Food Storage

Summertime and the eatin’s easy…

We’re not sure about you, but something about the sunshine and the fresh, local produce in season makes us crave crisp, refreshing salads all summer long. When it comes to making clean-eating easier and more accessible, Megan Gilmore, a.k.a. The Detoxinista, is a pro. Using ingredients most people already have on hand, she makes gluten-free, refined sugar-free, raw, vegan, and Paleo-friendly recipes attainable and most importantly, delicious! To make weekday salads an everyday reality, Megan shared her secrets with us.

Ready-to-Eat Salads

Before the week kicks off, Megan preps salad ingredients and stores them in glass food containers. “I prefer glass containers for storing all of my chopped produce, as they won’t leach any chemicals into your food and they also make it easy to see the ingredients they contain,” said Megan. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

“With less than an hour of prep-work over the weekend, you can essentially have a “salad bar” waiting for you at home,” she advises. “It tends to be much more affordable than choosing from your grocer’s prepared food section.” For the tastiest mix-and-match salads, Megan shared the 3 essential components.

3 Components of a Delicious Salad

1. Leafy greens

Choose chopped romaine lettuce, curly or lacinato kale, spinach, shredded cabbage, or mixed greens as a base. “I like to pick at least two varieties of leafy greens to prepare each week, so that my salads have plenty of variety in both taste, texture, and nutrients.”

2. Toppings

Pick 3-5 toppings from one of the categories below. Keep in mind, you’re going for a variety of colors and textures! 

Raw veggies: bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, zucchini, and radishes. “Try shredded vegetables, such as carrots or beets for even more texture.”

Roasted veggies: artichoke hearts, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes

Non-vegetable toppings: raw nuts and seeds, dried fruit, cooked lentils and beans, cheese, and cooked meats

3. Salad dressing

If you’ve never made your own dressing, there’s no time like the present! You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to add fresh, delicious flavor, and you won’t be paying for processed dressings that usually contain excess sugar, salt, preservatives and who knows what else.

“I like to prepare two dressings at the same time–usually a vinaigrette and a creamy dressing, so I have both options during the week!” said Megan. Make, shake, serve, and store your dressing from this Glass Salad Dressing Bottle. For recipes to some of Megan’s favorite homemade salad dressings and pre-mixed salads that store well for a convenient grab-and-go meal, visit The Detoxinista.

Spinach, strawberries, blue cheese or endive, walnuts, pear...What are some of your favorite salad components and combinations?