#and then hopefully use the grilled cheese as a base to introduce other types of sandwiches etc

[gender-euphowrya]

the absolute vicious shit people think they have to say whenever the topic of 'picky eaters' comes up ESPECIALLY when it's about children is just sickening

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 142

Another late chapter... I’m really batting a thousand lately, seems like.

So, work has been insane, but @baelpenrose reminds me to post when I forget, thankfully. And this is SUCH a fun chapter.  I hope you all enjoy!

I dropped into a seat in Mess Hall Seven with a groan, so exhausted that I barely managed to get soup and a grilled cheese from the console.  Tyche yawned and nodded in agreement before poking at her sushi bowl idly. It was six Von-days after the last drill, and between coordinating increased training schedules for Shelters Three and Seven and helping Charly plan kink-night at the Undine, we were wiped.

“People are ungrateful,” she muttered before managing to barely balance a piece of salmon into her mouth.

I muttered something that hopefully sounded like agreement before I scooped up a bite of my soup with one wedge of sandwich, too lazy to even bother with the spoon. “Remind me why we don’t have Vati and Hannah handling the practice schedules?”

“Because they are handling the extra evacuation drills with Jokul and Arthur.”

Personally, I thought they were getting the better end of this deal, but since the raging success of their first Food Festival, it really was only fair. “And the relocations for those who need it,” I admitted. “Except mine.”

“Conor may actually strangle one of them if any of your plants don’t make it,” she pointed out, gesturing with her chopsticks for emphasis after having given up and using her fingers to eat her lunch. “Not to mention I wouldn’t wish packing with Maverick on anyone.”

“He’s letting me pack the books and textiles.” I shrugged in acceptance after taking another bite of soup-dipped sandwich.

We picked at our food in silence after that, grateful for something resembling a reprieve, before we were interrupted by a flurry of grey hair and enthusiasm landing in one of the nearby chairs with a heavy thunk. “Good afternoon, Madams Reid.”

“Hey, Jokul,” I muttered as Tyche just waggled her fingers at him. I really think I liked it better when he was trying to kill me. Right now, I might even let him do it.

“I know you are both on your meal period, but I wanted to test the waters on potentially scheduling a community activity,” he rushed out.

Tyche guarded her lunch with an almost feral aggression, having heard what happened the last time Jokul had interrupted my lunch. “That should really be something you run by Al-”

“Worthington, yes, I know,” he interrupted. “However, I know you are both quite busy and I wanted to be respectful of your time. As such, I will make this as brief as - ow!” He snatched his hand back away from the other half of my sandwich, rubbing where I had slammed my spoon down onto it.

“I have no idea where the food stealing comes from, but don’t,” I warned him.

“Rude, got it,” he nodded in a terrifying impression of Charly’s normal demeanor. “As I was saying, I recently learned a new type of game from Terra, from the Before.  It involves teamwork, and encourages creativity and escapism, and I think it would be a very good community activity - “

I surrendered to my urge to groan. “We are not doing a redux of Settlers of Cattan. Arthur stabbed someone last time.”

“I didn’t press charges…” Jokul pouted, glancing at the scar on the back of his wrist briefly. “Besides, it was only a fork. Clearly he didn’t mean it, there were four knives in arms reach counting my own.”

Tyche cocked an eyebrow at me. Seriously?

I pursed my lips and wrinkled my nose in response. Yep.

“So what game is it this time?” I asked hesitantly.

I was reward-bombarded with a grin. “It’s called Dungeons and Dragons! Somewhat like a video game, but with more people, and using writing implements and paper. Oh, and different kinds of dice, very important. One person is something of the narrator, to give the game a kind of structure, while the other players act as characters in the game… Ivan introduced me to it, and it is quite challenging with the right people.  The dungeon master - that is the narrator - has to re-evaluate the story based on the actions of the other players, but the players themselves don’t know what the dungeon master is going to do. It is very much a social diversion, and there are many classes….”

As Jokul continued to gush, he was rather oblivious to the fact that Tyche and I were stuffing our faces as quickly as possible to avoid interrupting him or laughing. We had both played when we were younger - in fact, we had been introduced to the game by our mother.  There had even been a very overwhelming pop-culture movement in our youth around the game, which further emphasized just how far out in the boonies Jokul had grown up.  As shocking as it was that he was just now discovering the game, it came at exactly zero surprise that he enjoyed it so much - it was right up his alley of interests.

About fifteen minutes and two more grilled cheeses into his retelling of the campaign he was part of, Charly and Arthur squeezed in with us, their own lunches in tow.  As seemed to be a growing trend, Arthur reached over and snagged one of my sandwiches before I could react, shoving half of it in his face.

That was apparently enough to snap Jokul out of his story. “Hey! Why didn’t you hit him?”

“His deathwish, not my problem,” I shrugged.

Around the remains of my lunch, Arthur managed to enunciate. “Told you, Noah fissed the dairy allergy.”

“Bleargh,” I gagged comically. “It’s okay, think I’m done anyway.”

Jokul’s hand swatted Arthur’s out of the way to steal the rest of my food. “As I was saying, Ivan was quite clever with his resolution to deal subdural damage to the player who was very much ruining the storyline by insisting his character was immune to magical sleep…”

“Oooooo! I love tabletops!” Charly squealed, bouncing in her seat. “What setting are you playing in right now?  My favorite was always Exalted…”

“Miss Harper, I think we are discussing different activities.” Jokul sounded supremely confused, but my heart broke a bit.

Arthur shook his head. “Maybe not Exalted, but what about Ebberron? Swordhaven, maybe?  Just tell me it isn’t Ravenloft… I know you haven’t been fucking around in a Dark Sun, but I beg you to tell me you aren’t playing Ravenloft.”

“I’m not sure what those are… Ivan introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons. There is only one setting.”

“So… Greyhawk or homebrew,” Arthur nodded. “Best place to start, get the basics down.”

Jokul’s head pivoted toward me and Tyche, squinting in annoyance. “You knew, didn’t you? And you let me prattle on…”

“You were so… happy….” I explained plaintively. “We didn’t want to ruin that for you.”

Tyche nodded. “We both remember how fun that first campaign is. And honestly? We’ve been having a kind of crappy day.  It was nice to hear someone be excited about something that isn’t work related.”

“But I came to you to discuss making it a ship activity…”

“Originally, yeah,” I shrugged. “That was maybe the first thirty seconds.  After that, you were doing what literally every tabletop roleplaying person has done since the beginning of time… telling stories about the fun, dramatic, and frankly stupid shit the people in your party are doing.”

“Says the two-foot eight halfling rogue,” Arthur scowled.

“I rolled it at random, it was fifteen years ago, get over it!” I threw my hands up dramatically. “At least I wasn’t mated to a frickin’ deity.”

Charly giggled uncontrollably while Jokul goggled at us. “Exalted is broken in all the fun ways.”

“You literally sacrificed, and I quote ‘all of your fucks to give’, for necromancy.”

“That was your idea!”

Jokul turned toward Tyche, waiting for her to say something. She just held up her hands defensively. “I was a murder monk-bunny.”

Arthur snorted. “You were the Black Rabbit of Inle….”

“Well if my wife would have just stopped dying…!”

“At least none of us were the Platinum Knight who pissed his pants every time he confronted his favored enemy,” I laughed. “He never did live that one down. Every. Single. Dragon. He would crit fail his roles.”

“Oh, please,” Arthur intoned drily. “Did I ever tell you about the time one of my players managed to make ‘Notice me, Senpai’ into the most terrifying in-universe warcry imaginable?”

Charly choked before swatting his shoulder. “Not in front of my pasta. Please.”

Jokul, however, looked both horrified and intrigued, egging Arthur on. “Barbarian whose entire clan worshipped a god named The Senpai…. Just imagine, a barbarian in a rage, bellowing ‘NOTICE ME, SENPAI!!!’ before just scything down thirty men with a broadsword.”

At this point, I was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my face. “Please, please tell me there was a kilt and pigtails involved….”

Jokul touched his own hair, before straightening as seriously as possible. “They are warrior’s braids, Councillor.”

That was it, I couldn’t take it anymore. I just put my head down on my folded arms and waiting to either pass out from laughing so hard or from exhaustion.  A few deep breaths and a spinning head later, I managed to wipe my face on my sleeve and realized the conversation was continuing without me.  Just as I was clearing my throat to let Jokul know he should be fine to start organizing something and to send me a rough outline, Arthur dealt the final blow.

Leaning over, he whispered over my shoulder. “By the way, the barbarian’s name was Drystan of the Doki-doki tribe.”

I was proud that I managed to get up and dash into the hallway before collapsing against the wall in maniacal laughter.  I barely registered Hannah’s voice behind me asking everyone at the table if I needed medical assistance, and that did not help.

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[gray-autumn-sky]

Sleepless in Seattle, Chapter 6

February 13, 1993- Seattle, Washington:

“Thanks for picking Roland up,” Robin says, bristling a little as he comes into the house. “Apparently picking out where a bay window should go is the single most hardest thing Mary Margaret Nolan will ever have to decide.” He sighs as he unzips his coat. “Apparently her son’s future hinges on the placement of one nursery window.”

“Be nice,” Belle warns, grinning as she looks back at him. “She’s my friend.”

“Was her friend, Emma, there with her?” Ruby asks. “She was supposed to be.”

Robin blinks. “Uh… no?”

“Oh--”

“There was a painter and her husband came by and--”

“Pretty, blonde--”

“Usually wears a red jacket--”

His eyes narrow. “Oh--” And as their eye light up hopefully, he grimaces. Emma showed up just as he was leaving. Mary Margaret tried to introduce them, but he’d offered little more than a wave as he walked out, murmuring something as he walked past her about being late to pick up his son. “Oh.”

“Were you rude?” Belle asks pointedly. “Please tell me--”

“No. I… I was brisk. I thought I was late to pick up Roland.”

“So… did you think she was pretty?”

“She was… agreeable.”

“Robin!”

“I literally brushed past her on the way down the front steps. I didn’t see her.”

He watches and Belle and Ruby exchange a look, and then when their eyes shift back to him, they both smile in a way that makes him a bit uneasy.

“So, the reason Mary Margaret was being so particular--”

“Isn’t because she’s a pain in the ass?”

Belle’s eyes roll. “We thought that… maybe you and Emma--”

“I’m not ready.”

“Robin--”

“It’s been a year,” Belle says. “And you--”

“No,” Robin says, shaking his head. “It’s been ten months and--”

“You said you were open to dating again.”

“I said eventually I might be,” he says, looking to Ruby for assistance. “I’m not ready.” Taking a breath, Belle stands up and crosses the room to where he stands--and he knows a lecture is coming. “I know you’re trying to help, and I appreciate that, just as I’ve appreciated everything the two of you have done for Roland and me, but….the thought of getting into something serious...”

“That’s just it. It’s not something serious. But it’ll get you back out there, warm ya up a bit.”

His brows arch as he looks at his sister. “Are you suggesting I use your friend for a weekend special at a Holiday Inn?”

“No,” Ruby sighs as she gets up from the couch. “That’s not what she meant.”

“Then what did she mean? Because--”

“I meant that you need to get back out there,” Belle says, letting her voice rise over his. “I meant that you need to interact with someone you’re not related and not paid to interact with.”

He bristles because he knows she’s right. “I… interact with…”

“Who?”

“Robin,” Ruby says as she joins them. “You’re young. You’re good looking and charming and--”

“Are you pitching me to… myself?”

Both Belle and Ruby roll their eyes as he folds his arms over his chest indignantly, digging in his heels similar to the way Roland does when he decides he’s not going to bed or doesn’t feel like showering--and suddenly, he feels like he’s twelve years old again, arguing with his little sister about something ridiculous, but something they’ll never convince the other of.

He’s not entirely why he’s so opposed to the idea. He’s all but admitted he’d like to find someone again, but wanting something and doing something are very different things. In his head, it’s getting easier to picture himself with someone--meeting someone at the market or in an elevator, feeling something and taking a risk by offering his number, then anxiously wondering if she’ll actually call--but the thought of actually sitting across from someone at dinner, the thought of making small talk and giving the most condensed version of his life over appetizers still doesn’t sit well with him.

“Robin, Marian wouldn’t want you to hide away from the world. She wouldn’t want your life to…” Belle stops, giminacing at whatever thing she was about to say, and her cheeks flush slightly causing heat to rise up the back of his neck and anger to bubble up in his chest as he fills in the blank she’s left.

“Look, it doesn't have to be Emma. We just think you two would get along. She’s not looking for anything serious--”

“What? So, just a hookup? That’s… that’s not really my thing.”

“Go to dinner. Eat some good food. Talk to her. See if you like her.” Ruby grins gently as she reaches out and presses her hand to his arm. “If you don’t, you don’t, but at least your feet will be wet. The next time will be easier.”

For a moment, he considers it. “Emma is a friend of yours?” They both both nod in unison. “And, as her friend, you’re… just offering her up as bait?”

“Bait is a little strong of a word,” Belle sighs.

“If it doesn't work out, it doesn’t work out. We wouldn’t want either of you to force anything, but…”

“...if it does work out…”

“We just think you two could work.”

Looking between them, he sighs, feeling his resolve wearing thin, and a little voice at the back of his head--the same voice that pushed him to open up to that radio therapist, the same voice that made him admit that maybe in the future he could see himself in a relationship again, that same voice that told him that he was too reliant on Belle and Ruby and that he didn’t want to ever grow to be a burden or a roadblock for his son--told him that maybe he could go to dinner with this person, maybe he could like her, maybe he could even love her.

And if not her, someone.

“So… this Emily…”

“Emma.”

“Right,” he sighs, stepping around them and reaching for an apple. “Tell me about her.”

“Okay,” they say together.

“She’s… very independent.”

“Yeah, her parents died when she was little. She grew up in the system and now she’s a cop,” Ruby explains.

“She just got out of a long-term relationship and--”

“Why did it end?”

Ruby’s eyes roll. “First of all, his name was Walsh--”

“He was a trust fund baby,” Belle explains. “They were just… not compatible.”

“Not compatible--” he repeats, his eyes narrowing. “Why is that?”

“She likes her own space. She’s not the clingy type. She’s not very domestic--”

“She’s a grilled cheese and tomato soup kind of girl and he was--”

“--the type of person who orders eel.”

For some reason, that makes him grin.

“She likes… adventure-type stories.”

Belle laughs as she looks to Ruby. “What she means is she’s a Hemingway fan--”

“As am I.”

“She’s always looked for a family to join--”

“--and I am a family man.”

“She likes beer and going to breweries, and she loves a good hike--”

Drawing in a breath, he feels his heart beating faster and faster while his stomach churns. “Fine.”

“Fine--”

“I’ll… let you set me up.”

Their eyes widen as they exchange excited looks. He shakes his head when one of them lets out a little squeal and he laughs when they both rush toward him for a hug--and then, just as his stomach starts to settle, Belle reveals that she’s already made reservations for the following night at a little Italian place that she and Ruby frequent.

And then, as they start to tell him about the tiramisu, he comes to the realization that the following day is Valentine’s Day, the absolute worst day of the year for a blind date, and he can’t help but think it’s some sort of omen.

_____

February 13, 1993- Greenwich, Connecticut:

Regina stares into her closet, trying to figure out what dress she’ll wear the following evening for her dinner date with Daniel, and of course, everything that hangs in her closet seems all wrong.

She sighs as she turns back to the bed, sitting down and flopping back, staring down at the ceiling and wishing at the start of the school year, she’d signed up to chaperone the Valentine’s party at Henry’s school because had she done that, she wouldn’t have to go to dinner with Daniel--and then, as soon as she thinks that, she chides herself for being such a terrible person.

It isn’t Daniel’s company that she wants to avoid; it’s simply the holiday.

First, she’d never been a fan of Valentine’s Day. To her, it was made up holiday meant to sell cards and boost floral sales in the middle of winter, nothing something really worth celebrating. Of course, when she was married to Leopold, he always made a big show of Valentine’s Day; but, really, it was just that--a show. He’d send her candy and flowers and everyone in her office would tell her how lucky she was. Then, he’d take her out to some expensive restaurant and show her off, like she was some sort of trophy.

Daniel wasn’t Leopold, though; in fact, Daniel was the exact opposite of her ex, and if he were to send her something at work or take her out that evening, the gestures would be sincere.

But that was what she was afraid of.

Ever since she found the receipt from the jeweler, she’d be waiting for him to propose. But they’d gotten through Christmas and then through the new year, and still, he hadn’t asked--and for a few weeks, she relaxed and stopped worry about it. Then, he’d asked her out for Valentine’s Day and her worries came flooding back to her.

In her head, she tried to work out a response, but no matter what, she couldn’t seem to come up with one. Her feelings about the whole thing were murky at best--and sometimes when she thought about it, she thought about what it’d be like to say yes. It’d be easier, and it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be happy with him. She and Daniel could build a life together that was based on companionship and respect. They could raise Henry together and join an equestrian club, they could have family dinners and plan vacations, they could have a life that she knew many women in her former social circle would envy. They might not have passion, but maybe, they had something better than that.

That, of course, led her to another set of questions--questions she’d never actually find answers to. She wondered if somewhere along the line she’d resent the lack of passion she felt, and she wondered where that resentment might lead. She didn't like to go there and she rarely allowed her thoughts to wander down that path, but when she did, she didn’t like what she saw and she didn’t like her person she was. So, in the end, she wondered if saying no was really the best option for both of them, wondering if it would hurt less to turn him down now rather than after years of complacency in marriage.

Two nights before, Mal and Lily came over for dinner, and while Lily and Henry played Zelda in the living room, she and Mal sat down at the kitchen table and they’d made a list of pros and cons. Mal rolled her eyes at the notion, telling her that matters of the heart couldn’t be resolved by taking notes, but she ignored her and insisted--then, by the end of it, she was no better off than she was before. She had no new solutions, no new insights and was still just as confused as ever.

Rolling over, she turns on the radio--and when she hears The Best of Doctor Hopper playing, she holds her breath and waits.

She smiles at the sound of the now-familiar voice and she can practically recite the little speech he gave about the first time he met his wife, and still, it strikes her that he knew they were meant to be together based on one fleeting touch.

“Uh, mom?”

Gasping, she sits up, looking at Henry with wide eyes as if he’s caught her doing something she shouldn’t be doing. “Henry, is… is everything okay?”

“I can’t sleep,” he says, shrugging as he comes into the room. “I saw your light was still on.”

“Yeah,” she murmurs. “I was just trying to pick out a dress for tomorrow.”

“Oh…”

“Wanna help?” Grinning, Henry nods and crosses the room to the bed, hoisting himself up to sit beside her then, for a moment, they both just stare into the closet. “So, what do you think? Which dress do you like?”

“You should wear the red one.”

“The red one? Why?”

Henry blinks. “Because it’s Valentine’s Day and that’s the color you’re supposed to wear.”

Regina’s brows arch. “That was… easy.”

“Some things aren’t hard,” Henry says, shrugging and leaning into her side. “Lily said she and I are going to eat so much candy tomorrow, we’re going to puke.”

“And you’re looking forward to this?”

“Not the puking part, but… yeah, I’m looking forward to the candy.” Henry pauses for a moment, looking up at her before looking to the radio. “You listen to this a lot.”

“Yeah,” she nods. “I, um… I like this program.”

“You like this episode. You always listen to the same one.”

“Oh… well…”

“He has a nice voice.”

“Who does?”

“The man who really loves his wife.”

“Oh.. yeah… he, um, he does,” she murmurs, feeling an odd stirring in her chest as she leans in to press a kiss to Henry’s hair. “He sounds… nice.”

“He does,” Henry agrees. “I hope he finds someone.”

At that, her brows arch and she pulls herself back a little so that she can look at Henry. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Henry says simply. “Maybe then, he wouldn’t be so sad.”

“It’s not easy, you know… finding someone.”

“I know,” Henry murmurs. “Sometimes, it doesn't work out. Like how it didn’t work with you and dad. But, sometimes, it does.”

“That's… awfully deep for a ten year old.”

Henry nods. “That’s what the radio therapist said in his last episode.”

“You… listen to this program?”

Henry shrugs and leans back into her. “You listen to it so much, I wanted to see what the fuss was about.”

“And what did you think of it?” she asks, laughing softly at the notion of her precious fifth grader listening to a radio therapist counsel adults on love.

“I think you should listen to more episodes.”

Again, she laughs as she presses another kiss to Henry’s head. “Yeah,” she agrees. “Maybe I should.”

[wellpersonsblog]

7 Easy Salads for Summer

Try these 7 Easy Salads for Summer for quick and easy lunches and dinners. Use Rubbermaid FreshWorks containers to help keep your fruits and veggies as fresh as possible.

Thanks to Rubbermaid for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

I’m excited to share some easy salads for summer in today’s post. They are jam-packed with deliciousness. Warm weather is finally here and for a lot of people that means they start craving salads.  They’re light and fresh, but can easily be made into a full meal! Which is why it’s no coincidence May is National Salad Month! I’ve been testing up a storm over the past month and I’ve come up with 7 delicious combos that I can’t wait to share with you.

But first, I want to introduce you to my new storage containers. A few weeks ago, my friends at Rubbermaid reached out to see if I’d be interested in testing out their FreshWorks containers. As someone who buys a lot of fresh produce, I readily agreed. Over the next few weeks, I tested out the various sizes on a variety of fruits and veggies, including lettuce, kale, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli and more!

I was very pleased with the results and wanted to show you a few side-by-side comparisons. For the comparison, I bought two of everything and left one in the plastic bag from the grocery store and put the other in a FreshWorks container (without washing) and left them in the fridge for at least 4 days before checking on them.

Here are the results for the kale and lettuce:

For the kale, I pulled the leaves off the stems so I could fit them in the container but did not wash or cut them. They stayed crisp and fresh. The kale in the bag was soft and wilted when I took it out to check on it.

For the lettuce, I pulled the leaves off the stem so I could pile them up in the container but did not wash or cut them. The leaves stayed vibrant, crunchy and fresh vs the wilted leaves on the head of lettuce stored just in the plastic bag.

I found less of a difference on spinach stored in FreshWorks versus leaving it in a plastic tub or container that it came in at the store, but the FreshWorks certainly didn’t negatively impact the produce.

I also tested out the smaller FreshWorks containers on strawberries and blueberries. I bought two pints in plastic packaging from the store, transferred one to the Freshworks and left the other for 4-5 days. Here are the strawberry results.

The ones in the FreshWorks container stayed pretty much blemish-free whereas the ones in the original container had several bad or spoiled spots after several days.

Other types of produce you could use these containers for include green beans, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, raspberries and more! The storage containers use a lid with patented FreshVent technology to regulate airflow and create the optimal environment for produce. All you have to do is move your produce into the FreshWorks containers after purchasing and refrigerate to help reduce moisture and spoilage. Don’t wash or cut your produce before storing! The CrispTray at the bottom of the container helps elevate the produce away from the moisture and promotes proper airflow to help reduce spoilage. Pretty cool huh?

So now that you know the best way to store all of your nice fresh produce, let’s talk about how to use it to make these 7 delicious salads – one for every day of the week! I tried to include a variety of toppings, proteins and leafy green bases so hopefully, there will be something for everyone!

I often use a mix of spinach and leaf lettuce for my salads, while my husband prefers solely using kale. Feel free to change up the greens in each salad and use your favorites. You could also swap in your favorite fruits and veggies to make a combination more appealing for your personal tastes!

Here’s a run-down of some of the flavor combos we’ve been loving lately:

Barbacoa Taco Salad

I made a big batch of this Slow Cooker Barbacoa and ate it all week long in this Barbacoa Taco Salad. You can prep pretty much all of the components ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble and eat. Here’s what you need:

Barbacoa

Avocado

Tomatoes

Fajita peppers & onions

Black beans

Corn

Red onion

I use my favorite salsa in place of salad dressing on this one! You can also try mixing salsa with some plain Greek yogurt for a creamier dressing!

Blueberry Chicken Sausage Salad

This one is packed with all of my favorite things. Chicken sausage comes fully cooked so I like to just sear it in a pan for a couple minutes. I prep the roasted sweet potatoes ahead of time by thinly slicing, misting with avocado oil and sprinkling with paprika and cayenne. Then I roast at 400 for 20 minutes or so, flipping once. When ready to assemble, here’s what you need:

Chicken sausage

Leaf lettuce + spinach

Roasted sweet potato coins

Blueberries

Crumbled goat cheese

Sometimes I add avocado to this one as well, and I like it with a balsamic vinegar dressing.

Mediterranean Chop Salad

This Mediterranean Chop Salad is a vegetarian option that’s super easy to throw together. You can chop the veggies ahead of time and store them in the fridge and you can hard boil some eggs and cook a batch of farro ahead of time as well. When you’re ready to assemble, grab some spinach from your FreshWorks container and add:

Peppers

Red onion

Tomato

Cucumber

Hard boiled egg

Hummus

Farro (or another whole grain)

Everything Bagel seasoning (optional)

Crumbled feta (optional)

I use the hummus as the dressing for this one, but you could also add some Italian dressing if you wanted. Sometimes I swap the plain hummus & everything bagel seasoning for spicy hummus to give it a little kick!

Strawberry Chicken Kale Salad

This Strawberry Chicken Kale Salad is another one that’s super easy to meal prep. We always grill a big batch of chicken on the weekends in the summer and I like to cook a batch of farro or rice to have on hand as well. When ready to serve, I simply massage the kale with a little lemon juice and olive oil and then top it with:

Grilled chicken

Farro

Strawberries

Feta

Pumpkin seeds for an added crunch

This salad is great with Italian or honey mustard dressing!

Warm Bacon Kale Salad with Shrimp

To change things up, I occasionally like to enjoy a warm salad. Shrimp is one of my favorite quick-cooking proteins so this salad comes together in a jiffy. I just saute some bacon, mushrooms and kale for a few minutes. Then once the bacon starts to crisp up, I add tomatoes and shrimp. Once the shrimp are cooked (should take 5 min or less), I add some chopped hard boiled egg and balsamic vinaigrette.

Here’s a recap of what you need:

Bacon

Mushrooms

Tomatoes

Kale

Shrimp

Hard boiled eggs

Balsamic vinaigrette

You could also try eating this one cold and see how you like it and feel free to swap spinach for kale.

Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

This Thai Peanut Chicken Salad is one of my favorites for summer. Again, I use grilled chicken that I’ve cooked previously so it comes together quickly. I just steam some peas and whip up a quick peanut sauce while my rice noodles are cooking. Then I toss the noodles, peanuts, peas, and some red peppers in the peanut sauce, serve over a mix of leaf lettuce and spinach and top with peanuts for a little extra crunch!

No need for extra dressing on this one. The peanut sauce makes the perfect dressing.

To make enough sauce for two salads I use:

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 Tbsp sweet thai chili sauce

1-2 tsp ginger

Whisk together in a small bowl and then toss with 6-8 ounces of chopped chicken and however many rice noodles you want. If you want to make more salads or want it extra saucy you can always 1.5 times or double the sauce recipe!

Avocado Tuna Cake Salad

Tuna cakes are another quick and easy protein source that are perfect for salads. I like to fry a couple in a pan (crispy) and serve them over spinach and combine with some previously roasted sweet potatoes (soft) and some freshly chopped peppers, onions and walnuts (crunchy) for the perfect combination of textures and flavors.

To make these tuna cakes for two salads, I just combined:

1 can tuna

1/2 a medium avocado

1/4 cup panko

Mix well and form into 6 small patties. Fry in avocado oil over medium high heat for a couple minutes each side. I like to use flavored tuna (garlic and herb is my favorite) to make it even easier, but if you’re using plain tuna, just throw in a few of your favorite seasonings – curry powder, paprika, cayenne pepper or lemon pepper seasoning all work great!

I like this one with salsa for a dressing as well, but feel free to use your favorite. I have a sesame ginger dressing that I also love that’s great with this combo!

So there you have it! 7 Easy Salad so for summer. Be sure to let me know if you try any of these combos and feel free to leave your favorite salad combos in the comments! I’m always looking for new flavor combos!

To check out all of the Rubbermaid Freshworks containers, check out their website! You can also find them at stores like Target, Meijer, Kroger, Bed Bath & Beyond and on Amazon. And be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!

Enjoy! –Lindsay–

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First found here: 7 Easy Salads for Summer