The Perfect Salads to Fuel Your Week
Here are three great salads that are easy to make, and will keep you performing at your best whether you’re training for a race or moving through life.
Between constant emails, social media feeds, work, working out, and life obligations, it’s hard enough to get out the door in the morning without having to worry about what to make for lunch or dinner. But here are three great salads that are easy to make, and will keep you performing at your best whether you’re training for a race or moving through life. And the best part is that you can prep all three salads at once after one trip to the grocery store.
So instead of making three individual salads one at a time, here’s what you do:
Ingredients:
- Bag of mixed greens
- Bag of arugula
- Bag of kale
- Fingerling potatoes
- Yellow potatoes
- Baby potatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- Yellow squash
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Beets
- Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Salmon
- Nutritional yeast
- Salsa
- Pesto
- Hummus
- Pumpkin seeds
- Peanut dressing
- Herb dressing
- English peas
- Sugar snap peas
- Grape tomatoes
- Rotisserie chicken
1) For one, we’ll roast Fingerling potatoes with veggies like Brussels sprouts, yellow squash, and broccoli. Or you could add carrots, cauliflower, beets, or nearly any other veggie you like.
2) For another, I roast diced yellow potatoes.
3) And, for the third, I like to roast a colorful medley of baby potatoes. And it’s most efficient to prep all of them right away.
With each variety, I like to drizzle them with olive oil and add salt and pepper. But then, for the fingerling potatoes with veggies, I also add nutritional yeast to the veggies.
Now, if you have three pans, it’s best to keep them separate when you stick them in the oven in case roasting times vary. If you don’t have three, it’s ok to combine the potatoes however you want, but you may need to check them more often to see if they’re tender.
Regardless, stick them all in the oven at 450 for 20-25 minutes, tossing a few times during roasting. This’ll create a nice golden crust with a softer interior, without drying out the potato.
That’s also a great temperature to roast salmon at, and you’ll need that for your first salad. And at 450, the salmon should only take 10 or so minutes, so pop it in about halfway through your potato roasting time.
While you’re waiting, it’s also time to prep the greens. But here’s a secret: nobody will judge you if you buy pre-made salad in a bag, so go for it.
1) For the first salad, prep a bed of mixed greens—or you can use spinach—and add the roasted salmon when it’s done.
2) For the second, set up a bed of arugula, shredded carrots, shredded coconut, diced jicama, sliced red peppers, and shredded chicken—which can be from a store-bought rotisserie chicken (shhh! It’s a great secret to make salads, soups, and other quick meals much easier and faster).
3) And with the last, I toss a bed of dinosaur kale with an herb dressing, and massage it with my hands to tenderize it and make it more palatable and easier to digest. I also add steamed peas, fresh sugar snap peas, halved tomatoes, and either more rotisserie chicken or even soft-boiled eggs. Again, don’t be afraid to buy prepared protein if you don’t have the time to do it yourself. The most important part to these meals is getting the nutrition of the potatoes and veggies, and having a delicious, fresh meal.
When the potatoes and veggies are done roasting, add the Fingerling potatoes to the mixed greens and when you’re ready to eat them, serve them with salsa, pesto, or hummus and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds; add the yellow potatoes to the arugula and eventually serve them with a peanut dressing; and add then immediately toss the baby potatoes with an herb salad dressing and add them to the kale mixture.
Now, with all these salads, you easily have a handful of meals that you can cycle through to keep you fueled throughout the week. And don’t be afraid to experiment with portions and how to tailor this further to meet your busy lifestyle.