Best way to store a salad for a week of dinners?

[mickminmom]

I would like to make a big salad so it is easy to pull out of the refrig and eat every night for dinner. Any tips that work for you? Certain container to buy? I would add a different protein every night but wanted a base of lettuce and veggies to be ready to go!

TIA

[egoldber]

I have an older version of this one that I love: http://www.amazon.com/OXO-1045421-SoftWorks-Salad-Spinner/dp/B0000644FC/ref=lp_289801_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1434802478&sr=1-6

It spins to clean the lettuce very well. I then just store the salad in there. I keep lettuce in it for a full week. I got mine over 10 years ago, but I see there is also now a stainless steel version.

I would be careful about keeping other things with the lettuce. I think you might be better off storing those items separately in stacking containers and then just adding them to the lettuce when you make it. Chopped items with a lot of water (tomatoes, cukes) will make the salad go bad faster.

[gamma]

Mason jar salads keep very well. Pintrest has a lot of great ideas!

[hillview]

Mason jar salads keep very well. Pintrest has a lot of great ideas!
:yeahthat:

[pastrygirl]

Yup, the mason jar method works great!

[tmahanes]

Agree with the Mason jars...

We can make salads for a week of lunches and they keep really well.

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[mackmama]

Following this thread. Can someone post a link to the mason jar method?

[tmahanes]

I can find a link but we do dressing first if we want it (I lots of times eat without dressing), hard things like carrots, softer veggies like cucumbers and tomatoes etc, then I do meat if we are adding then the lettuce. Make sure the lettuce is not touching dressing! Then when you dump out it is in the correct order.

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[tmahanes]

http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/2014/03/17/the-ultimate-mason-jar-salad-tutorial-and-recipe-round-up/

This one has a good explanation.

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[mom2binsd]

I make Mason Jar salads all the time.

My go to is, vinegar based dressing on bottom/brocolli,carrots,cauliflower/cucumber, mushrooms/firm pasta if I feel like it/meat-usually chicken/avocado/greens-usually lots of spinach. Pack it all in super tight and seal. I have kept mine for 6 days and it's still fresh!

[specialp]

The key for me is making sure the lettuce is really dry. I spin it, leave it in the spinner colander (same spinner linked to above and mine is old also) and then put the colander in the refrigerator on a towel to dry out for a few more hours. After that I put in a regular plastic container. Mine is a 12 cup rubbermaid container for dry good and I pack it tight with lettuce to make it last *almost* a week. I like that container because it is tall and slender and it is always in my fridge. (I also have cleaned spinach or kale in a separate container to add to salads and make it last longer. I can get 6-7 days out of the combo.) If the lettuce is still a tiny bit damp, I will lay a paper towel on top and then remove it the next day. I chop toppings and put them in a separate container.

I have done the mason jar salads and they work well especially for individual lunches or dinners. For us, it isn’t a great fit. I eat salads everyday for lunch and typically add leftovers to it and then we have different salads for dinner every night depending on what is in our garden. Dh and one DC eat salad. I need to be able to adjust to it is easier for me to just have lettuce ready. (eta: I also don't like tomatoes refrigerated.)

[hillview]

My post
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?460262-My-effort-at-mason-jar-salads&highlight=mason

[mickminmom]

OP here...many thanks! I am inspired to pack the mason jars for lunches as that would be so easy to grab and go in the morning.
I will also try keeping the lettuce in the OXO spinner ...I have the same one but never used it to store the lettuce in the fridge also.
Great ideas!