Start your week right with this basic salad prep. You know every time you go to your favorite restaurant and order your favorite basic salad and then you do it………… !!! You add your favorite toppings! Be it avocado, radish, kale, pears, red onions, whatever makes you go yyuumm!!

This is the staple salad basics to start your week! Whether you have your meal plan ready for the week or not you can not go wrong having this salad prep ready in the fridge. It is rare to open my refrigerator door and not see my salad prep items for the week. The salad prep will save you every time. When you are in a hurry and want something clean and green, to add a salad to your or your kids lunch box, when making a sandwich you have your greens and veggies all ready, or at the end of the week when you use the remaining ingredients (if any are left) to whip up a stir fry or veggie pizza. The main reason why I started preparing our house salad in separate dishes is because one of my kids developed a tomato and egg allergy. While I have many food and environmental allergies myself. As an adult we know how to keep ourselves safe from the foods we are allergic to, but when it comes to your kids who do not understand or read all food labels etc. You make sure to keep them safe. Actually it worked out to all of our benefit! By keeping the ingredients we “add” to the salad separate it helped preserve the salad. That is right!!! I keep the salad greens separate with 2tbsp of olive oil, lemon juice mixture and put saran wrap over the toppings in separate ramekins. So funny, but it worked out great because rarely does the house salad last more than 3-4 days, but any left over toppings go right into the stir fry, vegetable succotash, vegetable pizza, etc.! HELLO!! WIN WIN!

Print Recipe

House Salad

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Salad, Snack

Keyword: salad, healthy, dinner, easy

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 bag 1 bag mesclun mix
• 1 bag/container baby spinach
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 cup sliced/diced carrots
• 1 cup red bell pepper thin slices or diced to preference
• 1 pear diced
• 1 cup cucumbers diced or cubed
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced red onion
• 1 avocado see recipe for avocado below

Salad dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic Vinegar Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar Remember don't go cheap on your balsamic vinegar.
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp mustard My favorite local is coarse mustard with horseradish!
• 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped curly parsley if you do not have fresh, just use 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Instructions

• Wash and dry mesclun mix, spinach and all veggies.
• Chop your romaine lettuce. Slice carrots, tomatoes, red onion, bell peppers, cucumbers and anything else you like to have "on the side" for your salads, like radishes, pickles, bean sprouts, kale etc.
• Place side items in separate ramekins.
• Prepare cucumbers by combining 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup evoo, pinch of salt & pepper, mix together with cucumbers.  
• Thinly slice avocado, drizzle with fresh lime juice, salt and pepper.

Salad Dressing Instructions

• Combine ingredients listed and drizzle over salad.  Remember too much dressing and it will soak up too much liquid and make your salad wilt and become mushy.... yucky! 

Notes

THEN.............

Voila!!  Your house salad is ready!  

Wanting to cut calories?  When you slice your avocado, add salt, pepper, lime juice and add this on top of your salad it is more than enough for a salad dressing texture you might be craving. 

Want to learn how to slice an avocado? Click here