Buying a lunchtime salad at one of those healthy, made-to-order places is the ultimate in workday convenience — they usually have you out the door in 10 minutes flat, with a meal that won't make you want to take a nap under your desk. So, what's the catch? The price, of course. Usually the classic salads start around £5 or £7, but fancier ones can quickly costs up to £10.
If you spend around £7 on lunch five days a week, you're looking at close to £2,000 by the end of the year. That's a lot of cash...so we challenged ourselves to re-create some tasty lunch salads for a whole lot cheaper. Added bonus: you'll feel like a total superstar for bringing in your healthy, home-made lunch. Sounds like a win, win to us.
Asian Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing
Ingredients
1 small head lettuce
1/5 red cabbage (about 1 cup shredded)
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (about 1 1/2 cup)
2 medium carrots or 15 mini carrots, sliced or shredded
2 spring onions, sliced
1/2 apple sliced
1 handful of peanuts (about 10 to 12 peanuts)
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp honey
Salt and pepper
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Instructions
1. Chop and slice the ingredients as needed
2. In a large bowl combine the chicken, lettuce, cabbage, spring onion, carrots, peanuts, and apple.
3. Make the dressing by whisking together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and honey. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. If you are packing the salad to enjoy later, pack the dressing separately and add just before eating.
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Cauliflower "Rice" Salad With Spicy Almond Dressing
Ingredients
1/3 head cauliflower (about 2 1/2 cups when "riced")
1 spring onion
1/2 red onion
1/4 red bell pepper
1/2 avocado
1 handful of peanuts (about 10 to 12 peanuts)
1 lime
1 tbsp almond butter (or nut butter of your choice)
2 to 3 tbsps vegetable oil
1 tsp honey
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Instructions
1. To make the cauliflower rice start by quartering the head of cauliflower. Break the quartered pieces into florets and place them in a food processor. Pulse about 5 times until they are finely chopped and roughly rice sized. If you don’t have a food processor, just chop finely by hand. This should yield about 2 1/2 cups of cauliflower; chop a few more florets if needed using up to a third of the cauliflower.
2. Slice half a red onion. In a large skillet or pan lightly sauté the onions in a drizzle of oil for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions begin to soften.
3. Add the cauliflower to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until the cauliflower is just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Let the cauliflower cool a little while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
4. Prep the rest of the vegetables, slice the bell pepper, and chop the scallion. Roughly chop the peanuts and chop the avocado.
5. To make the dressing, combine the almond butter (or nut butter of your choice) with the honey to form a paste. If you are using a sweetened nut butter omit the honey. Whisk in 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, the juice of half a lime, salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix until combined.
6. In a large bowl combine the cauliflower rice, chopped veggies, and half the dressing. Top the salad with peanuts, drizzle on the remaining dressing and serve with one or two lime wedges.
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Middle Eastern Chopped Salad
Ingredients
1/3 to 1/2 small bag lettuce mix of your choosing
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 mini cucumber or 1/4 of a large greenhouse cucumber
6 small tomatoes or 1 medium
1 large handful fresh flat leaf parsley (or other fresh herbs like mint or oregano)
1/4 large bell pepper
1 spring onion
20g feta cheese
1/2 lemon
3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Instructions
1. Chop the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onion, bell pepper, and the parsley
2. In a large bowl toss together all the chopped veggies along with the chickpeas and the crumbled feta.
3. Make the dressing by whisking together the yogurt and olive oil. Once they are completely combined add the juice of 1/2 a lemon (about a tbsp). salt, and pepper, and mix again. Dress the salad just before eating.
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Southwestern Chopped Salad
Ingredients
1/2 head romaine lettuce (about 2 1/2 cups chopped)
1/2 avocado
1/2 large cob of corn (or 1/3 cup of kernels if using canned or frozen)
1/2 cup black beans (drained and rinsed if using canned)
4 to 5 grape or cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp salsa
20g Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 sprig coriander (a few leaves)
Salt and pepper
Hot sauce, optional
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.
Instructions
1. In a small bowl combine the beans, salsa, and corn. I like the crunch of fresh raw corn, but you can use canned corn, thawed frozen corn, or cooked fresh corn. Toss together and set aside.
2. Chop the lettuce, tomatoes, and 1/2 the avocado (since we’re using 1/2 an avocado this will be 1/4 of an entire avocado). In a large bowl combine all the components of the salad, the veggies, bean mixture, and cheese.
3. To make the dressing, combine the following ingredients in a food processor or blender. The remaining 1/4 of the avocado, olive oil, the juice of 1 lime, a few leaves of coriander, 1 tbsp of cold water, salt and pepper. If you like things on the spicier side, add heat with a few dashes of hot sauce. If mixing by hand, smash the avocado first, then add in the ingredients one at a time, finishing with chopped cilantro. Dress the salad just before eating.
Photographed by Eric Helgas; Food Styling Michelle Gatton; Prop Styling Chloe Daley.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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