Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Lunch Box: Bleu Apple Salad

This is more a set of ingredient ideas than an actual recipe, but it was too good not to share! I got the idea for this salad from The Kitchn, which did a post on 'salad swag' -- that is, all the fun stuff that makes your salad actually worth eating.  I tried their bleu apple salad, and totally loved the results.  A bed of fresh spinach gets spruced up with quick-cooking barley, rotisserie chicken, green apple, and blue cheese.  Other than the barley, nothing is cooked, so it's just about the assembly...which makes it a perfect lunch box meal in my book.  I love my three-part lunch containers (which have apparently been discontinued, sadly, but you can find similar options on Amazon).  The barley, chicken, spinach, and cheese go in the big container.  The apples go in the medium container, submerged in water which is a pretty genius trick for keeping them crispy and non-browned (although you have to be careful - this would not work for kids). And finally, the dressing goes in the mini container.  While you have to keep this upright unless you have a perfectly water-proof container, I didn't think that was too big of a deal -- I had no leaks.  Of course, you can also pack this in completely separate containers if that's what you have.  This salad works best if you have a big plate or salad bowl at the office to toss everything together, but you can also eat it out of the container if you work carefully.


Bleu Apple Salad (adapted from The Kitchn)

Large container:
Cooked barley (I like the quick-cooking barley from Trader Joe's)
Rotisserie chicken, shredded or chopped
Raw baby spinach
Bleu cheese crumbles

Medium container:
1/2 green apple, chopped -- submerge in water to avoid browning, and carefully scoop out at lunchtime

Small container:
Lemon vinaigrette -- whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, minced parsley, salt, and pepper to taste

At lunchtime, carefully transfer the salad ingredients to a plate, drizzle with the vinaigrette, and eat!


Other Lunch Box Posts: 

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