lunch prep: salads

As someone who thrives on consistency and routine, I've found that the best way to guarantee healthy eating during the school day is to plan and prepare ahead. When I leave my meals up to chance, like how I'm feeling that day or what's in my fridge, I will almost always overeat or eat unhealthily. I find that I'm also more prone to mindless snacking in the afternoons if left to my own urges.

That being said, one thing I do to avoid overeating is to prep my lunches for the entire week on Sunday afternoon. I think I developed this habit after watching my mom make fifteen sandwiches every week so that my dad, my brother, and I could easily pack our lunches. For me, my current lunch of choice is a big salad. I realize that having the same thing every day isn't very exciting and not everyone prefers this type of routine, and that's totally fine. I just prefer it this way because it makes shopping simple, and I really don't have to think about what I'm going to do each week. If I'm feeling adventurous I'll swap out new toppings or dressings, but generally my salads are pretty consistent from week to week.

So for anyone who cares, here is my lunch prep routine.

First, let's talk containers. I'm obsessed with organization and I value order and consistency, so after I developed my salad system, I went out and bought containers to be used specifically for this purpose. I use one large container to hold my salad and the toppings, but I like to keep things fresh by not mixing the salad until I'm ready to eat it. So, I put my toppings into smaller containers.

The large containers I use are 1-liter Lock and Lock boxes. After determining that this was my preferred shape and size, I bought a set of five from Amazon.

The small containers I prefer were purchased from Kaufland. They come in a pack of two and fit perfectly inside the bigger box, as you'll see at the end of this post.

Now that you've got your containers, let's talk food. For five salads, I use two packages of feldsalat, half of a block of feta cheese, and a roughly 400-gram package of chicken breast. For my Kandern friends, this all came from Penny.

I start by cutting the chicken into tiny cubes. As an aside, I usually grab the Hanchen Minutenschnitzel because it's thin and easier to cube. On occasion I've also been known to use the Puten (turkey). I cook the chicken in lemon or lime juice because it's my favorite, but you can use whatever seasonings you prefer.

After it cools, I divide the chicken into five small containers.

I then divide the pack of feta into ten equal sized pieces. As you can tell from the picture below, it's a rough estimate! I use five pieces for this week's salads, then I save the other five for the next week's salads.

Finally, I wash all the feldsalat and divide it among the five containers. Voila! Lunches for a week!

In the spring I often add fresh strawberries or peaches (yes, peaches!), and another favorite addition is Craisins. The Craisins definitely add more calories to this meal, so if you're counting, make sure to portion appropriately.

In terms of dressing, it's common knowledge that creamy dressings are higher in fat and calories. My current dressing of choice is a tangy balsamic!

According to MyFitnessPal this salad (greens, chicken, cheese) is worth 144 calories before dressing. You may wish to supplement with a grain such as Wasa Crispbread, fruit, or more veggies.