We’re in a routine here at Chez Wright.
Meal-planning is a must.
Meal planning tends to happen Thursday night or Friday morning as part of my No Waste Tastes Great routine.
The meal plan is displayed for all to see on the kitchen board.
Rarely do I plan the same meals each week (although I concede this may make life easier) but we do typically stick to homemade pizza on a Saturday. This is a little bit of a tradition. I do like my traditions.
Although since I have discovered fresh pizza dough in Aldi, I’ve been a bit of a shortcut-queen. Watch my YouTube video where I express my love here 🙂
This Saturday, the usual pizza was sidelined for a smoked salmon salad.
Salad was never a meal I used to prepare or enjoy. I’m not a massive green leaf fan. But then I discovered balsamic vinegar. Vinegar has always saved the day. As a child I would not eat my Sunday roast until my Mom had a Eureka moment and poured mint sauce all over it. I still have mint sauce with every roast.
My appreciation of salads has grown and grown.
This is because they are:
1. Generally no-cook
2. Simple
3. Healthy (well mostly)
4. Great for keeping waste down
5. A fantastic emergency meal
In my Fridge each week I keep some baby leaf salad (and store it in pyrex with kitchen towel to absorb moisture – this seems to be keeping it fresher longer).
I also buy pre-cooked fish (purchased from Aldi usually) – salmon or mackerel. And keep tinned tuna in the cupboard.
In my storecupboard I also keep unsalted cashews and balsamic vinegar.
Just these 4 items can rustle up a meal. By adding in extra salad such as peppers, cucumber, fruit or olives, and maybe a little pasta – it makes a substantial meal. Served with wholemeal pitta bread (which I always keep in the freezer) there’s a tasty nutritious simple meal on the table in less than 5 minutes. With no pots and pans to wash and dry.
Salad makes a great save when it comes to potential food waste. Unsure what to do with the extra chicken, leftover from dinner, that was planned for fajitas?
Make a salad, for lunch, the next day!
Chopped salad is my go to for lunches right now. Salad leaves tend to be my food waste undoing so I only use them occasionally. Instead of salad leaves I thinly slice cabbage, grate a carrot and then mix in whatever else we have: sliced almonds, peppers, chicken, raisins, chopped grapes, grated or chopped apple, balsamic dressing (of course!) or half an avocado mashed up with some lemon juice and spices (instant easy dressing), chopped walnuts, sometimes feta cheese. I usually chop enough of the base for the next day’s lunch.
Agree vegetables make a great base for salads, particularly as I too do seem to lose a lot of leaves. Putting in glass with kitchen towel seems to be helping though.
Love the sound of the avocado!
Chopped salad is my go to for lunches right now. Salad leaves tend to be my food waste undoing so I only use them occasionally. Instead of salad leaves I thinly slice cabbage, grate a carrot and then mix in whatever else we have: sliced almonds, peppers, chicken, raisins, chopped grapes, grated or chopped apple, balsamic dressing (of course!) or half an avocado mashed up with some lemon juice and spices (instant easy dressing), chopped walnuts, sometimes feta cheese. I usually chop enough of the base for the next day’s lunch.
Agree vegetables make a great base for salads, particularly as I too do seem to lose a lot of leaves. Putting in glass with kitchen towel seems to be helping though.
Love the sound of the avocado!
Using a couple of the ingredients that you mentioned you love, I would suggest a Greek style salad with baby leaves, chopped vine tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese and black olives. I make a simple dressing using low fat Greek yoghurt with a couple of teaspoons of mint sauce mixed in, seasoned with salt and black pepper, I sometimes add 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder too. Greek yoghurt is a great, low fat, base ingredient to many dressings or marinades so I can always use up a small pot within a couple of days.
Crispy fried chopped Panetta is also great in salad, combined with sweet red pepper, fried off in the same pan with a dash a balsamic vinegar to enhance the sweetness. It also tastes great with chicken if you want to make it more substantial.
I definitely agree with the nut and salad combo. I always have a bag of Aldi’s mixed nuts in my cupboard, it includes almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews and pecans. I usually just crush a handful and throw them on… great value at just over a £1 per bag too!
All of that sounds good but I would have expected nothing less! 😉
Using a couple of the ingredients that you mentioned you love, I would suggest a Greek style salad with baby leaves, chopped vine tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese and black olives. I make a simple dressing using low fat Greek yoghurt with a couple of teaspoons of mint sauce mixed in, seasoned with salt and black pepper, I sometimes add 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder too. Greek yoghurt is a great, low fat, base ingredient to many dressings or marinades so I can always use up a small pot within a couple of days.
Crispy fried chopped Panetta is also great in salad, combined with sweet red pepper, fried off in the same pan with a dash a balsamic vinegar to enhance the sweetness. It also tastes great with chicken if you want to make it more substantial.
I definitely agree with the nut and salad combo. I always have a bag of Aldi’s mixed nuts in my cupboard, it includes almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, cashews and pecans. I usually just crush a handful and throw them on… great value at just over a £1 per bag too!
All of that sounds good but I would have expected nothing less! 😉
I think it’s time for a salad dinner. Thanks for the inspiration. Now it’s time to see what’s in the fridge to throw in.
Chuck it all in!
I think it’s time for a salad dinner. Thanks for the inspiration. Now it’s time to see what’s in the fridge to throw in.
Chuck it all in!