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I was watching my favorite afternoon show “The Chew” while eating my salad for lunch and became inspired by the title of the episode: “Makin’ It Easy Monday”. When I heard the title, I immediately thought, “This would make a great post because everyone likes to start the week off smoothly!” I love meal prep because it saves me time during the week and helps me make smarter choices about what I am eating. This post is going to show you how I spend my time on a Sunday prepping my salads for the week so my Monday is easy and the week runs smoothly.
Related Post: A Sunday Well Spent Brings A Week of Content
Currently, I am staying at home with my daughter. Even though I am at home, I still like to prepare my lunches on a Sunday because it gives me a sense of peace knowing lunch is prepped and ready to eat! If my lunch is not prepped, I fall into that mindless grab and snack scenario….the snacks are not nutritious either. They are salty and sweet! I can’t live off of salty and sweet snacks and be at my best for my daughter. That’s why I prepare ahead of time! Sunday is the only day of the week my husband is home all day as he works full time as a computer programmer and coaches swimming during the week. While I am spending my Sunday in the kitchen, he is enjoying daddy-daughter time 🙂
My favorite meal to prepare for lunch is salad….I love being able to vary the lettuce, produce and toppings. My salads are colorful, which means they are full of vitamins and minerals. When I worked full time as a teacher, I would portion out the salad into five resealable plastic containers (minus the dressing) and stack in the fridge.  Then, each morning, I simply grabbed a container and stuck it in my lunch box.  Now that I am at home full-time, I make one big salad, prep all of the veggies, and spoon out my serving into a bowl each day.
My Favorite Salad Ingredients
Greens
- Spinach
- Romaine Hearts
- Spring Mix
Veggies
- Carrots
- Roma or Cherry Tomatoes
- Cucumbers (I prefer Seedless or the Mini Cucumbers)
- Red, Orange, or Yellow Bell Peppers
Protein
- Leftover Chicken
- Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Black Beans
- Chick Peas
- Cheese
Prepping My Salads for the Week
First, I boil my eggs.  I place 9 eggs into a large saucepan (that was how many fit in the bottom of my pan) and covered with cold water. I made sure there was 2 inches of water above the eggs since I had so many in the pot. I bring the pot of water to a rolling boil, then remove from heat, cover and set a timer for 14 minutes. When the timer goes off, I use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the pot and place the eggs immediately in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. They get nice and cooled off in their ice bath! I dry them off and place in a glass storage container. I prefer storing the eggs in a glass container as opposed to a plastic container because I find the glass doesn’t absorb the smell like plastic does. I love my Pyrex glass storage containers!  I went out and bought more of the 2 cup size because I use them so much!
While the eggs are cooking, I prep my produce. The romaine lettuce gets chopped up and put in a large plastic storage container. I slice up baby carrots and place on top of the lettuce. I did dry the carrots off slightly because there was some moisture in the bag. After that, I dice up my cucumber (English cucumbers are my FAVORITE!! I can’t get enough of them! I started purchasing the 3-pack at Costco because they are individually wrapped and stay fresh a lot longer than the ones I was getting from the grocery store.). Since the cucumber is usually pretty wet, I lay the diced pieces onto paper towels to soak up the extra moisture. This helps them stay crunchy through the week. There’s nothing worse than a mushy cucumber! Next up is the roma tomato followed by the cheese. I don’t always put cheese on my salad, but we had some leftover block cheese in our deli drawer. The cucumber pieces, tomato pieces and cheese were put into individual plastic storage containers. Â Voila! A salad bar in my own kitchen!
This is how I make lunch easy for the week 🙂 When it’s lunchtime, I know it will take no time at all to put together a delicious and nutritious salad to eat! Be sure to pin this post, using the image below, and share it with a friend who is looking for a way to eat healthier at lunchtime 🙂
