Crunchy and Frugal
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (102216)
United States
June 7, 2024 8:48am CST
In our house we tend to eat a lot of salads. It always makes for a perfect side, and tends to even be just slightly cheaper than vegetables. We usually load them up with the traditional iceberg lettuce, and then add onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, cheese, bacon bits—and often times, croutons.
I like Ranch dressing traditionally, and my wife prefers French.
But also, being the frugal guy I am who likes to waste nothing, there are often some bits and crumbs left from potato chips, and they haven't lost their crunch. If we have some to use up, sometimes we switch to using those instead of croutons.
I know it probably sounds weird, but trust me, it is good, and it provides the added crunch and we use up something that might otherwise go to waste.
Unless I drink the bag, of course.
22 people like this
20 responses
@Beestring (15546)
• Hong Kong
7 Jun 24
I also love salads, especially in summer. French dressing for me too. Croutons are good in Caesar salads.
4 people like this
@MarieCoyle (45633)
•
8 Jun 24
I don't buy chips, because they are not something I eat anymore. I do eat tortilla chips and salsa sometimes, but that's it. We have a green salad nearly every day, I love a good crunchy salad. I must say I prefer romaine, because it's crunchier than iceberg.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (45633)
•
8 Jun 24
@porwest
Really good to use some crushed tortilla chips as a base, fix some taco meat and have the lettuce etc. and build your own taco salad. I love that in the summertime.
Honestly, romaine is not much different in price here most of the time. When it gets too high, I eat iceberg.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102216)
• United States
11 Jun 24
@MarieCoyle When we have "taco" salads, we typically use these forms we have that you put a flour tortilla into and bake it into a shaped taco bowl. Yummy stuff. But I could definitely still put some crushed tortilla chips in it and can't see that being a bad thing at all.
As for the romaine, maybe the next time I am in the store I will have to compare. Although I do think romaine yields less volume of actual edible parts, but I could be wrong.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (85126)
• United States
7 Jun 24
Although I've never thought to add potato chips to a salad I can see where they would add crunch. With summer coming we'll be eating more salads and I love a salad that is fully loaded with all sorts of good stuff. Blue Cheese is my favorite dressing for a salad.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (85126)
• United States
29 Jun
@porwest potato chips crumbs and fried onions sounds like something I would enjoy in my salad. The more the better
1 person likes this
@porwest (102216)
• United States
29 Jun
Every once in a while, we'll get some potato sticks and put that in a salad, so for us, the potato chip crumbs aren't really all that off the beaten path, I guess. On occasion, we even like to put French fried onions in a salad. It's all good eats to me.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (192981)
• United States
7 Jun 24
I love salads with a lot of stuff on them. Haven't had one in ages. Have a good weekend.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (192981)
• United States
12 Jun 24
@porwest Olives, chick peas, sunflower seeds, hard boiled egg, turkey or chicken, broccoli -- don't need any lettuce.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102216)
• United States
12 Jun 24
@LindaOHio I could see that. I'd probably still want some lettuce though.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (164421)
• United States
8 Jun 24
I do that with my chip remainders as well. Most recently I had them in soup instead. My friend Jane and her husband have been put on the KETO diet. She has given me a lot of soup that they cannot use. She says it is an expensive diet but she has lost thirteen pounds. So free soup with chip survivors makes a cheap meal for me.
2 people like this
@porwest (102216)
• United States
29 Jun
That KETO thing has been one that's really stuck around. I gotta have my carbs and just can't do it. Besides, I don't really need to lose any weight luckily. But I like the idea of using the chip bits in soup. Going to give that a go on the next soup round. Usually, we crush saltines in.
@marguicha (227698)
• Chile
7 Jun 24
I love to eat like a princess and be frugal at the same time. So leftovers turn into other dishes all the time. I always prepare my own dressings. Last year I bought a dressing (one of those temptations), found it no good and yesterday I checked the expiring date and will throw it away today. I´m thinking whether I should save the bottle though.
2 people like this
@allknowing (148514)
• India
8 Jun 24
Your salad looks like a full meal by itself
2 people like this
@eliza_godinez12 (5723)
• Philippines
8 Jun 24
That looks really healthy. Yummy !
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (86443)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jun 24
I would love to eat more salads but cannot trust what is in those bags of salad plus for me there is too little salad and too expensive, Last time I got cucumbers and they were awful, Then I read online that there were cucumbers recalled in Florida due to salmonella so glad that did not happen to me, I just have to stay away from salads,
2 people like this
@1creekgirl (43778)
• United States
7 Jun 24
That's a great idea...I'll try to remember that.
2 people like this
@popciclecold (40008)
• United States
8 Jun 24
We eat a lot when the weather is hot.
1 person likes this
.
@JESSY3236 (20677)
• United States
18 Jun 24
I have started eating salads. I also would do that too. My mother likes Ranch. I sorta like it.
1 person likes this
@RevivedWarrior (3718)
• India
7 Jun 24
I like salads and we have the exact same taste when it comes to adding crunchy chips. Being Frugal is perhaps not true. We are doing a full utilization of our resources and ensuring whatever we have is utilized in the best possible way. That's the way, we should look at all the things we have including food. Have a wonderful time!
