(Pictured above – our featured salad ready to go to work with you)

We have been chopping, arranging and photographing at least one hundred salads. Not done yet. But getting there – over 1000 photos in the folder now. I can’t thank my crew enough.

I have noticed a few things -

• The more you make salad, the faster you get. This applies to everyone, no matter their kitchen experience.
• It is really fun to have all kinds of crazy dishes and plates, even if they don’t match. You can be an artist with a few veggies and a plate.
• You can eat 5 or 6 salads in a day. This is particularly easy to do when they are already prepared!
• The most salads you can make in one day is probably 15.
• After you make 15 salads in a day, one or two seem very easy.
• Having all ingredients measured and or cut FIRST makes assembly VERY fast and fun.

Here is a really fun Tuna Brown Bag salad I created for CFFH Member/Newsletter a few years back. It is a  ”take your salad to work” creation.

Dear Mom or Dad,

I am so thrilled you would take me to work. Now I know you can have something healthy to eat and you can get it fast so you can walk a little during lunch. I am really proud you would take me out and show me to your friends.

Love,

Your Salad!

Okay – so we are getting carried away – but this was a fun project. Here is the mis en place – meaning “everything in its place” – this shows you how to prepare and measure everything:

This delicious recipe can be made ahead of time and assembled at your desk.

Tuna Brown Bag Salad
4 low-sodium whole-grain crackers

Salad ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon flavored vinegar
4 cups dark leafy lettuce
4 cups sliced cucumber
4 cups baby carrots

Tuna salad ingredients:
1 6-oz can albacore tuna packed in water, drained
1 tomato, cored and diced small
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 tablespoon red onion, minced
1 stalk celery, diced small
black pepper to taste

Divide the tossed salad ingredients among 4 individual plastic bags, keeping the oil and vinegar in the bottom, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Mix all ingredients for tuna salad together in medium-sized mixing bowl. Pack in 4 individual bags and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve: Toss salad ingredients in bag and place onto plate. Top with tuna salad and a cracker.

Servings:
Serves 4. Each serving: 2 cups.

Diabetic Exchanges:
Bread & Starch: 1.0
Lean Meat: 0.5
Vegetable: 2.0

Total Preparation & Cooking Time: 15 min. (15 Prep, 0 Cook)

Per Serving:
Calories: 215, Total Fat: 4.8g, Saturated Fat: 0.6g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 302mg, Carbohydrates: 31.3g, Dietary Fiber: 6.8g, Sugars: 13.9g, Protein: 15.6g, Vitamin A: 9999.9iu (199%), Vitamin C: 35.6mg (59%), Calcium: 72mg (7%), Iron: 2.7mg (15%)

This is just 200 calories so you should probably add a baked yam or potato to your menu. We love baked yams for lunch! We did not use whole grain crackers, but these are no-salt-added toppers that are also low in fat. WASA crisps that are whole grain would be a great choice if you can find them and don’t mind adding more to your budget. We tried to keep this one more simple for the every day person to take to work.

So, if you make it at home or at your desk, we just know yours will look like this:

Tell us what you take to work for lunch – the top 5 comments receive a free Snack poster! (If you made comments on the other posts from last week we are getting in touch with you for the free poster.)

And, this post is made possible by our wonderful Premium CFFH Member Area http://communicatingfoodforhealth.com and http://nutritioneducationstore.com

Check out our new salad book: