Is It Worth It? Prepared vs. Head Lettuce

Prepared lettuce, spinach, and kale mixes are now a mainstay of American supermarkets.  From plain, one flavor varieties to mixes complete with toppings and dressings, our convenience culture relies on these "chopped and ready to go" mixes to make their salads and smoothies.  

As I grabbed spinach, romaine lettuce and swiss chard heads at the market recently, I got to thinking about the choosing of heads of produce versus the prepared varieties.  While my  focus will be on the cost in this article, the argument for the safety and health of the products will be touched on later.

I purchased organic heads of romaine lettuce, swiss chard, and spinach.  The total I spent was $7.00 for all three.  By comparison, the small prepared container of organic spinach (in a plastic container no less) was $2.50, only slightly more than my spinach.  Swiss chard does not even come individually chopped and prepared.  It might be a small part of Spring salad mixes.  But I count my one head as a win, considering one leaf has more nutritional value than an entire head of iceberg lettuce.  Finally, the organic romaine lettuce was $2.29 per head as well.  A bag of romaine lettuce (NOT organic) that I would say was maybe half a head of the romaine that I bought was nearly $3.00.  

Penny for penny, it's obvious that even when buying organic, buying heads of lettuces does save you money. Plus, it is so pretty!  Call me crazy, but this photograph I took is so glorious in it's green hues and the purple veins going through the leaves. 

Some of you may argue that you are willing to pay that little bit more for the convenience of prepared salad mixes.  But at what price?  Prepared salads usually have indecipherable additives and preservatives.  I have also found that they tend to spoil much faster than heads of lettuce.  I am definitely not the person you want to argue with when it comes to convenience foods, frozen foods, and other heavily processed foods that are common in conventional supermarkets today in America.  

Additionally, just how long does it take to chop up lettuce for a salad?  2 minutes?  I urge you to set a good example for your family by making as much food as you can from scratch.  And yes, preparing a salad is "cooking"!  

Finally, in my experience, you also get more food when you buy organic produce.  What do I mean by this?  The head of romaine lettuce I bought, for example, was green from it's tips to the roots.  The leaves were tall and huge!  With conventional lettuce heads, you often get that whitening near the base; you end up cutting off a healthy 3 inches off the bottom of the lettuce because it's bitter and you wouldn't want to eat the white parts.  The fact that I will use the entire head of lettuce is comforting and efficient.  

So, I challenge you.  If you are a "bagged lettuce" buyer, get out of your comfort zone!  Buy a fresh head of a lettuce you have never tried.  Buy some kale or Swiss chard and add it to your salad or a smoothie.  Put some value back into the food that you buy and serve your family.

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