be sure to give the dressing an extra shake before pouring over the salad.
A better demonstration For, watch this video on Preparing a two minute salad .