These 5 make-ahead salads make sticking to your diet easier than ever

Meal-prepping is great if you’re trying to eat healthier. It’s much easier to stick to your plan if all you have to do is pull a tasty meal out of the fridge and eat.

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Basically, meal prepping involves cooking a whole weeks worth of meals at once so they are ready to grab and go at meal time. It takes all the decision-making out of eating, so you don’t have the option to choose something that will break your diet.

RELATED: Believe it or not, you can actually prep an entire week’s worth of meals in just one hour — here’s how

Salads, though an obvious diet food, are a little more difficult to prep in advance. But once you get the hang of it, layering raw veggies can be just as easy as cooking a stir-fry ahead of time. Just be sure to schedule them at the beginning of the week so you don’t have to freeze them.

If you’re a dedicated meal-prepper looking for a few salad recipes to work into the mix, we’ve found five great options from The Kitchy Kitchen. Most of the salads are not lettuce-based, which means they won’t get soggy in the fridge.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Macro Biotic Salad

  • 1 cup brown rice, cooked and cooled
  • 4 ounces salmon, cooked and flaked
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1 nori sheet, crumbled
  • 3 tablespoons green onion
  • 3 tablespoons cooked hijiki
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Dan Dan Kale Salad

  • 2 cups kale leaves
  • 3 tablespoons peanut sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili oil
  • 3 tablespoons peanuts
  • 3 tablespoons green onion
  • ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup tofu, cubed

Beet and Goat Cheese

  • ¾ cup cooked quinoa
  • 2 cooked beets
  • ¼ cup walnuts, lightly toasted
  • 1 cup spinach, packed
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Apple Cheddar

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • ½ apple, cubed
  • 2 ounces cheddar, cubed
  • ¼ cup pecans, lightly toasted
  • ½ yellow onion, caramelized
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup arugula, packed

Taco Bowl Salad

  • ¾ cup brown rice, cooked and cooled
  • ½ cup black beans
  • 1 cooked corn
  • ⅛ red onion, finely chopped
  • ⅓ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 3 tablespoons pico de gallo
  • up to 1 tablespoon hot sauce
  • ¼ cup Cotija cheese

Find full instructions for all five salads on The Kitchy Kitchen.

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