True Confessions: Bagged Salad

I have a confession to make. I've been buying pre-made bagged salads for the past month. It goes against everything I strive to achieve. It's cheap produce that's expensive simply because it's washed and put in a bagged "kit" for me. On sale, a bag costs about $3.50. For that much, couldn't I shred some fresh carrots, chop some romaine and red cabbage, throw in a handful of sugar snap peas, won ton strips, and ten dried cherries? Well, yes, probably. Dressing would be a problem (we all like the dressing in the Asian Supreme bag very much) but I'm sure I could work it out.

So why don't I go to the local farmstand and buy fresh and local? Why do I spend so much for salad that only has flavor because of the dressing?

Because of the convenience. Now, Deborah of Play with Food might argue with me about how convenient this food is. But I can honestly say that in the past three weeks, there's no way salad was going to be made by anyone unless it was super easy. Today I used the last of my bags--and with it made a promise to the local farmers that I'll be by this week.

Notice on my shopping list I *don't* have "Salad Bags"!

(If you do succumb to the lure of the bagged salad, forego the Salsa variety of the Fresh Express brand. We all thought it tasted quite odd--there was too much dressing, the tortilla strips seem almost meaty, and the dressing is too much like a thick thousand island sour cream.)