How To Create Easy Lunches The Night Before-Stone Fruit Salad

Lately I’ve been feeling like lunch is nothing but a disaster. Nothing ever sounds good, and I don’t really want to take the time to create a huge meal. If I feel that way, I wonder how many of you think that lunch is such a dread? I have a simple idea for how you can make quick, and delicious lunches without all of the prep work or bore of the common PB&J (but seriously, I totally don’t mind an occasional PB&J. Especially grilled, oh my gosh! It’s like gooey heaven.)

 So, one night I got to thinking, wouldn’t lunch be easier if I could just change up simple ingredients from last night’s dinner and/or dessert to make lunch the next day? I’m not talking “leftovers” here. I want to use fresh ingredients, but from the night before. So I set out to experiment, and while it’s going to take a few months to show you all of my ideas, I wanted to jump right in with my first one.

This recipe was a cinch to make, and although you make think it’s “just a salad” let me reassure you, this salad is good for you, super flavorful, and super filling. When I heard about the “Add Some Life with olives and olive oil” campaign I knew it was the perfect way to explore lunch time. No, this isn’t something I’m being paid to say, it’s just two things, olive oil, and living life, that I believe in and want to share with you.

Add Some Life With Olive Oil and Olives

“The Add Some Life campaign strives to inspire you about the taste, versatility, benefits and importance of making olives and olive oil staples in your daily life. Whether it’s with our families, our careers, or the food we put on the table, we all strive to find things that can add more “life” to our experiences. Olives and olive oil are the perfect way to do just that. They add flavor. They add health benefits. And they add a sense of excitement to everyday life.”

Uh, adding more “life” to your experiences, especially with food is pretty much what I’m trying to preach all day everyday. This is totally my style of living. (You can find Add Some Life on Facebook, and Twitter

How to Use Dinnertime to Make Lunch

So, back to the recipe. Here’s an easy way to make a delicious lunch the next day using the ingredients from dinner the night before.

Take whatever ingredients you are using for dinner, and cut up, cook, or save a few for lunch.
For example, tonight we had Italian Nachos for dinner. Not healthy, but delicious. I saved a little of the alfredo, sausage and the peppers. Tomorrow, I’ll have pasta with alfredo sauce, sausage and peppers. The night before we had a Loaded Salad and grilled peach melbas. So, I used the avocado, already cooked speck, and a left over grilled peach for today’s meal. See, it’s obvious, but sometimes we forget that saving a few basics from dinner can change everything. And, think of the possibilities, lasagna sauce on garlic bread toasted in the oven with a little cheese, a few slices of left over chicken can make sandwiches, wraps, salads etc.

The best part about choosing to make a salad is that most anything goes, and an olive oil dressing takes two seconds to make and is much healthier for your body, especially your heart.

Stone Fruit Salad with Honey Wine Vinegar Dressing 

1 Grilled Peach (Cut open, remove pit, brush with olive oil and grill over medium heat)
1/2 Avocado, sliced
Mixed Greens
House speck, bacon, prosciutto, or thin ham, crisped in a pan

Toss everything on a plate and drizzle with dressing.

Dressing
2 Tablespoons Honey Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Pinch of salt

Whisk everything together in a dish and serve.

Disclosure: The author received a premium gift package from the International Olive Council, including a Williams-Sonoma Salad Spinner, Crate and Barrel Salad Dressing Mixer and Crate and Barrel Serving Tongs for recipe development and review purposes. All opinions are my own.

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