"Salad In A Bag"

A frequent and popular dinner of mine is the easy, healthy, and delicious salads by Fresh Express. It's a kit pretty much...A bag full of fresh lettuce along with a packet containing all of the necessary condiments and ingredients to make the perfect salad. They cater to all tastes, with eight different types of salads. There is the Asian Supreme, the B.L.T Caesar, Original Caesar, Caesar Lite, Caesar Supreme, the Mediterranean Supreme, Pacifica Veggie Supreme, and Salsa Ensalada Supreme. The Salsa Ensalada Supreme is my personal favorite, in fact i had it for dinner this very evening, but I have tried just about each one and have yet to be left unsatisfied. 

I was introduced to these efficient salads when I was probably 14 years old and living with my family. Night after night my mother would make these elaborate dinners with different dishes of pasta, meat or fish, vegetables, and possibly some type of soup. Of course she was not about to forget the salad course but after slaving away with the main and side dishes, she turned to these salad kits to quickly put together a tasty salad that the whole family would enjoy. Conveniently, there was a salad to compliment each of her themed dinners. The Salsa Ensalada Supreme would go with taco nights, Original Caesar with pasta and steak, Pacifica Veggie Supreme with her soups, and the Mediterranean Supreme with rice and chicken. 

As a society, we are constantly searching for shortcuts. Maneuvers that make our lives easier and detours that make the meticulous tasks of life go a little faster. Therefore having strolling through the grocery store and grabbing just one bag packed with lettuce, dressing, and the appropriate toppings makes preparing meals a whole lot easier and faster. You don't have to search the aisles for the croutons, a bottle of dressing, lettuce, and one's desired veggies and other toppings.

While convenient, these salads in a bag leave me with the lingering feeling that we as Americans are lazy. We all have busy days packed with activities, school, jobs, friendships, relationships, hobbies, and so on but where will the shortcuts end? Survey the grocery store shelves, there is instant something in every aisle...instant rice, instant soup, instant vegetables, microwavable meals stock an entire two and a half aisles in Vons. Convenient and I can't deny that my freezer is supplied with instant rice, instant oatmeal, and instant vegetables but I surely don't plan on living off my microwave forever.