The #1 Ingredient to Keep In Your Freezer for Making Salads

I promise, it's not as weird as it sounds.

Reviewed by Dietitian Karen Ansel, M.S., RDNReviewed by Dietitian Karen Ansel, M.S., RDN

On the days I go into the office, I usually pack a salad for lunch. It’s an easy way to get a wide variety of veggies (and sometimes fruit) into my midday meal, and it’s also my favorite way to repurpose leftovers and minimize food waste. Plus eating salad is good for you—and since I’m working on making healthier choices to help lower my cholesterol before I go in for my annual physical later this year, I’m all in.

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To avoid salad-bowl boredom, I vary the ingredients I put in my salads. I switch between spinach and salad greens as the base. If we have tacos or burritos for dinner, I’ll use any leftovers to make a taco salad for lunch the next day. I have no problem diverting that one last spoonful of roasted veggies from the compost bin to my salad bowl, or toasting and tearing up that last staling hunk of bread to make “croutons.”

I try to vary the protein source in my salad as well. As a woman who found herself in menopause in her 40s, I’ve been focusing on getting more protein. This nutrient is key to keeping our muscles strong, especially as we age. So many proteins work well in a salad—from crumbled feta and baked tofu to bits of pepperoni and leftover roast chicken. But one of my go-tos is always in my freezer.

Your freezer? you might be asking yourself. Indeed! Frozen peas are absolutely a freezer staple at my house. With a respectable 4.5 grams protein per half-cup serving, they are my secret weapon when I want to add protein to a dish—particularly salads.

Related: The 6 Best Frozen Vegetables You Should Be Eating for Weight Loss, According to Dietitians

I know I’m not alone. Belly up to just about any salad bar and you’re bound to find them. In fact, my love affair with peas in salad started in my high school cafeteria, where they were a reliably tasty option. And let’s be real—unless you have just-picked peas from your garden or a local farm, fresh peas aren’t always great. They go from perfectly sweet to starchy pretty fast. But frozen peas are always delicious (even Bobby Flay agrees) and can be healthier than fresh peas, since produce is often frozen within 24 hours of being picked.

Of course, I defrost frozen peas before they go into my salad. If I’m going to the office, I’ll pack them in a separate container and they’ll be thawed by lunchtime. But a handful in a colander thaws in no time under hot water if I’m making a salad to eat right away at home. They add just the right amount of sweetness to bitter greens; plus, they're a soft contrast to the crunchy vegetables I usually focus on when making salads.

Peas obviously shine beyond salads too. If I’m throwing together a simple dinner of spaghetti with marinara sauce, I’ll add a handful to the pot of pasta during the last minute of cooking before draining it for a boost of protein. One of my family’s favorite cold-weather dinners—Chickpea & Potato Curry—uses ingredients I typically have on hand, including frozen peas. And peas can be transformed into tasty fritters too!

So, next time you are tossing together your salad, open up your freezer and break out a bag of peas! And while you’re there, take a look around … you never know what other tasty salad ingredients you might find lurking in there besides that bag of frozen peas.

Read the original article on Eating Well.