The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Prep Guide and List of Salads with Ingredients1 A Reminder About Serving Sizes and Ingredients: I do not include serving sizes in the salad recipes. You have total flexibility in how much lettuce, meat, tomatoes, and other ingredients to use in each salad. Make your own adjustments based on whether you are serving yourself or feeding a family of eight. Also, if there are ingredients you don’t like, swap them out for other items you prefer. Shrimp. It’s convenient to buy frozen peeled and deveined shrimp, unthawing only the portion you’ll be using in your recipe. Bacon can be made in advance and stores well in the refrigerator. Or you can purchase bacon that has already been cooked. For tips on cooking bacon, see WikiHow’s How to Cook Bacon. Ham. Several salads call for ham, but feel free to substitute Canadian bacon or prosciutto if you prefer. Prep and Storage Tip: If you purchase more chicken, beef, steak, or shrimp than you’ll be using in a single recipe, store the remaining meat in portions in the freezer until it is needed for the next recipe. 1 I use affiliate links in this Challenge. If you make a purchase using one of the links to an Amazon product, I’ll receive a small portion of the purchase price. It doesn’t affect your purchase price and it allows me to launch new 30-Day Challenges for free. The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Black beans should be purchased as canned beans. You can substitute other types of beans if you prefer. For instance, I use Cuban black beans in some of my salad variations. The beans must be drained and rinsed prior to use. Quinoa comes in red, black, and white varieties (red and black are slightly earthier). Quinoa can have a bitter residue on it, so always rinse it well in a fine mesh strainer. Combine 1 part quinoa with 2 parts water and bring to a boil (example: ½ cup of quinoa and 1 cup water). Then simmer, covered, over low heat until tender – about 15 to 20 minutes. If you’d like extra-fluffy quinoa, return it to the saucepan after cooking and cover the pot with a paper towel and then close the pot with the lid. The paper towel will absorb any excess water. Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, should be purchased in a can. Drain and rinse and discard any shells that may have fallen off. Recipes call for romaine lettuce, baby spinach leaves, and mixed greens. You can use other types of lettuce as well and even red cabbage if you like. Buy organic when you can. Regardless, all greens must be washed prior to eating – here’s a Veggie Wash available from Amazon. Use a good organic vegetable wash. Then place the cut greens in a salad spinner to remove the excess water. You can store leftover greens in the refrigerator. The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Buy organic when it is available. All fruits and vegetables—even organic—should be washed (Veggie Wash) to remove pesticide residue and bacteria. Consider purchasing some special containers that keep produce fresher longer. Tomatoes – most recipes call for grape or cherry tomatoes. But you can use whatever type of tomato you prefer. Corn – for easiest prep, you can buy canned corn and drain the liquid. You can also use frozen corn – just remove the amount you need for each meal and thaw. Or you can boil or grill corn on the cob and cut the corn off the cob. It’s up to you! Red/Purple Onion – to take the “bite” out of a raw onion, peel and slice the onion, then submerge the onion in a bowl of cold or ice water. Let it sit for at least ten minutes, stirring once or twice before draining and using the onion in your salad. Similar to the vegetables, buy organic and wash your fruit to remove pesticide residue and bacteria. The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Berries – recipes call for berries and you can select your favorites. Strawberries work great with all of the berry-based recipes, but give blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries a try. Try a blend whenever you like. Avocados – avocados seem to brown the minute you cut them open. Prepare the avocado at the last minute. If you are using only ½ of the avocado, keep the other half with the pit in. Coat the halves in olive oil and cover the half in plastic wrap to prevent air contact. Recipes call for feta, goat, cheddar, and parmesan cheese. I’m not a big fan of feta cheese and I find crumbled goat cheese to be a good substitute. Buy fresh shredded parmesan cheese from the refrigerated section of the store – not the grated parmesan cheese. Also, you can use other types of cheese as you like. For example, my favorite is Manchego sheep cheese. It’s not all that common so I’ve not included it in the challenge. Give it a try. You might be surprised! Some recipes call for almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds. Take liberty with your choices. If you love pecans, use pecans. If you’d like to try pepita (pumpkin) seeds or sesame seeds, go ahead! If there are other crunchy toppings you want to add—croutons, croutons, chow mein noodles, tortilla chips—that’s cool too. Extra Ingredients to have on Hand The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Make sure you have olive on hand to cook with. Plus, it might be nice to keep some limes on hand so that you can squeeze lime juice onto some of the recipes. Salad Dressings and Marinades You can make your own salad dressings or purchase your favorites. While homemade salad dressings are ideal, bottled dressings are more convenient and have longer refrigerator life. If you’d like to make your own dressings, you can find thousands of recipes online. The Food Network has an article with 50 salad dressing recipes—here are five you might want to consider. Classic Vinaigrette: Whisk 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in 1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil. Ranch: Whisk 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and chives, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, a pinch of garlic powder and a dash of hot sauce. French: Blend 1/4 cup each olive oil and water, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons each tomato paste, ketchup and brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon each paprika and kosher salt in a blender. Asian Sesame: Whisk 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger, 3 tablespoons sesame oil, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Creamy Italian: Blend 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons each sour cream and olive oil, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 garlic clove and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a blender. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Personally, I purchase salad dressings from Trader Joe’s. Here’s what’s in my refrigerator now: Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette, Red Wine & Olive Oil Vinaigrette, Champagne Pear Vinaigrette, Cilantro Salad Dressing, Organic Ranch Dressing, and Thousand Island Dressing. My recommendation is to have a variety of The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com dressings available for this challenge. Select your favorites and have some variety. The following types are recommended. • Vinaigrette • Asian Vinaigrette • Citrus-based vinaigrette • Ranch • Caesar (or Italian) Read the labels before you make any purchases. Avoid dressings that are high in sugar or preservatives. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients, leave it on the shelf. Here are some brands found on Amazon that are more health-conscious. Annie's Bragg Drew's Primal Kitchen Simply Organic Dressing Mix Tessemae's A Note About Marinades A number of recipes call for marinades. In many cases, vinaigrette or Italian dressing can double as a marinade. In other cases, you can make your own by blending a variety of spices into extra virgin olive oil. See these 10 all-purpose marinade recipes by Derrick Riches. If you’d like to purchase marinades and seasoning packets, here are some suggestions. Taco seasoning (Old El Paso Low Sodium) Steak rub (Mis’ Rubin’s Black Magic Steak Rub and Chicken Seasoning) Teriyaki marinade (Mr. Yoshida’s) Citrus chicken marinade (Stubb’s Chicken Citrus & Onion Marinade) To make your own marinade, make sure you have olive oil on hand and a variety of spices (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, etc.). Plus, keep limes and lemons on hand to add a little citrus flavor. The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Salad Ingredients for Days 1 to 5 The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Salad Ingredients for Days 6 to 10 The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Salad Ingredients for Days 11 to 15 The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Salad Ingredients for Days 16 to 20 The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Salad Ingredients for Days 21 to 25 The 30-Day Salad Challenge www.thefivejourneys.com Salad Ingredients for Days 26 to 30 .