Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Making My Own Pre-Bagged Salad

While convenient, pre-bagged salads can be expensive. This ten ounce bag costs $2.99 at my local grocery store this week.


This bag of six romaine hearts cost me $3.99 at Costco. When I get the pack home, I chop up two of the heads, wash them, and dry them thoroughly in my salad spinner. (For me, a salad spinner is an indispensable kitchen tool. It cuts the prep time for salads down dramatically and can also be used to dry fruits like grapes and cherries after washing.)



I store the washed and dried lettuce in a gallon size Ziploc bag lined with paper towels. Seal the bag and store in the fridge just like you would bagged salad from the store. The two heads yield about 13 oz. of chopped lettuce, which makes six side salads, or enough to last my small family for three meals. I chop the other heads as we need it and when I have time.



All six heads yield approximately four times the amount of salad as one bag of store-bought lettuce, for only a dollar more. For ten minutes of work, it’s worth it to me to do it myself.

Making my own pre-bagged salad works for me. For other tips, check out We Are That Family.

4 comments:

  1. That is a great idea! If the next freeze wipes out my garden, I know where I am heading for lettuce.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great tip. I don't purchase the pre-bagged salads. Instead, we often skip the salad because I don't feel like going through the prep (or I forget until it's too late). Doing the prep in advance would help a lot.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on the banana "ice cream" post. I don't know if it works with other fruits. I've come across a recipe for homemade fruit ice cream that doesn't require an ice cream maker, but it does include cream or yogurt. You can find it here:
    http://www.instructables.com/id/5-minute-Ice-Cream/
    Let me know if you try it!

    ReplyDelete

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