Loads of left over salad stuff

Ilona

I am single and I eat salad all the time. I buy it on yellow stickers, eat the whole chuffin lot till it comes out my earholes, lunch and dinner. Don't do menu planning, so boring, just buy food cheap and eat what ever I have in. I slosh a bit of sesame seed oil on it, or mayo, apart from that no dressing whatsoever. No meat, just a massive plate of salad.
Ilona

THIRZAH

We like chicory and orange salad with a few chopped walnuts-one head of chicory makes enough salad for two of us. I make a french dressing with oil , vinegar or lemon juice and a tiny bit of sugar

Grilled and then skinned peppers make a good salad too.

emilykf

One that I always make and my (salad-phobic!) OH always loves.

Cooked & cooled pasta
Sweetcorn
Grated carrot
Chopped raw peppers
Cherry toms
Cucumber
Little bit of lettuce
Chopped onion
Spring onion
Grated cheese
Cooked chicken and/or bacon
New potatoes
Croutons made from chunks of bread (stale or fresh), drizzled with a bit of oil and put in the oven to crisp up

You can basically add or subtract anything, I usually serve with either mayo or salad dressing made with vinegar (balsamic/cider/white wine/red wine) and olive oil, sometimes with chopped garlic and/or mixed herbs. This makes a salad into a 'meal', and then I use the leftovers as side salad with main courses to use it up.

[Deleted User]

I also live alone and rarely throw anything away (I hate waste) tonight I had for dinner about
a quarter of Little Gem (my favourite at the moment as they are quite cheap)
a tomato (I can buy a couple at a time at my local greengrocers)
some grated cheese,
grated carrot
sliced cucumber (another one who only buys them a half at a time)
some celery,
a hard boiled egg and the last two slices of thin ham which needed using up. The celery I keep wrapped in foil at the bottom of the fridge,this keeps it very crips for ages and when it starts to get a wee bit bendy then it gets chucked into soup or a stew or chopped up in a veggie curry
The cucumber is also wrapped at the cut end in foil and I also remove the plastic covering as its not needed oncce its in the fridge
I always keep carrots in the drawer in the fridge
The dressing I use is usually from a jar, I particularly like Hellmans light. I also like some sliced beetroot from M&S as its my favourite and at around 79p a jar it lasts for ages.a spoonful of philly tops it off and fills me up a treat.
Little Gem lettuce I also wrap in foil to keep it crisp.Its suprising what you can add to a salad just to 'bulk' it out a bit.Even if you have no ham, a small tin of tuna mixed with a small tin of sweetcorn make two days dinners at least for very little cash or a nice jacket spud can be dressed up with a bit of salad.
I have also done it with a small tin of sardines mixed up with a splosh of sweet chilli sauce to give it a kick.
I think I must have been a rabbit in a previous life as I do like salad for a meal.My late OH hated it and said it wasn't 'proper food' :) he was a strict meat and two-three veg chap :)

beedeedee

A hint to keep Little Gem and other lettuces fresh - thinly slice the end off the stalk and stand in a little water in a mug or other container. They'll stay fresh for at least 10 days. If already a little wilted, put a spoonful of sugar in the water - it works wonders!

viv0147

Some terrific ideas which I will try the week after next because next week's menu has already been printed. So thank you all for
your contributions I will let you know how I get on.

Eliza_2

As a matter or interest, can you share your week's list with us? I never plan meals as I've always got something and can maybe beat Ilona for being able to make something out of nothing, (well nearly beat her anyway!) but your post made me think about meal planning for one and whether it might save time or money.

I think probably I couldn't be bothered but if the benefits were worth the time and effort, I might try too.

Thanks

Liz

Spendless

I put a layer of kitchen towel at the bottom of my salad drawer, which helps make veg last longer.

Think of your veg/salad as 'double duty'

A combination of veg like tomatoes, peppers, onions can go in fajitas, curries, sweet and sour dishes.

white cabbage, onion, carrot can be roast dinner ingredients or HM coleslaw mix.

Cucumber, peppers, carrots can become veggie sticks with a dip for a snack.

Lettuce is the one I struggle with the most getting through in the winter months. I have had a chinese meal once which I *think* used lettuce leaves as a scoup (or it might have been cabbage ).

emg

I live alone and find things like peppers, carrots, cabbage and babycorn last longest for my salad making. I try to buy the salad leaves that are in a pot - most supermarkets sell them now, often called something like 'living leaves'. They easily last a fortnight. I assemble the parts before each meal, I think once you have cut and mixed stuff it will go off a lot quicker.

gayleygoo

I use up leftover salad veg by just shredding them up, and adding some dressing. One of my faves is grated carrot, cheese, chopped tomato, shredded ham and lettuce, chopped beetroot and pickles, and anything else that can go in. I often just add a litte of the beetroot vinegar and some soysauce and seasoning.

Lettuce can also be used in soup and added to stir-fry or Asian dishes. I have boguth the potted lettuce (living leaves thing) but they have usually been thrown out before a bagged lettuce would, since they just wilt and shrivel quickly.

Get a packet of mixed salad leaves seeds and start groing your own now - many are cut-and-come-again and will last for weeks!