Basic Salad: the 'Go-To' Base - LifeSkill Secrets

In an earlier post on nutrition, I recommended that you eat a lot of vegies and protein. One ‘go-to’ meal base we use a lot is this basic salad. Its made with 3 simple ingredients we keep in the house all the time, so we can make it regularly. There are tons of things you can do with it so it doesn’t get boring.

Basic Salad

Tools

Large cutting board
I like this set because you get varied colors and sizes, they fold and roll, are easy to use, dishwasher safe (though i hand wash my larger ones) and store. The large one is great for chopping lettuce.

Chef’s knife
You only really need 3 or 4 basic knives, plus steak knives if you want. Use good knives. Here is a good starter Henkels set. If your have more limited budget, this is a set you can start with.
Be sure your knives are sharp- I prefer a 2 stage sharpener over a sharpening steel.

Veg peeler
I love my OXO veg peeler, easy to use, hold and clean.

Gallon zip locking bag
This is what I put the salad in when all chopped up. You can mix it all up in the bag, add dressing if desired to get it evenly coated over the salad- tends to use less and save calories. Of course, If you plan to eat it all right away, then put it in a large bowl.

Ingredients

This will make about 3 servings- try it first. You can always add more or less of anything.
Rinse the vegies under cool water and shake off excess water.
1 head Romaine lettuce
(Romaine lettuce has more vitamins and nutrients than iceberg and a more robust flavor. The greener the veg, the more nutrients)
Cut off the end and discard, then, holding the whole head with your non-dominant hand, slice the lettuce into 1/2 inch slices from the bottom to the top. Put the lettuce into the zip-locking bag.

3 green onions
Trim off the ‘hairy’ ends, line up the three onions and cut all three together. Slice the white part into slices about 1/4 inch. Most Asian cooking also uses the green part, and I like it too. Use your own taste preferences. Add the slides onions to the bag.

1/3 cucumber
Peel with the peeler- if desired. Then chop into small bits and add to the bag.

Seal the bag and gently toss/shake the bag to mix up all the ingredients.

That’s it- that is your base salad. Keep in mind that once lettuce is cut it starts to oxidize and brown, so plan to eat the salad with a day or two.
Fine. Now what?

Et tu, Caesar?

This salad started as a base for Chicken Caesar Salad but works just as well for Salmon Caesar Salad or Steak Caesar Salad.

Put about 1/3 of the Basic Salad mix into a pasta plate or onto a dinner plate.
Top with 4oz grilled chicken breast, roasted chicken, grilled Salmon or grilled steak
Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the top . We use the fresh or cheese aisle shredded or grated Parmesan. Because it tends to mold quickly, we keep a bag of it in the freezer. Don’t worry that its frozen, it will warm quickly, especially if you are sprinkling it on warm meat or fish. Just use what you need, reseal and put back in the freezer.
If you didn’t dress the salad in the bag, add dressing. I am partial to Marie’s Caesar which is found refrigerated in the produce department.

Eh taco!

The basic salad is great used on tacos along with seasoned ground beef (see the post on preparing ground beef), tomatoes (if desired), grated cheese and salsa. Yum. Also works as the basis for a great taco salad with all the same ingredients and some tortilla chips.