My Favorite, Cheap, and Easy Salads

Sometimes I just don't feel like cooking... Strike that! I never do! That's why I'm a huge fan of meal prep and big one pot/pan meals that last for days.  If I do make things for my meals, I want fast and convenient.  One thing I have become addicted to since getting pregnant with my second baby and even more so after he was born (i.e. since I've become super exhausted and feel like I have no time to cook with two under 2yrs) is bagged chopped/slaw salads!  I found that Kroger often was marking them down to $1.99 or $1.49, so I started buying the mark downs. When I discovered these salads they turned my view of salad upside down.  I'm not a fan of the lettuce or greens salads...they just always lacked pizzazz for me, and never really filled me up. Chopped and slaw salads have so much texture and crunch as well as a TON of fiber, so they actually make me feel full.  Paired with tasty toppings and dressings, I find myself excited to eat them!  I eat a whole bag for a meal. On days when I'm feeling very lazy (which is a lot), I eat two bags - one for lunch and one for dinner! They are a tasty fast-food alternative! When I eat a chopped or slaw salad,  I generally can be confident that I'm filling my stomach with healthy, chock-full-of-veggies, nutritious food!

As amazing as these salads are, at full price (4-5 dollars a bag), I don't feel as great about eating two a day. So when I can't find them marked down or on sale, I choose to make my own. If measuring out the toppings each time sounds tedious to you, you could always pre-measure them for the week into Tupperware or plastic baggies.

Let's Have a Salad Bar Party Every Week!

Here is how I make my salads with prices of my ingredients and per salad.  Assume prices to be based on Walmart Great Value/ store brand unless otherwise noted.

All About That Base (~100 calories per 8-12 oz, ~$1.07):

First you need a base for your salad.  I don't enjoy chopping, so I do still buy bags of coleslaw mix or broccoli slaw (I try to not spend more than $1.99 per 8-12oz portion, personally).

Trader Joe's sells the most affordable organic broccoli slaw I've seen. 12 oz at $1.99.

Walmart sells non-organic broccoli slaw in 16 oz bags for about $2.58 (that's $1.29 per 8oz).

If you want to do a chopped style salad you can buy coleslaw mix instead. 16 oz bags from Kroger or Walmart run from $1.50- 1.70 per bag.

Often I'll mix a 16 oz bag of coleslaw mix with a 16oz bag of broccoli slaw mix and divide it into 4 salads. That comes out to about $1.07 per salad.

One 8-12oz portion of a coleslaw/ broccoli slaw mix is going to be about 100 calories - so that leaves a LOT of room for tasty dressing and toppings!

Toppings(the fun begins!):

Fruits/Veggies:

Reduced-sugar craisins (100 calories/ $0.42 per 1/4 cup)

Diced Apple (1 apple is about 100 Cal, price varies)

Sweet Corn (45 calories/ $0.15 per 1/4 cup)

Berries fresh or dried

Cherry tomatoes (fresh or dried) (1 cup fresh is about 40 calories, price varies)

Diced Avocado (1/2 of a sm avocado is about 150 calories, price varies)

Broccoli and cauliflower florets (1 cup is 30 calories, price varies) 

Diced/ chopped bell peppers (30 calories/$0.75 per pepper[1/2 cup diced]) 

Nuts/Legumes:

Chopped peanuts (160 calories/  $0.12 per 1/4 cup)

Sunflower seeds (160 calories/ $0.16 per 1/4 cup)

Chopped Walnuts (190 cal/ $0.56 per 1/4 cup)

Slivered or sliced Almonds (160 cal/ $0.43 per 1/4 cup)

Chopped pecans (200 calories/ $0.71 per 1/4 cup)

Dry Roasted Edamame (130 calories/ $0.55 per 1/4 cup)

Dry Roasted Chickpeas (140 calories/ $0.55 per 1/4 cup)

Canned Chickpeas (130 calories/ $0.30 per 1/2 cup)

Dressing (measure and watch your portions, because it's easy to accidentally add too much!):

Ken's Lite Sweet Onion Dressing (160 calories/ $0.25 per 1/4 cup)

Bolthouse Avocado Cilantro Greek dressing (80 calories/ $0.44 per 1/4 cup)

Thai Peanut Dressing (haven't found a dressing store-bought yet-if you know of one, let me know!)

  -->Recipe I've been using: https://www.culinaryhill.com/thai-peanut-dressing/ (120 cal per 1/4 cup, not sure about cost)

Other Fun Options (not necessary at all, but tasty. Just be very careful to not go overboard with your portions of these):

Cheese Generally (80-110 cals and $0.25 cents per 1/4 cup GV brand):

-Parmesan (my fave)
-Feta
-Mozzarella
-Cheddar

Bacon bits (60 cal/ $0.26 per 2 tablespoons)
Croutons (varies)

Corn chips (160 Cal / $0.20 per 1oz =~30 chips)

See?  So many options! I try to add something from each category!

My Favorite Salad Combinations:

Broccoli Slaw Salad (pictured at top)

1/4 cup cranberries, 

1/4 cup sunflower kernels

1/4 cup Ken's Lite Sweet Onion dressing

1/4 cup bacon bits 

580 cal and $2.16/per salad

Southwestern Chopped Salad

1/4 cup sweet corn

1/4 cup sunflower kernels

1/4 cup Avocado Cilantro Dressing

1/2 cup Diced tomatoes

1 oz corn chips

 600 calories and $2.22 per salad

Thai Chopped Salad