Salad Days
Hey, folks.
Been up to a lot, lately! I have recently finished up a couple of websites and started a few new ones this month, plus I’ve got a couple already lined up for February. So needless to say, things are busy and in a good way, where work is concerned.
A good friend and I took a trip to go grocery shopping earlier this month, and we went to ALDI and Trader Joe’s. I like buying produce, coffee, cheese, meat and frozen stuff at ALDI, because it’s cheap and tasty. This was my first time shopping at TJ’s, and I have to say that I love that place! I’ll definitely be going back. Their organic stuff is reasonably priced, and the dry goods and condiments/sauces are great, for the price. I bought some of their Rice Mac & Cheese (the macaroni is made from rice flour, instead of wheat), several flavors of the Greek Style yogurt, and some frozen asparagus as well as their plain mini bagels. All good-tasting stuff! I also got some dry penne pasta, and a package of wild mushrom risotto, which was not as good.
This past week I needed to stock up on household stuff and food again, so I went to Super Target in Midway. Being someone who doesn’t drive, it’s nice being able to get trash bags, toilet paper, etc., plus all my groceries, at one place.
I had been pining for a salad spinner (don’t laugh, those things are invaluable!) for some time now, at least a couple of years, but until last week was unable to afford one. The last few times I was at Super Target, the only ones I could find were the big, red KitchenAid ones, and they were spendy, at least $34. That’s a lot if you are planning to shop with just sixty bucks in your wallet, and hope to go away with at least a week’s worth of food, to boot. This past week though, I dug around a little more since I had time to spare, and when I saw one for $19.95, I snatched it up quick-like.
What a smart purchase that was! I’m diabetic and I really need to watch what I eat, probably more than normal folks. I love salads, but I can’t tell you what a pain in the ass it is preparing them easily and quickly, yet still be able to store and preserve the veggies for later, without them rotting on me. I used to always buy a head of lettuce (romaine or leaf style–not iceberg–that’s practically just water), and maybe some fresh spinach, but I hated having to take off the leaves I would use, wash them, trim them, dry them out on paper towels, then tear/chop them up for salads. That was the only way really, since if you cut lettuce up and then store it, it turns brown and wilty in no time, flat. So I tried buying the bagged and precut/prewashed variety, but the minute you open the bag, the stuff is sure to spoil in 2 days, so that’s a waste of money.
Here’s the one I got:
Large Salad Spinner by Chef'n - Vibe collection
Mine has a white top, though. Isn’t it purty? With my new salad spinner, I can tear off the leaves of greens I want to eat, rip them up and toss them into the spinner with water in it, then spin it like crazy for a minute, dump the water out, and spin some more til dry. Done in less time!
The job is so much easier and more pleasant, now, and I’m happy to report that all my lunches this past week featured salads as the main course or on the side.
I also bought ALDI’s (Fit & Active brand) Light Ranch salad dressing (which tastes EXACTLY like the Hidden Valley Ranch Light version, but for $1.49), and tossed it with some shredded carrot, diced tomato, onion and shredded cheese. One time I also added some leftover cooked chicken, and used the light Italian dressing instead.
Related posts:
- Poor Woman’s Weekend meals
- Favorite new salad
- Tomato, Tomahto. Just gimme some, dammit!
- One of those days…
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January 31st, 2009 at 8:35 pm
If you purchase lettuce whole/in bulk, spin all of it at once. Then simply wrap it in paper towels (fold it over in full sheets with lettuce in the middle) and place in a large ziploc-type bag. It should keep for at least a week, if not more.
If the lettuce tends to rust/wilt, you can also poke a few small holes in the ziploc to help with ‘draining’ and ‘light air’. It works great here.
I also highly recommend broccoli slaw (pre-packaged in the salad area). It’s just shredded veggies, and really crunchy. I use it as topping on my salad instead of croutons.
The coffee from Aldi ROCKS. Grandessa is an awesome brand!
(Glad you’re back, by the way!)
February 7th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Hey Renn
I love broccoli slaw, too
And the lettuce-keeping using paper towel does seem to help.
Thanks to your tip, my head of romaine lettuce stayed fresh for longer than a week! I did not cut it all up, I just kept it wrapped in a damp paper towel and in a loose plastic bag (didn’t seal it all the way).
I will try the ALDI Grandessa next time I’m out of coffee!