Bagged salads are poor sources of fresh vegetables. They contain preservatives and usually are a mix of light greens with small strings of carrot and cabbage having little nutritional value. Even though bagged salads are inferior to fresh salads and are more expensive, many people purchase them because they don’t have time to shred lettuce every day. The job only needs to be done once a week.
Fresh Green Lettuce for Vegetarian Salads
Fresh vegetable salads can be full of hearty cooked vegetables and make a full meal with very little preparation. Not all lettuce is created equal. A comparison of amounts of vitamins A, C, potassium and calcium in lettuce showed that Romaine came in first, green leafy second, Boston next and iceberg lettuce last. (Note: kale and many other greens were not included in the comparison).
Shopping for Vegetarian Salad on Saturday or Sunday
Unfortunately, iceberg lettuce is the most popular in the United States. Avoid purchasing iceberg lettuce because it does not keep well and does not have the nutrients or the sheer volume of green leafy lettuce, kale or Romaine. With the exception of expensive gourmet bagged salads, prepared salads are usually made of iceberg lettuce, do not keep well, and are a hazard for infection with E.coli.
Purchase one head of dark green leafy or green leafy lettuce, kale, or another dark green leafy vegetable of your choice.
While you are at the store, choose one of each vegetable that you like to eat in salads, such as one tomato, one bunch of green onions, one cucumber, one onion, etc. If you like cabbage, you are lucky, because cabbage keeps for a long time. You can use ¼ head a week for 4 weeks.
Finally, purchase one or more bags of frozen variety vegetables or a veggie/bean combination.
Prepare Vegetarian Salad on Sunday Evening
Thoroughly rinse the lettuce with water. Shred it into bite-size, easy to eat pieces. Do not dry the lettuce. If moist and kept in a container, it will keep fresh for five days. Divide the shredded greens evenly into five medium sized containers to last the whole week
Add toppings to the lettuce, enough for each day. Tomatoes and cucumbers do not keep well when cut up in a salad for a week. Cut the tomatoes and cucumbers into five pieces, wrap in plastic and place in the container with the lettuce. Take them out and cut into smaller pieces when you are ready to eat. If it is easier, just take the tomato and cucumber to work on Monday and cut enough for the salad each day. Top salad with a healthy dressing.
Adding Variety Vegetables
Add the frozen variety vegetables evenly in each salad container. They will thaw in the refrigerator and provide additional moisture to preserve the lettuce. You can have peas, corn, broccoli and virtually any vegetable combination you want. Many frozen veggie combinations also contain legumes, such as red beans, that add more nutrients without extra work.
How to “Bulk Up” a Fresh Vegetarian Salad with Comfort Veggies
Meat is not necessary to make you full. If green salads leave you feeling hungry, or you have trouble digesting some raw foods, such as radishes, carrots and onions, try this recipe that only takes a few minutes and lasts all week.
When you are shopping, purchase a sweet potato, a couple of new potatoes or 2 medium russet potatoes and carrots. Rinse carrots, potatoes, sweet potato or any combination of the three, and cut into large pieces (about the size of steak fries). You may also add other hearty vegetables that you like, such as eggplant or zucchini.
It is not necessary to peel any of these vegetables. Any residual bacteria on the skin are baked away. So keep the skins on if you like. Carrots take the longest to cook, so if the base of the carrot is very wide, slice pieces in half lengthwise. Place in a bag or container, pour in just enough salad dressing to coat vegetables, and shake until covered with salad dressing (see suggested recipe).
Place on pizza baking pan or cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes, or until fork tender. Skins should be crisp.* With a spatula, scrape into plastic container. Let cool and refrigerate, unless you plan to eat immediately. (They are delicious eaten while still warm).
* Many new books on diet indicate that cooking vegetables at high tempertures destroys their natural vitamins and enzymes. So experiment with lower temperatures and longer cooking times.
If you can resist eating them all, take your baked veggies to work on Monday. When you make your lunch salad, add as many pieces of baked potato, carrot or sweet potato as you want or your diet permits. They will taste wonderful with your salad and provide the bulk that you crave.
Fresh is Best for Vegetarian Diets
Whether you are a vegetarian or just like salad, avoid bagged salads. If you are preparing your own lunch (for one person) for one week, it only requires shredding one head of greens. Cooled or at room temperature, roasted vegetables are a delicious and filling addition to the salad.
