The most important ingredient for your freezer when preparing salad

On days when I go to the office, I usually pack a salad for lunch. It’s an easy way to incorporate a wide variety of vegetables (and sometimes fruit) into my lunch. It’s also my favorite way to use up leftovers and minimize food waste. Plus, eating salad is healthy—and since I’m working on making healthier choices to lower my cholesterol before I go for my annual physical later this year, I’m all in.

To avoid boredom in the salad bowl, I vary the ingredients in my salads. I use spinach and lettuce as a base, alternating between them. If I have tacos or burritos for dinner, I make a taco salad out of the leftovers for lunch the next day. I have no problem adding the last spoonful of roasted vegetables from the compost bin to my salad bowl, or toasting and tearing up the last stale piece of bread to make “croutons.”

I also try to vary the protein source in my salad. As a woman who entered menopause in her 40s, I’ve focused on eating more protein. This nutrient is key to keeping our muscles strong, especially as we age. So many proteins work well in a salad—from crumbled feta and baked tofu to pepperoni chunks and leftover roasted chicken. But one of my favorite sources is always in my freezer.

Your freezer? You may be wondering. Indeed! Frozen peas are an absolute staple in my house. With a respectable 4.5 grams of protein per half cupThey are my secret weapon when I want to add protein to a dish – especially salads.

I know I’m not alone. Walk to almost any salad bar and you’re bound to find them. In fact, my love affair with peas in salad began in my high school cafeteria, where they were a reliably delicious option. And let’s face it—unless you have freshly harvested peas from your garden or a local farm, fresh peas aren’t always that great. They go from perfectly sweet to starchy pretty quickly. But frozen peas are always delicious (even Bobby Flay agrees) and can be healthier than fresh peas, since the produce is often frozen within 24 hours of being harvested.

Of course, I thaw frozen peas before adding them to my salad. When I go to the office, I put them in a separate container and they’re thawed by lunch. But a handful in a colander thaws in a jiffy under hot water when I’m making a salad that I want to eat right away at home. They add just the right amount of sweetness to bitter greens; plus, they’re a gentle contrast to the crunchy vegetables I usually focus on when making salads.

Peas are also great in salads, of course. When I’m putting together a simple dinner of spaghetti and marinara sauce, I add a handful to the pot of pasta in the last minute of cooking before draining to boost the protein content. One of my family’s favorite cold-weather dishes—chickpea and potato curry—uses ingredients I usually have on hand, including frozen peas. And peas make delicious fritters, too!

So next time you’re putting together your salad, open your freezer and pull out a bag of peas! And while you’re at it, look around… you never know what other delicious salad ingredients you might find in there besides that bag of frozen peas.