How to pack your salad to work. Doesn't it get SOGGY??

[aberfold]

Do you have salads for lunch? I don't know if you bring salads, but I do know every day there is a huge line up at salad bars, where my office is.
It somewhat makes sense why people would rather buy salad every day.... Of course, its a healthy choice, it makes sense if they didn't have time to pack lunch the night before and they want a fresh tasting salad with savory and tangy dressing drizzled on top.
However, spending $8-$10 on a bowl of salad.... I personally can’t justify that price. I’d be b.r.o.k.e!
So to accommodate this issue.... I am sharing with you an easy trick how to keep your salad fresh for lunch and save money (you would rather spend that $10 on something you love, than a salad).
This is the easiest way if you DON’T have a little leak-free dressing container to bring.

Time: 5 minutes the night before
What you need: a big lunch container, green salad, leftover chicken pieces/a can of chickpeas (or whatever your protein choice is), dressing
Steps:

1. Pour a small amount of dressing into your empty lunch container
2. Add solid ingredients (your proteins or your grains)
3. The soft leafy greens would go on top

The trick is to put the dressing at the bottom, solid(chicken strips, beans, rice) next and soft on top(lettuce, arugula) ! This will allow your proteins(chicken, beans) absorb some of the dressings, but won't make your leafy greens soggy from it.
I use this trick every day and it works wonderfully!

How do you bring your salad and dressing to the office? What do you think is the best way?

[roadfix]

I usually pack the dressing separately in a small tupperware.

[CWS4322]

Gosh--I have brought huge salads when I've had to be on a client's site. What I do is use a lot of ziplock bags, including those snack-sized bags.


1 big bag of the greens
1 little bag of the chickpeas/black beans
1 little bag of the cheese
1 little bag for each topping (bean sprouts, radishes, blueberries, grated carrots, grated beets, sunflower seeds, etc.)


I put EVOO and vinegar, S&P in a baby jar.


I put all of these bags in a Tupperware bowl that I use for my salad bowl. When it is time for me to eat, I dump all the bags in the bowl, top with the dressing, put the lid on, and shake-shake-shake. If I don't finish the salad, I pop it in the fridge and bring it home (since I am only on site 1 day/week). It works for me.

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Are you familiar with Ready-Pac Bistro Bowl salads? They are individual salads in a plastic bowl, with the dressing in it's own container and a separate tray with the add-ins. My groshrie store sells them for $3.99 each, or $2.99 each if you buy three or more. They have a wide selection of different styles from Asian chicken salad to Turkey Cobb salad.

[CarolPa]

For a while they were selling salad shakers. You put the salad in the container and there was a little container on top for the dressing. There was a small opening between the dressing container and the salad container. When you were ready to eat, you shook it up really well, and the dressing would drip down into the salad container.

If I had no small container for the dressing, I would put the dressing in the bowl and put the salad in a zip lock bag. When I'm ready to eat, just dump the salad in with the dressing and mix it up. I hate a soggy salad.

[jennyema]

Originally Posted by CarolPa

If I had no small container for the dressing, I would put the dressing in the bowl and put the salad in a zip lock bag. When I'm ready to eat, just dump the salad in with the dressing and mix it up. I hate a soggy salad.

I do the opposite. Salad in the bowl and dressing in the ziplock riding on top of the salad.

[RPCookin]

Obviously there are any number of perfectly viable solutions to this issue. I hate to cliché it, but it just ain't rocket science.

[GotGarlic]

RP, this is what happens when a blogger repeats a blog post word for word. It just doesn't translate well in its new environment

[PrincessFiona60]

I have the luxury of a small fridge at work. I can buy my ingredients fresh each morning, once I decide what I want on my salad, and assemble it at my desk in a collapsible bowl. Yes, I am spoiled! The salad package lasts me three days, each topping lasts 2-4 days. My protein choice is the most variable portion.

[aberfold]

Originally Posted by PrincessFiona60

I have the luxury of a small fridge at work. I can buy my ingredients fresh each morning, once I decide what I want on my salad, and assemble it at my desk in a collapsible bowl. Yes, I am spoiled! The salad package lasts me three days, each topping lasts 2-4 days. My protein choice is the most variable portion.

That sounds like a great idea! I always try to find ways to eat more salads. Sometimes it gets lazy having to pack and bring to work.

One of my colleague follows the same method like yours, but instead of salad, she makes her mini cheese & cold cut platter every lunch right from the fridge! Yum!