This cold salad lends itself perfectly to meal prepping, or a quick weeknight dinner. Pulled together in under 20 minutes, you can have this light, fresh, tasty salad anytime.
With the hearty ingredients and a little babying of the fresh greens, these salads can also hold for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Naturally Whole30 compliant, paleo, low-carb, Mediterranean.
Prep once, enjoy twice.
And, the best part, you only need 1 pot! Boil all the ingredients, staggering the start time, to be ready all at once.
This recipe makes 2 giant salads. Feel free to double to be covered for lunches all week long!
Ingredients:
- 2-3 small redskin potatoes
- 1 large tomato
- 2 packs or tins of tuna
- 6 quail eggs, or 2 regular eggs
- 1 cup fresh green beans
- Optional: 1/2 cup olives
- 4 cups salad greens (lettuce, romaine, spinach, mixed)
- Dressings of choice
Step 1: Dice your potatoes into 1/2 – 1 inch chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Step 2: Cut the ends off your green beans (you can also use canned, drained green beans).
Step 3: Boil potatoes for ~5 minutes. Then add the fresh green beans and boil another 3 minutes.
Step 4: Add the quail eggs, and boil a final 3 minutes. IF using chicken eggs, add at the same time as the green beans. Drain all.
Step 5: Fill 2 large salad containers with 2 cups of whatever greens you like. Cut the tomato into eights, put half into each salad container. Add half the potato and green beans and olives and eggs.
Step 6: Keep the tuna and the dressing separate until the day you serve the salads.
To keep the greens from getting slimy, add a paper towel or cotton towel to the bottom of the container to absorb excess moisture.
Enjoy within 4-5 days!
Vegetarian: Omit the tuna; add chickpeas or white beans if desired
Vegan: Omit tuna and eggs. Add chickpeas, and/or tofu
No red potatoes: Use whatever kind you have; or use roasted or boiled pumpkin, squash, or sweet potato
No olives: For salty flavor add capers, anchovies, or feta. For fat add avocado, olive oil heavy dressing, or cheese
Price Breakdown: $4.73 – $2.95
For the cost per salad, there is of course a range based on the ingredients you choose. For the “Highest Quality” I checked out the prices of individual ingredients from the Produce Box, which is all local NC produce, and similar to what you would find at a farmer’s market. For the “Lowest Price” I checked current ads for Harris Teeter and ALDI to see what the lowest price on items is. You choose the range that makes sense for you.
| Highest Quality | Lowest Price | |
| 1 lb green beans: need 1/5 | $0.50 | $0.20 |
| 1 lb red potatoes: need 1/2 | $0.98 | $0.67 |
| tomato 3: need 1 | $0.75 | $0.50 |
| lettuce: about 2/3 | $3.00 | $1.99 |
| tuna pouches: need 2 | $3.00 | $2.00 |
| olives: 1/6 the jar | $0.39 | $0.39 |
| eggs: (free) 2 from store | $0.83 | $0.15 |
| Cost for 2 salads | $9.45 | $5.89 |
This is a powerful example of how cooking for yourself at home saves you money over time. A similar salad out at a cafe or restaurant would cost you $12 – $20. By making it at home, even with the highest quality ingredients, you save $7 each time.