Melinda's Work Mega-Salad

Another technique I use to save time, is to take advantage of my company's kitchen facilities. On Monday, I take a walk through Berkeley to the nearest Safeway and buy the following ingredients:

-1 bag of either baby spinach or salad mix with butter lettuce (although I suppose you could substitute iceberg or romaine or arugula or any other leaf of choice just as well)
-2 roma tomatoes, or a pint of cherry/grape tomatoes
-one onion, I usually go with either red onion, Vidalia, or Walla Walla sweet onion
-one large cucumber
-one ripe (or as close to ripe as possible) avocado
-one regular sized can of kidney beans
-two cans of albacore tuna packed in water (although sometimes I'll buy the vacuum-sealed bag instead)
-bag of string cheese
-dressing of choice, if I don't have any left in the work fridge

So, what I do for four of the five days of the week is make this salad. I use 1/4 of the bag of spinach, 1/2 a roma tomato or a handful of cherry tomatoes, a bit of onion (not usually 1/4, that's a lot, just whatever I feel like), 1/4 of the cucumber, 1/4 of the avocado, handful of kidney beans, 1/2 can of tuna, one stick of string cheese cut into small pieces (the bag usually lasts me two weeks; I also like having it for afternoon snacks), plus a couple tablespoons of dressing. I don't actually toss it (too messy), but leave the spinach on the bottom and the other ingredients on top, making it actually easier to get a good forkful of delight. By the end of the week, most of your ingredients will have been fully utilized, making it perfect (I hate bringing leftovers home and/or letting them rot over the weekend). I also like having one day off, in case work caters lunch, or I feel like going out with a coworker or several, or sometimes I just go out for pizza on Friday, because I've eaten salad all week. Variety is the spice of life, after all. As for the dressing, I typically go with something light and classic - balsamic vinaigerette is a favorite, although lately I've been using Kraft's Zesty Italian.

Also, I think this is worth mentioning - I've been eating this salad for the vast majority of my lunches since April, perhaps earlier. I've also taken to eating a standard breakfast: Quaker Oatmeal Squares with either strawberries, raspberries, or a banana cut up in the cereal with skim milk. I've dropped almost 20 pounds since April. And my dinners haven't really changed much, nor my excessive drinking habits. Note: I have been going on a lot of random 3-10 mile walks around San Francisco, but that probably averages out to approx. 5 miles per week, which I think most of you are easily matching/exceeding already. Just a thought! Plus, the salad is VERY satisfying and I'll actually crave it sometimes on the weekend. I get pretty easily bored with food, and the fact that I still love it, is quite a testament. If you do try it, let me know what you think!