Easy AND Healthy AND Cheap Kale & Cranberry Salad

I love to pick up convenient and healthy items to help make my life easier.  I'm a busy mom who works inside and outside the home and like most busy people of all walks of life, convenience sometimes wins over health when it comes to meals. That's why I get excited when I find things that are convenient, healthy AND CHEAP!

One of my favorite meals to pack for lunch and to eat for dinner is the Kale Cranberry Salad from Costco. It's $5.79 for a big huge bag. I buy two bags for the week and that gives me about 8 servings of greens per bag. 

The bag comes packed full of fresh, raw kale, thinly shredded cabbage and shaved brussel sprouts, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and a creamy poppyseed dressing. (Sometimes I substitute my own organic dressing but there are days when even that is too much work!)  All this for about 140 calories per serving!

I pack a big salad bowl and a biodegradable "not plastic" fork and take it with me to work.  The cranberries and pumpkin seeds are packaged separately inside the bag. The dressing is also packed in two packets.  That makes it easy to take on the road with me.  It's also a quick and easy raw vegan dinner when I don't feel like preparing anything more "ornate" like spiralized squash noodles. 

-cheap tip. Make your own salad bag by chopping up romaine heads and putting it in a ziploc bag. Be sure to press out all the air before you seal it.  Buy salad toppings on sale or in bulk like nuts, dried fruit or croutons. Put those items in a small ziploc bag by serving size. Pack it with your salad bags. Voila!  Your own cheap ready made salad. 

Bon appetit!