Yummy meal prep salads that will last a week or more

By Cheri Sicard
If you overindulged during the holidays, you are probably ready for something a little lighter and more healthy about now. Or, if you happen to be reading this in the summer heat, you probably don’t feel like cooking. No matter when it is, these yummy meal prep salads make good sense. You can make them in advance and they will last a week or more. Yes, you can now have easy-to-grab salads ready for travel days too.

In the video below Chanty Marie shares her favorite make-ahead taco salad recipe and tips for making meal prep salads in general.

Besides her favorite vegan taco salad, the video contains invaluable tips for prepping your fresh produce, both fruit and veggies, so that they will stay fresh for a week or more.

Step one is always to wash the produce. Our hostess likes a commercial fruit and vegetable wash. I don’t agree, as I have seen studies that show that these washes don’t do any more than a thorough washing with water (or water with white vinegar). So I say, save your money and skip the special wash.  Although you will still want to wash your produce with water.

Washing everything at once makes sense time-wise and you will know that all the produce in your fridge is ready to eat.

After washing, the produce is set out on clean towels. You want it to be completely dry before adding to salads and/or storing.

A salad spinner can help. I love having this gadget in the RV as it not only dries lettuce, but take it apart and you have a colander and a large bowl.

In the video, she also preps veggies for the week, such as carrot sticks and bell peppers, in other words, things that make great dipping devices. That way healthy snacks are always on hand.

Meal prep salad tips

• Hearty greens like cabbages and kale will last longer than delicate greens like lettuce.
• Chopped green onions add great flavor and last longer than regular onions.
• Bell peppers of any color are another healthy, tasty ingredient with a long shelf life in meal prep salads.
• Some of the salads have beans. These are OK to add if you plan to eat the salad in two to three days. Otherwise, add beans just before consuming.
• Add dressings just before eating for maximum longevity.

Our hostess layers salad ingredients into glass dishes. In the RV, I love to make my meal prep salads in Mason Jars. But you could just as easily store them in a plastic food storage bag or lidded plastic food container.

To make her favorite Taco Salad, Chanty Marie first made a vegan chorizo with walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, taco seasoning, and pea protein. If you are more of an omnivore, you can easily swap out ingredients and use real chorizo instead. Although hers looks mighty good and healthy.

She also made a cherry tomato and corn salsa that gets added to the salad at mealtime. I would add cilantro to that, but she didn’t.

Next, she made a healthy creamy chipotle dressing with cashews and hemp seeds and also a jalapeño lime dressing.

Of course, add dressing just before eating for a fabulous ready-made healthy meal.

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