We've taken to doing salad meal prep - making a base salad, then customizing through the week. Getting vegetables in has never been easier!
He has a completely different body type, metabolism, and dietary restrictions... and far less weight to lose. He’s basically “toning up”.
There’s also the matter of HOW we lose weight.
He can lose weight by cutting fat or calories, maybe just skipping snacks... whereas the only way I’ve ever been able to lose weight is with hardcore low carbing.
... it makes meal planning interesting, anyway.
A few months ago, an efficiency/laziness tweak we’d worked out evolved into a beautiful solution for us.
Not only did it become easier to meet both of our dietary needs and issues, but we saved time, money, AND effort!
We were able to stick to our weekly menu, wasted FAR less food, and ordered out less.
That solution?
Meal Prep Salads
We used to have salad ingredients on hand, making up a salad just before eating it.
... and we threw out SO much unused salad greens. Yikes.
Salad meal prep changed how we made the salads. Rather than making salads from scratch for each meal, I batch-made base healthy salads for the week.
We honed a combo of ingredients, technique, and storage that allowed the salads to stay fresh for 5-6 days.
Because of the way we’re doing it - making the salad base up front, then customizing for each meal - we just don’t get sick of salad at all. Each meal feels completely different from the last.
Now that we’ve been doing it for a few months - and gathering process photos the whole time - I’d like to share our process with you!
Meal prepping like this is a great way to adopt a healthy habit, and get the whole family fed.
In our experience, it’s the best way to avoid wasting produce, and those last-minute “I don’t feel like cooking, let’s order” expenses.
Even on the most busy day, throwing together our favorite salads takes only minutes, as the bulk of the work has already been done!
You CAN skip to the recipe, but you’ll miss all of the info you’ll need to really be successful with this kind of meal planning!
Equipment
While you don’t need any special equipment to make salads in general, there are a few things that will make your life easier.
Salad Spinner
We have a collapsible Salad Spinner for rinsing and drying our salad greens, love it!
If you're going to be making salads on a regular basis, it's a good tool to have.
Bowls & Covers
As we make these up as individual salad servings, we use individual bowls as our meal prep containers.
The best we’ve found is the Oftast 8" Deep Plate / Bowl.
They’re like $2 each, stack well, are the perfect size, etc. 10/10, totally recommend.
In general, you’ll want bowls that are a good meal serving size, and are ideally shallow/wide and stackable - this will be a big deal when it comes to fridge space!
When we started out, we covered each salad in Press N Seal wrap, which worked great... it’s just not very environmentally friendly and we went through a LOT of it.
When it was clear we’d be doing this long-term, we invested in some 7.28in Silicone Stretch Lids, which work perfectly with the Ikea Oftast bowls. It's a bit of expense upfront, but saves money after a couple of months.
Salad Dressing Stuff
If you’re making your own salad dressing, you’ll want the right storage containers, so they’ll last well and serve up easily.
I tend to use small containers - usually glass containers - as I tend to make smallish batches. (For freshness AND variety!)
Plus, large containers just take up too much space in the fridge.
Mason jars work well for salad dressings, when you’re not needing something for food blog photography 🙂 I like the 8oz jam jars for salad dressing.
Finally, I recommend having an Immersion Blender, Mini Food Processor, or even a Milk Frother, for blending vinaigrettes.
Sure, you can use a fork or whisk ... but these options really make for NICE emulsion. Also? I’m lazy.
Ingredients
Because these salads are meant to last up to 5-6 days, be sure to use fresh ingredients.
Using really fresh produce helps ensure the longevity of your salads - if your cucumbers are soft or greens looking slimy at all, it can ruin the salads you make.
Base Salad
I like to have a list of basic ingredients for the base salad that I use every week when I place my pickup order with the grocery store:
Leafy greens: Field greens / baby spinach
broccoli slaw
English cucumber
Sliced mushrooms
Green onions
Radishes
Red onions (sometimes)
Before I realized I was having a problem with nightshades, we’d also use a red bell pepper in there. If he didn’t hate tomatoes, I would have included cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, as well.
Less worried about carbs? Shred or spiralize some carrots or beets!
Basically, just use whatever you like. I like to keep the base fairly generic, knowing I can add stuff when I actually make the meal salads from them, later.
Our salads can look a little different from week to week, just based on what greens we’ll use, or if anything else looked/sounded good at the time.
The base salads vary slightly from week to week.
About 1 lb greens
1 bag broccoli slaw*
1 English cucumber
8 oz Sliced mushrooms
1 bunch green onions
5-10 Radishes
If I know we’re going to be doing 2 salads a day - and I don’t want to go grocery shopping 3 days later - I order a bit more.
I’ll add an extra lettuce or greens, usually something different from our normal field greens order. Red lettuce, romaine lettuce, even dandelion greens are all great options.
I’ll also get an extra cucumber, an extra pack of mushroom slices, and more radishes.
* About the Broccoli Slaw
After a few instances of getting slimy or OLD broccoli slaw in our grocery order, I’ve taken to just making my own.
I peel a couple broccoli stems and a carrot, and run it all through a grater. Then I’ll usually add the green onions, radishes, some shredded purple cabbage, or whatever, and just dole the mix out by the handful.
Proteins
Because these are main dish salads - not just a side dish - you’ll want some sort of protein to go with your fresh vegetables.
While I’ll be posting actual recipes for our variations in the coming weeks - and this post is really just about the base salad - I figure I should mention proteins you can use on them.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts are our go-to, usually cooked for the salad, but sometimes we’ll use leftover chicken.
Getting a rotisserie chicken is another great option - I’ll usually pull the meat off and cut it into smaller pieces as soon as we bring it home, so it’s ready to just toss on a salad as needed. A near-perfect meal prep option!
As far as seafood goes, shrimp, tuna, and salmon are what we use the most.
Hard-boiled eggs are a great source of protein on salads, and we’ll usually cook up a few every few days. Peel em, put them in an airtight container, and keep them in the fridge for an easy add-on!
Finally, we like to have different cheeses on hand. We include shredded cheese in some salad recipes, chop it on others, and crumble some Feta cheese or goat cheese on others
Variety keeps things interesting!
Dressings
Dressings don’t get applied until we actually serve the salads - no one likes a soggy salad!
Anyway, you’ll want to dress up your fresh veggies with something. Be sure to have some of your favorite dressing flavours on hand, or convenience!
We started out going through a lot of ranch dressing, before really getting into making homemade dressing frequently.
Most of our salad dressings start out as some sort of variation on a basic vinaigrette:
1 part acid (Apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, and/or balsamic vinegar)
2 parts oil (Usually extra virgin olive oil, but sometimes coconut oil, mct oil, acai oil, or passion fruit oil).
Garlic powder, onion powder, etc
Dried or fresh herbs
Salt and black pepper
Dijon mustard
Crushed garlic cloves
Wasabi
... it all depends on where we’re going with dressing up the base salad!
The Logistics
The beautiful thing about this salad prep routine is that it’s incredibly adaptable to your routine and preferences.
Meal planning doesn’t take much time at all, and figuring out the grocery list for the entire week can take only minutes, when you get into the routine.
Here’s how we do it:
Before Grocery Day
I look at the coming week, and decide how many salads we’ll be eating.
If we know of any set non-salad meals (say, we’re going to be out and about and relying on takeout one night), I plan around that. If there’s a meal I need to make for the blog, there’s another instance we wouldn’t be serving a salad.
Once I know how many salads we’re doing, I decide on which customizations I’ll be doing.
If we’re planning on 5 salads, that may look something like
Cobb Salad
Sub Salad
Greek Salad
Asian Chicken Salad
Seared Tuna Salad
I have a Wordperfect file with a table of our favourite salad versions - salad name, protein, dressing, and add-on ingredients - but you don’t need to go that wild if you don’t want to.
It’s just how I like to do things.
A lot of the time, ingredients will move forward from previous weeks - the block of cheese, bottle of olives, whatever.
As for the base prepped salad, those ingredients are a set list that I order every week.
It’s such a simple salad, we don’t bother really changing it up from week to week.
Grocery Day
Grocery day is prep day.
I schedule grocery day to be the day after we run out of salads, so we always have fresh salads on hand. I don’t like to start a new batch of salads while we still have remaining salads from the last batch.
I plan grocery pickup for first thing in the morning, and mentally block off about 45 minutes for putting groceries away and making the salads.
The salad ingredients are processed into salads before ever going into the fridge - I like to make the salads immediately when I get home, so procrastination doesn’t get in the way.
If there are any special salad dressings I’ll be serving with the salads, I’ll usually make them up after getting the salads in the fridge. Assuming they’re ones that last a few days, anyway.
I find “salad prep day” to be the perfect time to make dressings, as I’m in the ZONE. It also just feels really good to be done with it all, and know we have meals for the week.
Generally speaking, it takes me about 20 minutes to make 10+ base salads, a few more minutes if I’m doing the dressings.
How I Make the Base Salads
Lay out your 10 bowls, divide salad greens evenly between the bowls.
Divide broccoli slaw and sliced mushrooms between the bowls.
Wash, trim, and thinly slice the radishes, divide between the bowls.
Stack prepared salads in the fridge, use within 5-6 days.
Daily Prep
Before bed, I look at the menu for the next day.
If anything needs to thaw (like frozen chicken breast, salmon, etc), I take it out of the freezer and put it on a plate in the fridge to defrost overnight.
When it comes to mealtime, I prepare whatever protein or added ingredients are planned for that salad, toss them on, and serve.
Most dinners take me 5-10 minutes to make, depending on how fancy I decide to get with it.
Salad Variations
Eventually, I’ll get actual recipes posted for some / most / all of these, but in the meantime, here are some ideas for you!
Asian Chicken Salad
Protein: Sesame ginger chicken
Add ons: Red cabbage, edamame
Dressing: Peanut sauce
Balsamic Chicken Salad
Protein: Balsamic glazed chicken breasts
Add ons: Asparagus, goat cheese
Dressing: Balsamic vinaigrette
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Protein: Chicken breast cooked in hot sauce
Add ons: hard boiled eggs, cheese, celery
Dressing: Ranch or Bleu cheese
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Protein: Chicken breast with garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, salt, and pepper.
Add ons: Avocado, crispy bacon, cheddar cheese
Dressing: Ranch
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Chicken Shawarma Salad
Protein: Chicken breast cooked in shawarma spices
Add ons: Keto pickled turnips, pickles, olives
Dressing: Toum, or garlic/tahini dressing
Chicken Shawarma Salad
Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad
Protein: Garlic shrimp
Dressing: Cilantro/lime/garlic vinaigrette
Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad
Cobb Salad
Protein: Chicken breast or deli chicken slices, crispy bacon, hard boiled eggs
Add ons: Avocado, cheese
Dressing: Vinaigrette, ranch, or creamy avocado
Crispy Tofu Salad
Protein: Sesame crusted crispy tofu
Add ons: Red cabbage
Dressing: Sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, tahini OR Japanese carrot-ginger dressing
Greek inspired salad #1 - with garlic sauteed chicken.
Greek Chicken Salad
Protein: Chicken souvlaki
Add ons: Kalamata olives, Feta cheese, artichoke hearts
Dressing: Tzatziki and/or Greek salad dressing
Greek inspired salad #2 - with Chicken Souvlaki.
Pesto Chicken Salad
Protein: Baked chicken breast with Parmesan crust
Add ons: Parmesan flakes
Dressing: Basil/pesto vinaigrette
Seafood Cobb Salad
Protein: Shrimp, crab, and/or lobster, hard boiled eggs
Add ons: White cheddar or bleu cheese, capers, avocado slices
Dressing: Lemon dill vinaigrette
Seafood Cobb Salad (with shrimp and canned crab)
Seared Tuna and Wasabi Salad
Protein: Sesame or Pepper crusted seared tuna
Add ons: Edamame, red cabbage
Dressing: Wasabi vinaigrette
Seared Tuna Salads
Steak Salad
Protein: Steak (usually with pepper and garlic powder)
Add ons: White cheddar
Dressing: Creamy horseradish
Steak Salad and Horseradish Dressing
Sub Salad
Protein: Deli meats (chicken, salami, ham, pepperoni, etc)
Add ons: Sliced, shredded, and/or balls of cheese, chopped pickles, pepperoncini
Dressing: Red wine vinaigrette with Dijon, garlic, and oregano
Sub Salad
Teriyaki Chicken Salad
Protein: Teriyaki chicken
Add ons: Red cabbage, broccoli, sesame seeds
Dressing: Creamy Teriyaki
Thai Salmon Salad
Protein: Baked salmon with sesame oil and sesame seed crust
Add ons: Edamame, red cabbage, watermelon radish
Dressing: Thai cilantro pesto
Baked Salmon with Thai Cilantro Pesto Salad.
More Low Carb Recipes for Salad
Looking for more keto friendly recipes for salads? Here you go!
Low Carb Creamy Cucumber Salad
Cauliflower Potato Salad
Colourful Keto Coleslaw
Keto Broccoli Salad
Low Carb Caesar Salad
Keto Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Keto Taco Salad
Sesame Crusted Tofu Salad
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Base Salad Meal Prep
Equipment
- 10 Individual Salad Bowls I recommend the 8" Ikea Oftast Plate/Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb Salad greens
- 340 g bag broccoli slaw
- 8 oz Sliced mushrooms
- 1 English cucumber
- 5 green onions
- 7 Radishes
Instructions
- Lay out your 10 bowls, divide salad greens evenly between the bowls.
- Divide broccoli slaw and sliced mushrooms between the bowls.
- Slice your cucumber and green onions, divide between the bowls.
- Wash, trim, and thinly slice the radishes, divide between the bowls.
- Cover each bowl, pressing out as much air as possible before sealing.
- Stack prepared salads in the fridge, use within 5-6 days.
This is a filling, easy way to eat healthy, including fruits and veggies. I am really surprised how long it takes for me to get hungry again. It really helps to have the bases already made and stacked in the refrigerator, so I don't get distracted to some quicker food that doesn't meet my long-term goal of losing weight.