Salad Days...

Convenience foods. The phrase normally brings to mind things that are bad for you, and usually don't taste very good - the kind of stuff you cook in a gas station convenience store microwave.

But technology has also made it possible to eat way better way easier. I pondered this yesterday while making a salad. Now, I'm usually not a salad kind of guy. I like my food deep fried and covered with bacon. However, I've been trying to eat better on occasion, so I've been trying to eat salad for dinner once or twice a week. There are two products that make this possible.

The first is salad-in-a-bag - you know, the shredded lettuce and stuff in a bag. Whoever got the idea of making this stuff gets mad props from mad anthony. There is no way I would buy two kinds of lettuce, carrots, radishes, and cabbage and wash and cut it. For one thing I'm lazy, and for another most of it would wind up going bad and getting thrown out before I get around to eating it.

Another somewhat healthy product I give props to is precooked chicken - you know, the ready to eat chunks or strips of chicken. Great to top a salad with. I can't imagine eating a salad without some kind of meat product on the top, and the chicken is fairly easy and convenient.

I also am impressed that it's possible to buy a decent "baguette" at grocery stores. As much as I dislike the French, they do have good ideas in the whole crusty bread category.

And now, I give you the "mad anthony" 5-minute bachelor salad recipe:

Take 1 largish bowl. Add half a bag of shredded prewashed salad of choice. Dump in half a package of ready-cooked chicken. Add some bacon bits (with half the fat of actual bacon!) and whatever cheese happens to be in the fridge. Top with low fat ranch dressing (I've been using Trader Joe's Parmesan ranch lately). Serve with a big chunk of French bread (or as I like to call it, Freedom Bread).

I usually have this two days in a row, using half the bread/chicken/salad one day and half the next).