How I Make Salad on a Budget

I know lot's of people like salad, but don't buy it because when you buy it in the bag pre-made because it can be really pricey. Then, the stuff in those bags comes with enough for like 3 salads and then usually it's half wilted anyway....and then even worse if you don't eat it within 2-3 days of buying it it's all nasty and wilted...waste of a bag of $5 salad mix!! So, I decided to experiment a few months ago and see how much cheaper and longer making my own salad would be. I'm super organized with my food/pantry/refrigerator, so my salad making is pretty much the same. Yeah, it's a little more time consuming that just buying a "ready made" bagged...but, it lasts about 2 weeks and only takes like 30 minutes to put together!! 

First, I obviously wash and separate all the lettuce. I use an organic romaine ($1.99) and iceberg ($1).

 Then, I chop up the lettuce using my super awesome Chefmate chef's knife. 

 As I'm chopping, I throw the lettuce into my salad spinner, and spin the water out. This is important because the drier the lettuce, the longer it will stay good.

Once it's nice and dry-ish I dump all the romaine in one bowl to the side.

Next, I'll chop up the iceberg. I find it easiest to chop it in half, then cut it into wedges to break apart. As I'm cutting it up and breaking the pieces apart with my fingers, I'll throw it in the spinner and spin it out. Then, I put it in another big bowl to the side. 

 Then, I just take half from each bowl and "exchange" bowls and toss it together. Cover it with plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge! So, you end up with these two giant bowls of salad for only about $3. Compare that to your wimpy pre-mixed bagged salad!! 

I'll also buy a celery bunch, a couple cucumbers, and a big thing of mushrooms, and a bag of baby carrots. All that was about $4 for the "extra goodies" for the salads. I went ahead and chopped everything up and put the veggies in their own separate baggies. This way when we make our salads for lunch/dinner/snacks it's like a salad bar....everyone gets what they want. I love cucumber's, my hubby doesn't. Sometimes I'll have cucumbers, sometimes avocado...it just depends on what's on sale that week. 

I've had my salad mix stay for nearly two weeks, and it was STILL good...we just had eaten it all. I highly recommend doing this. Eating healthy can be cheap! You just have to be willing to put in a little work...not even a lot...just a little!