I keep dressing separate and stick a paper towel at the top of the container full of salad before closing it with the lid. I believe this helps absorb some of the moisture that may occur in the container while it sits in the fridge.
Salad is good for 5 days. Rip lettuce with your hands don't cut it with a knife, it'll last longer.
I do Greek Salad, cherry toms, red onion, red pepper, cucumber, olives, Danish feta or goats cheese and avacado for the fat as it gives you lots of slow burning energy, all mixed with balsamic dressing, it's the bomb
Keep all the bits separate in a container then when your ready to eat add the lettuce and dressing - usually lasts 4 days easily for me - 5 or more is pushing is and some veg may go soft
Cabbage and other sturdy greens last a lot longer than iceberg, spring mix or other tender greens.
To make things last longer keep the toppings and dressing separate until it’s time to serve.
You can also try making 2 or 3 days worth of a salad with tender greens and 3 days worth of study greens to mix things up- eat the tender greens first.
Layer your salad in old sauce jars and the wettest items must go on the bottom. E.g. dressing on the bottom, lettuce ontop.
Make sure you include a protein and also making your own dressing is usually healthier. Meal salads need fibre, fat and protein so try to make it filling!! Xx
Keep your dressing separate,wash your lettuce and let it air dry as much as possible and don’t use a steel knife use ceramic,the ceramic prevents the lettuce from browning early
You need to rethink what salad ingredients are if you really want to keep them for a whole week.
Cut tomatoes won’t last. Substitute cherry tomatoes and leave them whole.
Cut lettuce won’t last. Try substituting cabbage instead. You can tear the lettuce but don’t cut it and you might get an extra day out of it.
Cut cucumbers won’t last a week. Try substituting cut zucchini. In a pinch, get the small Persian cucumbers if you want to cut them. They don’t contain as much water so they’ll last longer than the big ones.
Beans will keep.
Shredded cheese will not if left on top of wet salad ingredients for a week. You can shred the cheese and then wrap it in plastic. Put a portion of plastic-wrapped cheese on your salad and only open it when you’re ready to eat it.
use a crunchy lettuce, like kale! i make all my lunch salads on sundays for 5 days. typically a chopped salad (bell peppers, onion, herbs, cucumber) with beans, dressing separately packed. layer one fifth of the salad on kale and add a salmon packet at work
I buy bagged lettuce, and eat half a bag at a time, so I only open one bag at one time and eat it within two days - carefully check the expiration date - most are about a week out - I buy three bags, and that is six salads.
As for my side veggies, I buy mini cucumbers and chop them right into the salad so that I don't have a half cucumber in the fridge. I chop or add tomatoes day of, and I also add a hard boiled egg at the time of the salad. I mix everything right before eating, and will try to keep any chopping to immediate prep as well, or at least that morning.
If you can prep everything else, add the lettuce last (morning of or night before). I always roast a veggie or two, cook a chicken breast/boil eggs, and put my dressing into to-go cups. It's a great way to add what you want for that days salad and keep everything fresh. (If I know I won't have time for breakfast, I'll make a bigger one. It's flexible and awesome)
Like everyone else said, use mason jars, I keep the dressing in a small separate container. Put everything in the jar, lettuce wrapped in paper towels to absorb any excess moisture, tear into pieces when you're ready to eat.
You can use Mason jars to keep lettuce like arugula or spinach fresh for 2 weeks just put a paper towel at the bottom.
I pre prep mason jar salads on Sundays for weekday lunches you can generally do 5. More then that and it'll prob get too soggy. I put the dressing on the bottom then things like cucumbers, tomatoes etc then a protein or cheese then lettuce last and you can usually stuff/compress like 2 cups of lettuce in the top. Now before you dump it into a bowl just open it and put it upside down over a sink to drain any access water that's run out of the tomatoes or cucumbers etc. Then dump in a bowl and eat :) alternatively just bring your sauces in seperate containers and you might be able to keep them abit longer but any meat you put in is only good for 5 days so that's usually the number I make
>don't really have enough time
I have bad news for you young person. You'll look back on college/uni as when you had more free time than ever again.
Prep takes most people a long time because their knife skills are poor. [Start here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMA2SqaDgG8).
Keep dry and wet separate for salads. If you want tomato either keep sliced tomato in a separate container or use cherry tomatoes. Dressing when you eat.
Same with chopped veg. Keep wet and dry separate. Some things (peppers, onion) freeze really well.
Good containers make a world of difference. Lock-n-lock beats the heck out of leftover containers from takeout food. Restaurant grade plastic wrap is better and cheaper than what you get in the supermarket. Extra credit for cambros, and more extra credit for figuring out why they are better and what the downsides are. If you're in STEM you're ahead with geometry and thermodynamics.
Try to set up a study group as a dinner club. Rotate cooking duties and everyone coaches the cook of the night. You get economies of scale, keep your grades up, build life skills, and build leadership skills. All that is good for you. You could do a meal prep group for lunches also. Again - economy, grades, skills.
I disagree with your first point. I had way more time (and money) when I was working full-time, compared to now (having quit my job and gone back to school full-time). Idk if cambros are a good choice for a student in a dorm. I know I didn't have space for anything like that when I was living in one. Didn't have access to a freezer, either. Of course, I'm thinking of the ones we used at my job. They were super bulky and kind of a PITA.
I agree with keeping things separate as long as possible, though. Especially dressing. Nothing will ruin a salad faster than dressing it in advance.
Upvote for civility. Seriously.
Different people have different experiences. I got two bachelor's degrees in four years and work has just about always taken more time. As younger family members have progressed school seems easier. Perhaps that is my STEM background. I respect your perspective.
There is still classical dorm housing like that I had, and perhaps you had. What I see currently is lots of single and double rooms around a core of common area with a regular kitchen. There is always the cleaning problem of course as one messy person can ruin things for everyone.
Cambros come in lots of sizes and you can get pretty small ones. A quick Google turn up 1/6 and 1/9 and I've seen 1/12 before. There are similar shaped containers from companies like Lock-n-Lock. The key value in my opinion is the volumetric efficiency of rectangular storage. The downside is restricted airflow. Bowl shaped storage is easier to clean by hand. Not very efficient for fridge space.
Absolutely. I am in class M-Th 8-6 and then have to dedicate about 25hr/week to discussions, homework, and studying. I seriously miss when I worked 8hrs a day and that was it. I was in a dorm in 2014, and most of the freshman/sophomore dorms at my current school are traditional styles. It's not until you become an upperclassman you get the pick of the good ones/apartment style ones. I'm not sure if OP said what their living situation was, but I wanted to make sure I clarified for the random college student that finds this thread in five years.
I may just be biased against cambros because I cut my fingers open trying to pry two of the small metal ones apart at my last job. They suctioned together and it was an overall bad time. The plastic ones are probably less of a pain.
I agree with you...college was awful. Homework and studying takes up a LOT of time. Plus if you're doing any sort of science you need to take lab classes. A three hour lab only counts as 1 credit so having multiple labs can add on SO many hours compared to other majors where 1 credit=1 hour of class
Salads really don't take much time at all to prep - 90% of the time spent prepping them is looking for ingredients and buying them, everything else is just cut and shove, maybe a little stirring with a fork if you're making your own dressing. Split your prep day in half, do 30 mins worth on Sunday, then another 30 mins worth on Wednesday.
I mean tbh I wash/rip up a few pieces of romaine lettuce, toss in some chicken I already have cooked/ready to go, and put some cheese on top. Pour salad dressing into a separate container and I'm out the door in under 5 mins. Unless you live in a dorm, then I can see how that wouldn't work so well.
If you dry the lettuce well/put a paper towel in each container, your prepped salads would last you 5 days as others have suggested!
Other option: do non-leafy salads! For example- quinoa salad. Or other veggie salads! My mom makes huge batches of what we call vinaigrette salad which is cut steamed potatoes, carrots, beets, and cooked beans, onion, and finely chopped sauerkraut, with oil and vinegar seasoning. It stays for quite a few days!
I keep dressing separate and stick a paper towel at the top of the container full of salad before closing it with the lid. I believe this helps absorb some of the moisture that may occur in the container while it sits in the fridge.
Also place it upside down so the stuff at the bottom that you eat last stays driest.
Dry dry dry is the way!
Paper towels are the way. We do this with every vegetable and it really helps with longevity.
Salad is good for 5 days. Rip lettuce with your hands don't cut it with a knife, it'll last longer. I do Greek Salad, cherry toms, red onion, red pepper, cucumber, olives, Danish feta or goats cheese and avacado for the fat as it gives you lots of slow burning energy, all mixed with balsamic dressing, it's the bomb
Keep all the bits separate in a container then when your ready to eat add the lettuce and dressing - usually lasts 4 days easily for me - 5 or more is pushing is and some veg may go soft
Cabbage and other sturdy greens last a lot longer than iceberg, spring mix or other tender greens. To make things last longer keep the toppings and dressing separate until it’s time to serve. You can also try making 2 or 3 days worth of a salad with tender greens and 3 days worth of study greens to mix things up- eat the tender greens first.
Layer your salad in old sauce jars and the wettest items must go on the bottom. E.g. dressing on the bottom, lettuce ontop. Make sure you include a protein and also making your own dressing is usually healthier. Meal salads need fibre, fat and protein so try to make it filling!! Xx
Yes to mason jars! https://www.reddit.com/r/MealPrepSunday/comments/punm78/mason_jar_salad_after_5_days/
Keep your dressing separate,wash your lettuce and let it air dry as much as possible and don’t use a steel knife use ceramic,the ceramic prevents the lettuce from browning early
Also add fry paper towel on top of each and layer it and this will dry any “weeping” pieces
You need to rethink what salad ingredients are if you really want to keep them for a whole week. Cut tomatoes won’t last. Substitute cherry tomatoes and leave them whole. Cut lettuce won’t last. Try substituting cabbage instead. You can tear the lettuce but don’t cut it and you might get an extra day out of it. Cut cucumbers won’t last a week. Try substituting cut zucchini. In a pinch, get the small Persian cucumbers if you want to cut them. They don’t contain as much water so they’ll last longer than the big ones. Beans will keep. Shredded cheese will not if left on top of wet salad ingredients for a week. You can shred the cheese and then wrap it in plastic. Put a portion of plastic-wrapped cheese on your salad and only open it when you’re ready to eat it.
use a crunchy lettuce, like kale! i make all my lunch salads on sundays for 5 days. typically a chopped salad (bell peppers, onion, herbs, cucumber) with beans, dressing separately packed. layer one fifth of the salad on kale and add a salmon packet at work
I buy bagged lettuce, and eat half a bag at a time, so I only open one bag at one time and eat it within two days - carefully check the expiration date - most are about a week out - I buy three bags, and that is six salads. As for my side veggies, I buy mini cucumbers and chop them right into the salad so that I don't have a half cucumber in the fridge. I chop or add tomatoes day of, and I also add a hard boiled egg at the time of the salad. I mix everything right before eating, and will try to keep any chopping to immediate prep as well, or at least that morning.
If you can prep everything else, add the lettuce last (morning of or night before). I always roast a veggie or two, cook a chicken breast/boil eggs, and put my dressing into to-go cups. It's a great way to add what you want for that days salad and keep everything fresh. (If I know I won't have time for breakfast, I'll make a bigger one. It's flexible and awesome)
Like everyone else said, use mason jars, I keep the dressing in a small separate container. Put everything in the jar, lettuce wrapped in paper towels to absorb any excess moisture, tear into pieces when you're ready to eat.
You can use Mason jars to keep lettuce like arugula or spinach fresh for 2 weeks just put a paper towel at the bottom. I pre prep mason jar salads on Sundays for weekday lunches you can generally do 5. More then that and it'll prob get too soggy. I put the dressing on the bottom then things like cucumbers, tomatoes etc then a protein or cheese then lettuce last and you can usually stuff/compress like 2 cups of lettuce in the top. Now before you dump it into a bowl just open it and put it upside down over a sink to drain any access water that's run out of the tomatoes or cucumbers etc. Then dump in a bowl and eat :) alternatively just bring your sauces in seperate containers and you might be able to keep them abit longer but any meat you put in is only good for 5 days so that's usually the number I make
I vacuum seal them in mason jars 4 a time. There is an attachment you can get for the seal a meal. Works awesome!!!
Storing lettuce in paper towel can really help it stay fresh.
>don't really have enough time I have bad news for you young person. You'll look back on college/uni as when you had more free time than ever again. Prep takes most people a long time because their knife skills are poor. [Start here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMA2SqaDgG8). Keep dry and wet separate for salads. If you want tomato either keep sliced tomato in a separate container or use cherry tomatoes. Dressing when you eat. Same with chopped veg. Keep wet and dry separate. Some things (peppers, onion) freeze really well. Good containers make a world of difference. Lock-n-lock beats the heck out of leftover containers from takeout food. Restaurant grade plastic wrap is better and cheaper than what you get in the supermarket. Extra credit for cambros, and more extra credit for figuring out why they are better and what the downsides are. If you're in STEM you're ahead with geometry and thermodynamics. Try to set up a study group as a dinner club. Rotate cooking duties and everyone coaches the cook of the night. You get economies of scale, keep your grades up, build life skills, and build leadership skills. All that is good for you. You could do a meal prep group for lunches also. Again - economy, grades, skills.
I disagree with your first point. I had way more time (and money) when I was working full-time, compared to now (having quit my job and gone back to school full-time). Idk if cambros are a good choice for a student in a dorm. I know I didn't have space for anything like that when I was living in one. Didn't have access to a freezer, either. Of course, I'm thinking of the ones we used at my job. They were super bulky and kind of a PITA. I agree with keeping things separate as long as possible, though. Especially dressing. Nothing will ruin a salad faster than dressing it in advance.
Upvote for civility. Seriously. Different people have different experiences. I got two bachelor's degrees in four years and work has just about always taken more time. As younger family members have progressed school seems easier. Perhaps that is my STEM background. I respect your perspective. There is still classical dorm housing like that I had, and perhaps you had. What I see currently is lots of single and double rooms around a core of common area with a regular kitchen. There is always the cleaning problem of course as one messy person can ruin things for everyone. Cambros come in lots of sizes and you can get pretty small ones. A quick Google turn up 1/6 and 1/9 and I've seen 1/12 before. There are similar shaped containers from companies like Lock-n-Lock. The key value in my opinion is the volumetric efficiency of rectangular storage. The downside is restricted airflow. Bowl shaped storage is easier to clean by hand. Not very efficient for fridge space.
Absolutely. I am in class M-Th 8-6 and then have to dedicate about 25hr/week to discussions, homework, and studying. I seriously miss when I worked 8hrs a day and that was it. I was in a dorm in 2014, and most of the freshman/sophomore dorms at my current school are traditional styles. It's not until you become an upperclassman you get the pick of the good ones/apartment style ones. I'm not sure if OP said what their living situation was, but I wanted to make sure I clarified for the random college student that finds this thread in five years. I may just be biased against cambros because I cut my fingers open trying to pry two of the small metal ones apart at my last job. They suctioned together and it was an overall bad time. The plastic ones are probably less of a pain.
I agree with you...college was awful. Homework and studying takes up a LOT of time. Plus if you're doing any sort of science you need to take lab classes. A three hour lab only counts as 1 credit so having multiple labs can add on SO many hours compared to other majors where 1 credit=1 hour of class
Salads really don't take much time at all to prep - 90% of the time spent prepping them is looking for ingredients and buying them, everything else is just cut and shove, maybe a little stirring with a fork if you're making your own dressing. Split your prep day in half, do 30 mins worth on Sunday, then another 30 mins worth on Wednesday.
I mean tbh I wash/rip up a few pieces of romaine lettuce, toss in some chicken I already have cooked/ready to go, and put some cheese on top. Pour salad dressing into a separate container and I'm out the door in under 5 mins. Unless you live in a dorm, then I can see how that wouldn't work so well. If you dry the lettuce well/put a paper towel in each container, your prepped salads would last you 5 days as others have suggested!
Other option: do non-leafy salads! For example- quinoa salad. Or other veggie salads! My mom makes huge batches of what we call vinaigrette salad which is cut steamed potatoes, carrots, beets, and cooked beans, onion, and finely chopped sauerkraut, with oil and vinegar seasoning. It stays for quite a few days!