Lunchbox Salads: More than 100 Fast, Fresh, Filling Salads for Every Weekday

by Naomi Twigden, Anna Pinder

Easy recipes for satisfying make-ahead salads, dressings, and veggie-packed meals, each 30 minutes or less to prepare, with 10 ingredients or fewer Eating lunch "al desko" doesn't have to mean frozen burritos or pricey takeout. Lunchbox Salads shares easy, affordable, substantial, and vibrant salad inspiration for every workday (and for dinner and weekends, too!). These creative recipes use 10 or fewer easy-to-buy ingredients and take no more than 30 minutes to make; those that contain meat can be made vegetarian and always keep the focus on healthy veggie-strong eating. Each recipe yields 2 substantial portions to support energy throughout the afternoon, and everything will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge (with specific packing instructions to avoid soggy leaves at lunchtime). Each chapter focuses on a different hero vegetable (like squash, carrot, red pepper, beet, cabbage, and zucchini); the recipes are easy to customize for different dietary preferences and are suitable for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 6, 2017

Reviews

[Mattie Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand that being extra when it comes to food is the new norm, but "fast" salads is lost on this book. Seems as though the author doesn't realize that normal working people just don't have time for recipes like this. Alas, another cookbook in the "never going to happen" pile.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been way to hot to cook. This cookbook has given us so many new salads to eat. Also has given me idea's on how to make other ones based on the recipes found in this book.

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't tried any of these recipes yet, but some look quite good and some look iffy (based on the photos). I really wish they had done better food staging and taken more photos -- there are some photos that look more like stock photos than any of the actual recipes (like, a picture of produce on a stand). There are a few that I do want to try, and many of the recipes have great variety, which I like.

As a cookbook, it's not that great. There aren't many photos, which if you've read any of my other cookbook reviews, you know I love a photo for every recipe, and so this is a knock against the book. The recipes are also not structured well on the page. For instance, there is no easily visible notice of how many servings this recipe makes (it's two, which I found by reading the bottom of the recipe where it says "how to pack" -- "pack into 2 lunchboxes" (not verbatim)); there is no indication of how much time each recipe takes to make (I know they're salads so they don't take long to put together, but there are recipes where you need to roast or cook something and that takes time) and you'd need to read the recipe thoroughly to decide if the time it takes to make fits your schedule; if anyone has any gluten, nut or other allergies, you can only tell by reading the ingredients where some other cookbooks have icons to indicate whether a recipe is gluten-free, vegan, nut-free, grain-free, etc. Essentially, this cookbook isn't the best for someone who likes to have the info at a glance when deciding which recipe to make. The steps themselves are written in a way that is straightforward. I do like that there are recipes for different dressings and that the introduction isn't wordy. I appreciate that there isn't a whole leading paragraph to each recipe and that they just get right in.

I'll update this review if/when I make something(s)!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked about half the recipes I tried and I'll be making those again.

The style and intention of how to use these recipes didn't work well for my lifestyle. All that I tried required using multiple pots and pans, strainers, and bowls - one needed 3 pots, 1 baking pan all going at once. These are supposed to be lunches, prepared ahead. As I'm not a morning person I did the prep in the evening after dinner. That's a lot of dishes to do for just 2 servings of lunch, especially after doing the dinner dishes. I do not own enough pots and pans to cook any of these and a dinner in one go.

Also, this book uses the word "salad" differently than I do - not a criticism, just a note for American readers that this might not be what you expect. It was one of the things that drew me to it, as these tend to be heartier and more filling than a pile of raw veggies. Some are soups, some are pastas.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not made any recipes yet. I did read over all of them. I would make 90% of these recipes. What I especially loved about the format of the book. Majority of the recipes had tips on ways you can alter or add to the base recipe. I really love that the authors included that as a feature, it really helps to have those alternatives easily accessed. Plus it's really like you're getting so many extra recipes.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

not really for me…

I think the authors use the term salad pretty loosely. Some of the recipes are soups. Some seem more like Buddha bowls. And others seem like a one or two ingredient side dish to a meat. I think I saved two salad recipes and 5 dressing or sauce recipes.

[Sarah Newport · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Ideas

Trying to get more veg into my diet, the recipes look and sounds amazing I can’t wait to try them!

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special to be found here. Very basic. Very dull. Recipes for folks with no spice cupboard.

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good recipes. Not a ton of variety. Good premise for fast, easy, and similar weekday salads.

[Kristy Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, there wasn't a single recipe in this book that I would make except for a couple of the dressings that really didn't look any different than something I've already found online or elsewhere.

[Michele Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has revolutionised my lunch hour, thank you so much for creating this book.