I love a good salad. Not the sad type, with just a few scraps of lettuce, and soggy cucumber. I love a salad with a variety of textures and flavours. The only problem I have with such salads is that making them takes a bit of time – time that I don’t have on weekdays. I’ve been on a quest to find or salad recipe suitable for meal prepping. One I can make on Sunday evening and still enjoy on Thursday. I’m happy to announce that I did manage to come up with a suitable recipe!

Before we get to the recipe, just a quick note: if you hate kale, don’t run away after seeing it in the ingredients list. I used to think I hated it too, until recently. Turns out, I simply didn’t know how to work with it! Unfortunately, other leafy greens, like lettuce or spinach, go soggy very quickly. Kale, thanks to its thicker structure, will last a lot longer. Don’t worry – I’ll tell you exactly how to make it taste good.

30 plants a week and fibre focus

When I was writing down the recipe for this salad, I realised that it fits really nicely into some recent fitness trends. First of all, a serving of this salad has almost 10 grams of fibre. That’s more than a lot of people eat in a day! If you’re struggling to get more fibre in your diet, this salad is packed with it.

One of the most intriguing recent trends is that we should eat 30+ different plants a week – and even a small quantity, like seasoning, counts. I don’t know where the number 30 comes from – I personally exceed that quite easily – but for someone trying to follow that trend, this salad is a great choice. This recipe, with seasoning, uses over 15 different plants. Throw in some extra seeds in a salad topping and meal prep it alongside overnight oats with a selection of dried fruits and nuts, and you’ll easily hit your 30 plants a week.

Ingredients for a fridge salad

For a huge bowl (5 generous servings) you’ll need:

• large bunch of kale – I used a 210g bag of whole kale leaves – after removing the stems, I was left with 165g of shredded leaves
• 180g pickled beetroot (mine was chili infused)
• 10 cherry tomatoes (100g)
• 125g frozen edamame
• 150g red cabbage
• 100g broccoli florets
• 1 small red Romano pepper (70g)
• 110g canned sweetcorn, drained
• 250g cooked puy & green lentils mix
• 35g tahini
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons of chili crisp
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, mixed herbs
• optional: salad topper / mixed seeds

How to make a meal prep friendly salad

Start by washing and drying all vegetables. I aim to do it a couple of hours in advance, to make sure there’s no excess water. Water will make the salad go soggy.

Remove the stems from kale, if you bought whole leaves. Even if you have shredded kale, check that there are no pieces of thick stems. Chop up the leaves into smaller pieces, then transfer them to a large bowl.

Squeeze the juice from half a lemon onto the kale (make sure to remove any seeds). Add two tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Now, it’s time to give the kale a massage. Not a relaxing one – think more a deep tissue, sport massage. Using both hands, knead the kale like pizza dough – do it for 5 solid minutes. Don’t cut it short! This is the most important step of making this salad. Massaging kale breaks down the fibres, making it easier to digest, and more palatable in taste.

I started with a bowl completely filled with pieces of kale. After 5 minutes, the volume of the kale reduced by some 50%.

Once the kale is ready, move to chopping up the remaining veggies.

Chop the Romano pepper, rpickled beetroot and red cabbage into small pieces. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Add the veggies into the kale. Add broccoli florets and sweetcorn too.

Add cooked edamame beans and lentils. I had a store bought bag of cooked puy & green lentils, but feel free to cook them yourself.

Drizzle the salad with tahini and chili crisp. Add a sprinkle of mixed Italian herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Now, it’s time to mix everything really well. Don’t rush it! We want to evenly distribute the seasoning.

Once everything is mixed well, you can enjoy your salad immediately, or store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.

What to enjoy with the salad

I personally love adding a sprinkle of a store bought salad topper, or just a mixture of seeds and nuts. It adds extra crunch, flavour and healthy fat. If I need a more substantial meal, I enjoy my salad with a source of protein. My favourites are hot smoked salmon and sunny side up eggs.

Nutritional value of fridge safe salad

The whole recipe has approximately 1500 kcal, 73 grams of fat, 162 grams of carbs, 48 grams of fibre, and 73 grams of protein. It makes a large bowl – approximately 5 fairly large portions. Each of them has around 300 kcal, 14 grams of fat, 32 grams of carbs, 9.5 grams of fibre and 14 grams of protein. These values are an estimate and don’t include any salad sprinkles or extra toppings.

How to store the kale and beetroot salad

Keep this salad in the fridge. It should last 4 days, maybe a little more – I always finish it on day four. This salad is not suitable for freezing.

Why is fibre imporant in our diets?

Fibre is an essential element of a healthy diet. It supports healthy digestion by feeding beneficial gut bacteria. It also plays a key role in long-term health by improving blood sugar control, lowering cholesterol, and increasing fullness. This salad has almost 10 grams of fibre per serving. That’s more than a lot of adults in developed countries eat in a day!

Bon Appetit!

So there you have it – a recipe for a delicious salad suitable for meal prepping. It’s packed with nutrients and flavour! Feel free to experiment with ingredient swaps too, just avoid adding leafy greens other than kale if you want your salad to last a few days. Enjoy!

Also see:

• Food
• Savoury