Salad Shakers with fries

It's a universally known fact that kids don't like eating vegetables. My parents knew this and took me to McDonald's when I was 7 or 8. At the time, McDonald's had McSalad Shakers on the menu, which was basically salad in a plastic Slurpee cup that came with salad dressing, which you poured into the cup. Then you shook the cup around. It didn't do a very good job at distributing the dressing throughout the salad. Maybe that was why this product was discontinued a few years later.

I'll tell you something about my childhood- I used to be overweight until I was 12- and I loved going to McDonald's for only the French fries(OK, to be fair, I also had chicken Mcnuggets and the fried apple pie as well), especially the ones that came in Super Size. I was a picky eater too and of the three shaker flavors(garden salad, chef salad, and chicken Caesar salad), I only recall having the garden salad shaker.

Being the French fry fiend that I was, I had fries with my salad shakers and I dipped my fries in some French dressing that came with the salad. It was a compromise my parents and I made.

It wasn't until my teenage years that I actively sought out new foods to try, which is probably why I love grocery shopping every week. Except for the fact it is now more crowded now that one of the three supermarkets within a 1-mile radius is closing by Thanksgiving. There's a 4th one in the area, but it's kind of small- but not for long. This 4th supermarket will be moving to the soon-to-be closed supermarket.

OK, that was a mouthful, but I'm trying not to reveal which supermarkets are in my area since supermarkets are regional by nature.

Salad shakers do exist on the Internet today- but only in mason jars- I'm looking at you, Pinterest! I don't have mason jars and I also don't plan on buying 3 Slurpees from a 7-11 for this recipe. Slurpees are no good for you. I told my friend this in 9th grade- I said Slurpees were basically liquid sugar- which is true, but that didn't deter her from drinking the stuff.

I was considering putting the salads in coffee mugs, which I have a lot of in my house. My dad uses three coffee mugs a day(not for coffee but for tea, orange juice, or water). I don't use coffee mugs- I prefer to drink my water or orange juice in plastic cups. The problem with my coffee mugs is that they aren't see-through. The whole allure of the salad shaker is to see your finished product in its entirety!

As for plastic cups, they are see-through but they aren't very sturdy.

I'm a big stickler for not wasting food, which is why I harvested my chef salad ingredients from a chef salad kit I bought at the supermarket. I could've also harvested my chicken Caesar salad ingredients from a chicken Caesar salad kit, but they didn't have any at the supermarket.

Besides, buying grilled microwavable chicken is a good excuse to bake some French fries to accompany it. That is today's lunch.

You will need:

3 Slurpee cups, mason jars, or glass cups
Some fries of your choice to go along with the salads(I used zucchini fries, as they probably were about to be freezer burnt within the next couple of weeks, but you can use traditional French fries)

For the garden salad:

Lettuce
2-3 cherry tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
A dressing of your choice

1. Put lettuce in your container and fill it to the half-way point.
2. Add 2-3 cherry tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese in the middle of the container.
3. Top with more lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and cheese.
4. Pour the dressing of your choice(I used mango chipotle dressing, but you could use whatever dressing you like) if you plan on eating the salad immediately. If not, see note.
5. If you are using an Slurpee cup, put the cover on the cup and shake. If you're using a mason jar, put the lid on the jar and shake. If you're using a glass cup, cover the top with aluminum foil and shake.
6. Bon appetti!

For the chef salad:

Lettuce
1/2 inch slices of ham
1/2 inch slices of turkey
2-3 cherry tomatoes
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Ranch dressing

1. Put lettuce in your container and fill it to the half-way point.
2. Add 2-3 cherry tomatoes, meats, and shredded mozzarella cheese in the middle of the container.
3. Top with more lettuce, meats, cherry tomatoes, and cheese.
4. Pour ranch dressing into your container, if you plan on eating the salad immediately. If not, see note.
5. If you are using an Slurpee cup, put the cover on the cup and shake. If you're using a mason jar, put the lid on the jar and shake. If you're using a glass cup, cover the top with aluminum foil and shake.
6. Bon appetti!

For the Chicken Caesar Salad:

Lettuce
Cooked strips of grilled chicken
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Caesar dressing


1. Put lettuce in your container and fill it to the half-way point.
2. Add 2-3 cooked strips of grilled chicken and shredded mozzarella cheese in the middle of the container.
3. Top with more lettuce, chicken, and cheese.
4. Pour Caesar dressing into the container if you plan on eating it immediately. If not, see note.
5. If you are using an Slurpee cup, put the cover on the cup and shake. If you're using a mason jar, put the lid on the jar and shake. If you're using a glass cup, cover the top with aluminum foil and shake.
6. Bon appetti!

Note: If you are not planning to have the salad immediately, don't put any dressing in it and store it in the fridge.