Busy Mom Survival: How to Build a Basic Lunch Salad

When I was single, I ate salad for dinner a lot. Like, five or six nights a week. Now, I eat it more often for lunch, but the salad itself hasn’t changed a whole lot. I tend to stick to the same mix of ingredients, with just a couple of variations from time to time, and the nice thing is that most of them are pantry-friendly, so I don’t need a huge variety in the refrigerator. I mix my own dressings (because they just taste better, and they don’t contain a bunch of stuff I can’t pronounce).

For a busy mom, lunch can easily be a disaster. You might manage some hummus and crudités, but then again, you might end up scavenging for the crusts of your toddler’s grilled cheese. Or worse, heating up a Lean Cuisine in the microwave. I’ve found that keeping salad ingredients on hand helps me to eat a healthier, more satisfying lunch every day. I tend to use things that don’t require much, if any, preparation, to make it a no-fail situation.

A mealtime salad should be hearty without being heavy, so that it stays with you. The French know how to do this really well, as evidenced by their classic Salad Niçoise and Salad Lyonnaise. You need good greens, protein, a variety of textures, and a dressing that complements the flavors of everything else in the salad.

I like my lunchtime salads to have both savory and sweet flavors, both tender and crunchy textures. I use chicken or tuna as my protein most of the time, and occasionally sliced steak if I have some left over from dinner the night before. If I’m going to used protein that’s fresh, I’ll cook up enough on Sunday evening to last through the week.

I usually add a small amount of legumes for additional protein, fiber, and texture – garbanzo beans or a few cannellini. Just a few, mind you.

Cheese. A hearty salad isn’t complete without it. I like crumbled goat cheese, which is milder than feta (but if you’re a feta lover, go for it). Gorgonzola is also fantastic, as it’s milder on the bleu cheese scale. And of course, fresh grated or shaved parmesan or Gruyère is wonderful. Pick one cheese.

Of course, there are vegetables, and I like marinated or roasted vegetables along with fresh ones. Marinated artichoke hearts. Roasted beets or Brussels sprouts. Sun-dried tomatoes marinated in olive oil. Roasted red peppers. Any combination of these is phenomenal, and many of them come in jars in the market, to save you time and effort.

As for the fresh vegetables, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, and loose English peas are my favorite go-tos. No chopping, no slicing.

Then, there’s fruit. Just one, fresh or dried. Some thinly sliced green apple or tender pear. A handful of dried Montmorency cherries. Some tangerine segments.

Finally, some raw nuts for the beneficial fats and antioxidants. Walnuts and pecans are my favorite, but I also use almonds and sometimes pine nuts if I have them around.

I lean toward a vinaigrette dressing that’s more on the tangy side, made with balsamic or red wine vinegar, or lemon juice if that’s my mood. Finely minced shallot, olive oil, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. 2/3 oil to 1/3 vinegar is the ratio I use. Sometimes I add a bit of dijon mustard to it, sometimes not. I just shake it all together in a mason jar, season to taste, and call it good.

When I was working in an office every day, I packed my salad into separate containers: greens and fresh vegetables in a large container with room to add everything else later. Marinated or roasted vegetables in another. Fruit and cheese in a third. Dressing in its own little flask. Dried fruit and nuts in a baggie. That way, nothing gets soggy. My niece has this awesome salad container that holds the greens in a bottom compartment, with a sectioned tray for your other ingredients that rests on top of it, and a little container for the dressing that fits into the lid, to keep everything together and separate at the same time. It’s genius.

The photos below show you how to assemble this at home, and is just one example of the many ingredient combinations that are possible. It also looks pretty – not a concern when you’re dragging it to the office with you, I know.

The Basic Lunch Salad

For the salad:
2-3 cups mixed greens
3-4 ounces protein (chicken, tuna, salmon, or steak)
1 cup vegetables – marinated, roasted, fresh, or a combination
Fruit, 1/2 cup fresh or 1/8 cup dried
1 ounce cheese
1-2 ounces raw nuts

For the vinaigrette:
1/2 cup vinegar of your choice or fresh lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
1 shallot, finely minced
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Start by assembling the vinaigrette. Put all the ingredients into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until well blended.

Put your greens in a bowl. Here, I’m using a mix of spinach, frisée, and baby lettuces. Toss with two tablespoons of dressing.

Arrange on a plate. This is your salad base, and you’ll build up from here.

Add your protein. This is just white albacore tuna. Of course, tuna steak is better, but I don’t always have that on hand.

Then add your legumes, if using. I’m using garbanzo beans here.

Add whatever marinated or roasted vegetables you’re using. Here, I’m using marinated artichoke hearts and roasted beets. I like to space them out equally.