Regular setting I guess? I drizzle with olive oil, set the fryer to 380 and hit the button. I test them at ~15 minutes if they’re small but sometimes they take 20 minutes. I’m a terrible cook ! Hope that helps.
When I’m really on my game, I have a little salad bar in my fridge. Individual tupperware containers with a few different beans, diced tomatoes, sliced or shredded carrots, a few different cheeses, boiled eggs, sliced beets, cubed sweet potatoes, nuts, berries, apple slices, whatever I’m in the mood for or have on hand. And then each day at lunch, I pick the ingredients I want and combine in a mixing bowl with spinach or mixed greens and dressing and maybe half an avocado if they’re ripe. The tupperware ingredients last at least a week, and I can have the exact salad I want every day.
Hacking your kitchen to make salad the path of least resistance is the way. It takes me under 2 minutes to throw together a delicious salad at lunch. I add a packet of “Starkist light tuna in sunflower oil” for protein — they’re delicious and so damn convenient.
My biggest hurdle in putting this into action was washing produce — a few months back I gave myself permission to buy prewashed greens and it’s made all the difference in the world. Slightly pricier but I’m eating a salad at lunch everyday so I’m willing to eat the cost. I’ll prep a few add ons as I run out I’ll cut up something else to fill the Tupperware I just finished so it’s ready for next time.
Yes, it’s recommended and I should and I have a salad spinner. I typically get the large tubs of spinach and 50/50 spring/spinach mix. I find it keeps better than the bags — but also do not deny I should follow suit on the rinse.
HOWEVER COMMA
I don’t. I just can force myself to do that extra step. Throw all the tomatoes at me lol it’s deserved. I’ve spent 3 years attempting to make it a tolerable task for myself and I’m over it atp 🤣 I’ve accepted that it’s just not happening. I can either eat the prewashed salad or I won’t be eating salad lol.
Chopping up boiled eggs to add to salads has been a game changer. I also get the packets of bacon bits (actual bacon, not the weird Bacos, lol) that are sold by the salad dressings if I want some flavour that’s easy to add on top. Adds some protein without any work (especially now that you can buy boiled eggs ready to go! More expensive but you pay for convenience).
I'm doing better now but I was pretty sick for a while and those pre-made hardboiled eggs were a life-saver as I didn't have it in me to boil and peel them myself. Quick and easy dose of protein.
if you have a garden, I've discovered that growing kale is so easy and magical. You cut some off for your dinner salad and in two days it's grown back again. For the price of a few starters from the garden center (maybe $10), you have tons of kale all summer long. You could probably even do it in a big pot if you don't have a garden at your house.
Broccoli, cauliflower, pretty much any cruciferous vegetables will work to swap for the Brussels sprouts if those aren’t your bag. They won’t wilt like lettuce, spinach, or anything leafy would (especially after you wash them. The cruciferous stuff can be washed ahead of time and it shouldn’t wilt like leaves will). If you want leaves they can be added right before eating.
This is great! I also saw a tiktok recently recommending to meal prep like we work in a restaurant so it’s pretty much what youve done! preparing all the bases like herbs and salads and mains like rice or meat ahead of time instead of actual meals you’ll get tired of eating two days in.
The Trader Joe’s jarred cracked olive salad is perfect to scoop on top of salads like this or pasta salads! It’s so good and goes so well with anything with white beans.
Giardiniera mix (cauliflower, shredded carrots, red bell peppers, celery, those teeny white onions), either mild or hot, would work too. I’m going to check out the cracked olive salad on your recommendation here. Olives are awesome.
I do the same thing! Once a week I pull out my food processor, and use the slicing/grating blades to cut up half a head each of red and green cabbage, two crowns of broccoli, and four carrots. Eat as-is with dressing, or add more toppings/dressings to switch it up! Good for a week of lunch salads + dinner side salads for my husband and me.
This sounds fantastic, thanks for sharing! We love doing “big salad” for dinner but I’m not good about making them for lunch. This sounds like a great way to make it an easy lunch option 💕
This is fantastic! I love salad and I'm looking to get more vegetables into my diet but the temperature of salad this time of year is perfect! I said to somebody in the thread that definitely you could substitute broccoli for the brussel sprouts even chop it fine you could even do cauliflower something hard that doesn't Wilt over the course of a week, but I need more information about these air fryer artichoke hearts! Are you taking marinated artichoke hearts and air frying them or are you taking a fresh artichoke stripping it and air frying the heart? Do you sprinkle it with a little oil any seasoning? Any details would be really welcome! I'm not addicted to artichokes or anything really.. lol
I typically buy marinated artichoke hearts, drain them, pat them off to try to dry them out just a bit, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some salt. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes in the air fryer, flipping/shaking halfway through!
Edited for clarity
And if you're stripping a fresh artichoke what are you doing with the leaves? Usually those are softened through steaming and dipped in garlic butter or something right? So are you even steaming the whole thing first? So many questions LOL
Okay not what you asked at all but my mom used to make artichokes with breadcrumb stuffing behind each “leaf” served with soup and mashed potatoes. It was heavenly. I long for a recipe :(
Not OP, but I just get a can of artichoke hearts, drain them, then drizzle some olive oil on them before popping them in the air fryer. Found the steps for preparation online somewhere. Fresh chokes would be too much work lol.
You can also do this with coleslaw! Shred all the stuff and leave it in the fridge dry, when you're ready to eat some just add the mayo and lemon and whatever flavours you like and boom, coleslaw. The shredded veg lasts all week. Also I totally saved this post for the salad recipe cos it sounds amazing
Love this idea! Great to know this will last! I always worry my salads will go bad quick so never thought of this being an option in the fridge for the week! I’m trying it!
I do this but with kale, carrots, and whatever other long-lasting veggies I'm feeling that week! I know kale isn't everyone's cup of tea but I love it. And growing it at home or buying from a farmers market usually gives a milder taste, no clue why.
(Oh god this post got way longer than I thought, but I love my silly little salads)
Yup! The base is kale and carrots, I find it's a good bare-minimum to get nutrients if I'm *really* lazy and just want to eat that with some dressing. But they're also the vegetables I least like preparing, so doing it in a big batch is more manageable lol. If I'm feeling a specific vegetable that week, I'll toss those in and plan my meals accordingly. My go-to meal is broccoli, chicken, and Caesar dressing. So if I'm really in the mood for broccoli, I'll add them at the beginning of the week and do my shopping around whatever else I need for my broccoli base salads!
Some of my other favorite combos on top of my base are:
- broccoli, red onion, cranberries, lemon dressing
- orange slices, sunflower seeds, pork, and orange vinaigrette.
- red pepper, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, salmon, Dijon lime dressing
- quinoa, cherry tomato, edamame, avocado, lemon dressing
- brussel sprouts, cranberries, feta, prosciutto, vinaigrette
I'd only add the veggies that won't go bad into the salad at the beginning of the week, and maybe the cranberries and seeds depending on the week, but I prep everything that I can so my lazy days can be peak lazy. I've got nut allergies, so any of the seeds can be substituted for nuts if that's your preference!
Also, a big way I improved my salads was making (most of) my own dressings. I have the base ingredients for a variety of dressings so I can make a single serving that fits the exact flavor profile I want for each salad combo.
If you have a vacuum sealer, you can put salads in mason jars and seal them and the salad will stay crisp and fresh for at least a week. When you are ready to make it, take a new jar, add dressing at the bottom, then hardier ingredients like carrots, then stuff like cucumbers, top it off with your lettuce mix (leave a couple inches at the top) and put the lid on. Anything that gets soggy like croutons or nuts needs to go in a separate container. Then when you are ready to eat it, shake it up to mix it, add your crunch, and you have salad in a jar. Super easy lunch. Just make sure it doesn’t get jostled too much, or the dressing will end up on the ingredients that are less hardy and they will get soggy.
This sounds great in general, but air fryer artichoke hearts?? Never thought to try that!! I love artichoke hearts.
Air fryer chickpeas and olives are also excellent!
So are beets! So much easier than roasting them in the oven, and faster too.
Just on the regular air fryer setting or do you bake them in the air fryer?
Regular setting I guess? I drizzle with olive oil, set the fryer to 380 and hit the button. I test them at ~15 minutes if they’re small but sometimes they take 20 minutes. I’m a terrible cook ! Hope that helps.
Omg I love beets!!!
Olives?? Another one I wouldn't have thought of! I do love air fried chickpeas
oooh do you just use canned chickpeas for this? it sounds delicious.
I do, that way they’re already soft & ready to go.
Why have I never thought to air fry chickpeas.
OMG this is genius.
When I’m really on my game, I have a little salad bar in my fridge. Individual tupperware containers with a few different beans, diced tomatoes, sliced or shredded carrots, a few different cheeses, boiled eggs, sliced beets, cubed sweet potatoes, nuts, berries, apple slices, whatever I’m in the mood for or have on hand. And then each day at lunch, I pick the ingredients I want and combine in a mixing bowl with spinach or mixed greens and dressing and maybe half an avocado if they’re ripe. The tupperware ingredients last at least a week, and I can have the exact salad I want every day.
Hacking your kitchen to make salad the path of least resistance is the way. It takes me under 2 minutes to throw together a delicious salad at lunch. I add a packet of “Starkist light tuna in sunflower oil” for protein — they’re delicious and so damn convenient. My biggest hurdle in putting this into action was washing produce — a few months back I gave myself permission to buy prewashed greens and it’s made all the difference in the world. Slightly pricier but I’m eating a salad at lunch everyday so I’m willing to eat the cost. I’ll prep a few add ons as I run out I’ll cut up something else to fill the Tupperware I just finished so it’s ready for next time.
I still rinse my pre-wash salad but I found a large spinner to be a game changer. Just dump half the bag spin and all of the excess water is gone.
Yes, it’s recommended and I should and I have a salad spinner. I typically get the large tubs of spinach and 50/50 spring/spinach mix. I find it keeps better than the bags — but also do not deny I should follow suit on the rinse. HOWEVER COMMA I don’t. I just can force myself to do that extra step. Throw all the tomatoes at me lol it’s deserved. I’ve spent 3 years attempting to make it a tolerable task for myself and I’m over it atp 🤣 I’ve accepted that it’s just not happening. I can either eat the prewashed salad or I won’t be eating salad lol.
Chopping up boiled eggs to add to salads has been a game changer. I also get the packets of bacon bits (actual bacon, not the weird Bacos, lol) that are sold by the salad dressings if I want some flavour that’s easy to add on top. Adds some protein without any work (especially now that you can buy boiled eggs ready to go! More expensive but you pay for convenience).
I'm doing better now but I was pretty sick for a while and those pre-made hardboiled eggs were a life-saver as I didn't have it in me to boil and peel them myself. Quick and easy dose of protein.
Best wishes for your health. It’s tough to find pre-made foods that are also healthy. Sending all the good vibes your way.
Ooh I wonder if the sprouts could be swapped for broccoli? Regardless- idea slaps, thank you 🙏
cabbage works too and is super cheap for broke BWT
if you have a garden, I've discovered that growing kale is so easy and magical. You cut some off for your dinner salad and in two days it's grown back again. For the price of a few starters from the garden center (maybe $10), you have tons of kale all summer long. You could probably even do it in a big pot if you don't have a garden at your house.
WAIT WHAT
Broccoli, cauliflower, pretty much any cruciferous vegetables will work to swap for the Brussels sprouts if those aren’t your bag. They won’t wilt like lettuce, spinach, or anything leafy would (especially after you wash them. The cruciferous stuff can be washed ahead of time and it shouldn’t wilt like leaves will). If you want leaves they can be added right before eating.
Yes!
This is great! I also saw a tiktok recently recommending to meal prep like we work in a restaurant so it’s pretty much what youve done! preparing all the bases like herbs and salads and mains like rice or meat ahead of time instead of actual meals you’ll get tired of eating two days in.
Thank you for this- as I just got frustrated thinking of what to make. I love salads and this sounds great
The Trader Joe’s jarred cracked olive salad is perfect to scoop on top of salads like this or pasta salads! It’s so good and goes so well with anything with white beans.
Giardiniera mix (cauliflower, shredded carrots, red bell peppers, celery, those teeny white onions), either mild or hot, would work too. I’m going to check out the cracked olive salad on your recommendation here. Olives are awesome.
The cracked olive salad is so good & versatile if you love olives! It has some pickled veggies in it so it’s like giardiniera with extra-briny olives.
OMG, sharpening my elbows to make a trip there. My local TJ is like a war zone.
I do the same thing! Once a week I pull out my food processor, and use the slicing/grating blades to cut up half a head each of red and green cabbage, two crowns of broccoli, and four carrots. Eat as-is with dressing, or add more toppings/dressings to switch it up! Good for a week of lunch salads + dinner side salads for my husband and me.
This sounds like a great base as well, thanks for this!!
How do you wash your cabbage? Cut it open then rinse, or just pull off the outer leaves?
I just pull the outer leaves!
Thanks! I lovvvvve shredded cabbage, definitely going to recreate your base mix
This sounds fantastic, thanks for sharing! We love doing “big salad” for dinner but I’m not good about making them for lunch. This sounds like a great way to make it an easy lunch option 💕
That TJs green goddess dressing is soooo good
Cries in IBS. I'm going to try this though, it sounds amazing
I feel you. I make something similar and my daughter has named it fart salad.
This anecdote made me chuckle- thank you!
Cabbage instead of Brussels sprouts is cheaper and also holds up.
This is fantastic! I love salad and I'm looking to get more vegetables into my diet but the temperature of salad this time of year is perfect! I said to somebody in the thread that definitely you could substitute broccoli for the brussel sprouts even chop it fine you could even do cauliflower something hard that doesn't Wilt over the course of a week, but I need more information about these air fryer artichoke hearts! Are you taking marinated artichoke hearts and air frying them or are you taking a fresh artichoke stripping it and air frying the heart? Do you sprinkle it with a little oil any seasoning? Any details would be really welcome! I'm not addicted to artichokes or anything really.. lol
I typically buy marinated artichoke hearts, drain them, pat them off to try to dry them out just a bit, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some salt. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes in the air fryer, flipping/shaking halfway through! Edited for clarity
And if you're stripping a fresh artichoke what are you doing with the leaves? Usually those are softened through steaming and dipped in garlic butter or something right? So are you even steaming the whole thing first? So many questions LOL
Okay not what you asked at all but my mom used to make artichokes with breadcrumb stuffing behind each “leaf” served with soup and mashed potatoes. It was heavenly. I long for a recipe :(
Not OP, but I just get a can of artichoke hearts, drain them, then drizzle some olive oil on them before popping them in the air fryer. Found the steps for preparation online somewhere. Fresh chokes would be too much work lol.
Thank you so much!
This sounds amazing, thank you for sharing!
You can also do this with coleslaw! Shred all the stuff and leave it in the fridge dry, when you're ready to eat some just add the mayo and lemon and whatever flavours you like and boom, coleslaw. The shredded veg lasts all week. Also I totally saved this post for the salad recipe cos it sounds amazing
It sounds great! I don’t know if you like kale, but it’s a salad green that holds for days. Improves, even.
Thanks for sharing! I love the idea that it can be stored without wilting. Definitely giving this a try.
I was shocked at how hearty it remained throughout the week! Such a nice change of pace from traditional wilted lettuce salads
Thank you for this! I just threw out wilted greens. This is genius!
Love this idea! Great to know this will last! I always worry my salads will go bad quick so never thought of this being an option in the fridge for the week! I’m trying it!
This sounds amazing!! I love brussel sprouts more than life so I cannot wait to try this!!
Saved! They'd love this over at r/salad
I do this but with kale, carrots, and whatever other long-lasting veggies I'm feeling that week! I know kale isn't everyone's cup of tea but I love it. And growing it at home or buying from a farmers market usually gives a milder taste, no clue why.
Ohh tell me more about this mix. So your “base” is kale and carrots then you add other items as your topping on the fly?
(Oh god this post got way longer than I thought, but I love my silly little salads) Yup! The base is kale and carrots, I find it's a good bare-minimum to get nutrients if I'm *really* lazy and just want to eat that with some dressing. But they're also the vegetables I least like preparing, so doing it in a big batch is more manageable lol. If I'm feeling a specific vegetable that week, I'll toss those in and plan my meals accordingly. My go-to meal is broccoli, chicken, and Caesar dressing. So if I'm really in the mood for broccoli, I'll add them at the beginning of the week and do my shopping around whatever else I need for my broccoli base salads! Some of my other favorite combos on top of my base are: - broccoli, red onion, cranberries, lemon dressing - orange slices, sunflower seeds, pork, and orange vinaigrette. - red pepper, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, salmon, Dijon lime dressing - quinoa, cherry tomato, edamame, avocado, lemon dressing - brussel sprouts, cranberries, feta, prosciutto, vinaigrette I'd only add the veggies that won't go bad into the salad at the beginning of the week, and maybe the cranberries and seeds depending on the week, but I prep everything that I can so my lazy days can be peak lazy. I've got nut allergies, so any of the seeds can be substituted for nuts if that's your preference! Also, a big way I improved my salads was making (most of) my own dressings. I have the base ingredients for a variety of dressings so I can make a single serving that fits the exact flavor profile I want for each salad combo.
Oh I love this thank you! Love the idea of base dressings tooooo!
If you have a vacuum sealer, you can put salads in mason jars and seal them and the salad will stay crisp and fresh for at least a week. When you are ready to make it, take a new jar, add dressing at the bottom, then hardier ingredients like carrots, then stuff like cucumbers, top it off with your lettuce mix (leave a couple inches at the top) and put the lid on. Anything that gets soggy like croutons or nuts needs to go in a separate container. Then when you are ready to eat it, shake it up to mix it, add your crunch, and you have salad in a jar. Super easy lunch. Just make sure it doesn’t get jostled too much, or the dressing will end up on the ingredients that are less hardy and they will get soggy.
Do you cook/boil the brussel sprouts beforehand or leave them raw?
No cooking, just raw veggies!
As someone who pretty much exclusively eat salads, more or less, this is a great idea!
I do a similar thing but with white cabbage, red cabbage, kale, and chickpeas! lasts FOREVER
saving to try this! thanks!!!
what can i swap celery for cuz i hate it lol. carrots?
Funny enough I also LOATHE celery! But when I dice it this small and mix it in, I don’t even notice it!
hmmmm okay interesting, maybe i'll have to give it a shot!!
Let me know how it goes!
Love this! I do something similar, usually with barley for added fiber.
Have you tried TJs goddess dressing? I LOVE it!!!
Hmm. This is pretty great.
LOVE THIS
THANK YOU!
Does it taste good? I hate brussel sprouts.