Sunday Food Prep

One of the best ways to ensure I don't stray off the health food path during the week is if I pre-prep my foods during the weekend.  DH and I will go grocery shopping once a week or once every two weeks, and I start washing and cutting the veggies immediately after we get home. If I decide to sit on the couch or check my email, the window closes, I get too lazy to prep, and end up avoiding the veggies during the week since it's not easily accessible. 

Photo courtesy of Jamie Oliver

I've been trying hard to bring my lunch to work and not eat out, but I've been really busy the past few weekends and unable to pre-prep anything.  Luckily I have many healthy options around me at work, but it really pains me to pay $$ for a salad that would cost next to nothing to make.  I wanted chopped salad for lunch this week, so we went to a local Korean market on Sunday and stocked up on veggies and fruits.  If you're not familiar with Korean markets, they have ridiculously low prices on produce, and the biggest sales are usually
Thurs-Sun.  Their produce is fresh and the prices ensure a large crowd, so it's best to go earlier in the weekend.  We were busy all weekend and were restless at home on Sunday night, so we actually went at 11pm (the market closes at 12am everyday!).  Luckily, they must have restocked everything from the weekend because there was an abundance of yummy veggies for great prices.  Here's what we bought for around $20:

-5 lbs. peeled garlic 1.99 (I usually buy the small can of fresh, pre-pressed garlic but realized it's $6.99! So I opted for this steal of a deal and plan to buy a garlic press. Gives me an excuse to buy another OXO product. Did I mention I heart OXO?)
-6 packs of grape tomatoes $3 (on sale, 2 packs for 99 cents! Best deal I've ever seen on grape or cherry tomatoes. I snack on these and put them in everything so I bought 6 packs)
-2 bunches of lettuce $0.99
-5 lb. bag of Fuji Apples $2.99 (DH eats like 2 apples a day, so again, we bought a lot)
-2 Avocados $0.99 (my first time buying this! I just started eating avocados last July or so. Hated it my whole life, tried it in a salad (I usually remove it but just decided to try it one last time) and ended up really liking it. It may have had something to do with the fact that I was starving that day but either way, I'm good with the avocados now, but celery is still on my black list where it will remain forever)
-1 Green Bell Pepper $0.44
-3 bunches of Green Onion $0.99
-2 Kiwis $0.99
-Cuties Mandarin Tangerines $3.99
-4 Cucumbers $0.58 
-10 HUGE sweet potatoes $4.48 (it was $0.89 a pound)

So I washed everything and am waiting for it to dry a bit before I start prepping.  I'm going to chop up the veggies and make a basic chopped salad.  If you've never made chopped salad (I haven't), Jamie Oliver has some basic instructions here.  I'm going to omit the Dijon or English mustard and a few of the veggies (I don't have basil right now), but will add chopped grape tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell pepper, edamame, and maybe corn.  With the chopped salad as your base, the possibilities are endless.  I predict I'll be eating this often this year. 

I'm looking forward to a week of good salad!  And for dessert, tangerines!