One of my favorite things to do is streamline something that isn’t efficient into a smoothly functioning way of life. I made a choice a few months ago, after being inspired by Rachael Ray, to lose a pound a week just by dropping 500 calories from my daily diet. I’m telling you, it worked! I’ve lost 12 pounds since June. Okay, I started exercising, too, but I have definitely noticed a difference in the way I think about food. All I have to do is get to 500. What’s that, two less cookies?
One of the changes I made over the summer was to eat a salad every day for lunch. Although it is not difficult to make a salad every day, it is time consuming – especially on homeschool days! Then I saw this idea on Pinterest:
I like to eat baby spinach, which goes bad very quickly! Now, I just fill enough jars for about a week, seal them, and presto! lunch is ready. It also keeps cut lettuce (cut with a metal knife) from turning brown on the edges. Seriously. I read more details on Salad-in-a-Jar on their website, which is a great source. I did note that the spinach started to look a little bad if it’s kept for more than a week. Also, cucumbers don’t work so well in the jar. However, carrots, cranberries, etc. work great.
I didn’t have a vacuum sealer, but I decided to take the plunge and get one. It was expensive for my budget, about $70. I read a lot of reviews, and people said it saved them money over time since they didn’t waste food. I’m not sure what I think about that yet. We’ll see. I got my Foodsaver from Amazon. This is what it looks like:
The attachment you use to seal the jar was about $7 at Walmart. This is what it looks like:
It takes literally about 6 seconds to pop the sealing attachment on the jar lid and press “seal”. I love it!
So THAT’s how you did it! 500 calories – what a great idea!! :). You look fabulous! The Salad sealer is a great idea, too, and what a time saver!
Have a great week, Ginny. I thank God for you!
Denise
Thanks, Denise! 🙂
That is a awesome idea thank you for sharing
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
You can also just put salad in the jars without sealing them. The salad will last a few days (probably not a week!). We don’t have a food sealer (though I have thought about it) and hadn’t implemented this idea until I saw another blogger that just put the salad in the jars. We buy a 2 lb bag of pre-shredded romaine lettuce and sometimes it browns very quickly. My husband takes a salad every day for lunch and I eat it quite a bit too. This saves us so much money and frustration!! 🙂
My mom taught me to put the prepped lettuce in a plastic bag (I use ziplock type) with a paper towel. It keeps quite a long time this way. She did this when she prepped lettuce for her restaurant.
Soak your lettuce in vinegar water for 30 min. rinse drain and spin dry. It will keep well into a week. The vinegar kills the bacteria that makes it go bad.
Hi Ginny,
Was checking out Pinterest and what did I find – YOU! Good to see you and your family. It is a great website. Have a wonderful Christmas.
Beth T
That’s awesome, Beth! It’s good to hear from you. I hope you had a great Christmas. 🙂