Also known as, why didn't I think of this before?

Some of you may know that I am an extremely frugal in an extremely odd way. I am not averse to the spending of money; I am averse to the spending of TOO MUCH money on any one particular item. I will not ever buy a shirt for $60. But I will buy ten shirts at $6 each. That's just the way I am.

I am the same way with grocery shopping. Aside from a few staples, I don't ever buy food that isn't "on sale." In fact, once when I was a little kid, I asked my mom at the store if we could buy a box of cereal (I forget which kind). She said no, we couldn't, because it was not on sale. My little seven-year-old brain processed this and I asked "So, if it's not on sale, we can't buy it?"
She said yes, and of course my brain made this absolutely logical connection: if something is not on sale, no one is permitted to buy it. The store just puts it out on the shelf but you CANNOT purchase it and take it home. No one can!

Although I later found out that this was my money-saving mother talking and not the rule of the store, I still have that conviction in me. So certain things I never buy unless they are on sale. One such thing: salad in a bag.

I love salad in a bag, mostly because it is so convenient and also because my least favorite thing to do in the kitchen is to wash greens. Seriously, I would rather pick the fat off a piece of raw meat or skim foam off the top of soup. I HATE washing greens. But salad in a bag is expensive, and a lettuce head is cheap. Carrots are cheap. Celery and cucumbers are cheap. So until very recently (as in, last night) I settled for washing leaves and peeling and chopping every time I wanted a salad.

But no longer! NO MORE. Because I have learned to make my own salad in a bag.

Last night as I was washing lettuce for our salad, I had a moment. An epiphany. What if I washed a BUNCH of lettuce, and chopped and peeled a BUNCH of celery? What if I put the excess into a gallon size zip bag? What if...what if...I made salad in a bag!?

Well, I did. And I had salad at lunch and dinner today. And I didn't have to wash a single leaf or peel a single veggie. And it was freaking awesome. Especially with the honey mustard dressing I made and saved in a little plastic container.

Open bag. Take out handful of veggies. Shake dressing and pour. Eat.

Easiest salad I ever made. And I didn't even have to wait for it to go on sale!