Lightened Up Cobb Salad

I very rarely go grocery shopping without a list. Like, pretty much never. Like, it stresses some out to go to the store without a list or having done some meal planning because I know I will get a bit overwhelmed and distracted in the store, forget something essential, and inevitably come home with a hodgepodge of groceries that will make planning what goes together even harder. Especially now with two kids in tow, spending even just five minutes making a meal plan for dinners and a grocery list are absolutely vital so we do not just eat chips and salsa every night.

In fact, I am so staunch about not walking into the grocery store without a list that before Zoey plays with her toy shopping cart, she goes to her little art table and scribbles out a “list”, which always has about four different kinds of fruit on it. Then I have to put her favorite stuffed animal into a baby wearing carrier and she takes off doing loops around the staircase with her list in hand.

We will see how long it takes her to start carrying an overstuffed diaper bag.

The ultimate test that my meal planning skills are a success? An empty fridge at the end of the week. I find something oddly satisfying about most of our food being eaten with very little of it going to waste (a huge point of contention for me). Not only does an empty fridge mean we stuck to our meal plan for the week, but we did not over spend on items we did not need. When the fridge is just about empty, it feels like and accomplishment and like the need to grocery shop is truly necessary instead of just in filling a few items here and there.

Do not get me wrong though, even if the fridge is not totally empty we still do our weekly trip to Costco (see what we buy to save money at Costco here). Because samples. And if we time it right, we can feed Zoey lunch from the samples and have her pass out for a nap on the way home, which these days is just about the only way we actually get her to nap.

I also like to imagine that every time the fridge is close to empty I will clean it out. You know the whole kit and caboodle of wiping down the shelves, changing out the baking soda, and reorganizing the condiments. But let’s be honest about my housekeeping skills because that rarely happens more than a few times a year. One can dream.

While we rely on leftovers for lunches and at least one dinner a week, there are times when we have too many random things hanging out in the fridge that Rob did not manage to eat for lunch, or I slightly overestimated our bell pepper needs for the week, or Zoey boycotted a meal. In those cases, we turn to giant salads, pasta sauces, brinners, and tuna salads. I am a big salad person regardless, but this Lightened Up Cobb Salad version is an easy way to clear out our fridge at the end of the week.

This Lightened Up Cobb Salad works as a dinner or a lunch. If you pack it for work, I recommend adding both the dressing and avocado right before you eat. Avocados tend to brown out pretty quickly, so pack half an avocado with the pit still in to keep it fresh. I have had great luck with wrapping half an avocado (with pit) in plastic wrap, putting it in a Rubbermaid container, and sticking it in the fridge. It usually lasts pretty well for 2-3 days that way and only browns a touch on the top layer, which is easily scraped off.

Since I am terrible at following recipes to a T, this Lightened Up Cobb Salad  appeals to my pinch of this and touch of that measurements as it is super easy to vary the amount of everything you put in. That being said, I would not add too much more bacon or more than two egg whites. Go crazy on the lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes though for that fiber and healthy carbohydrate kick.

In terms of dressings, this is not your typical thick and creamy Cobb salad blue cheese dressing. Rather, to keep it lighter and not weigh you down midday, I used this Brianna’s Homestyle Creamy Balsamic Dressing. It gives the salad a bit of a bite while working with the avocado for a creamier texture.

Items I used to make this recipe:

• William Sonoma Calphalon 10 Inch Pan
• J.A. Henckels Knife Set
• Egg Slicer
• Brianna’s Homestyle Creamy Balsamic Dressing
• Rubbermaid Storage Containers

Snag my free Meal Planning Guide here so you can take the guesswork out of both your daily eats and your grocery shopping trips.

I also recommend the Meal Prep Planner to help you prepare meals ahead of time, avoid the mid day sugar crash, and save you a lot of time.

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