Cooking on the Run (Literally): Roulette Salad

Sarah E. Hoffman February 4, 2013 3

Home sweet home

The midday meal ensures continued energy for movement throughout the afternoon. Therefore it is important that lunch be highly nutritious and light — to avoid afternoon cramps while suddenly running from a zombie attack. One could hope to stumble across a fully-stocked grocery store with no zombies or aggressive humans inside but the more sensible plan to ensure an adequate lunch is to plan ahead.

Understandably, it seems impossible or perhaps even ludicrous to expect individuals on the run during the zombie or mutant uprising to prepare lunch the night before. Nights on the run are consumed with the preparation of the evening meal and the continued defence of the camp from the swarming hordes. However, the importance of a nutritious lunch cannot be overstated as eating lunch may ensure your continued survival.

It is easy to prepare the basics of the next day’s hearty Roulette Salad in the relative safety of your nightly camp by combining quick cooking grains or pasta with a selection of vegetables and additions.

 Grains/Pasta: Choose one grain/pasta for the basis of your salad.

Quick-cooking grains such as couscous or Bulgur wheat are recommended because they are cooked by covering the grains with hot water. Quinoa is recommended for its quick cooking time in boiling water and high nutritional value. Orzo pasta also cooks quickly in boiling water.

 Vegetables/Other Additions: Combine the chosen grain with a selection of vegetables and additions.

The majority of supper leftovers can be repurposed as excellent salad accoutrements. A left-over baked potato can be cubed and combined with a dill-based sauce to create a deconstructed potato salad. Leftover bread can be cubed and toasted in a dry pan to create croutons. The peels from the world’s last citrus fruits available can be thinly sliced (after removing the white, bitter pith) and used for a light garnish or as part of an oil and vinegar dressing.

If, famished from a particularly hard day of zombie killing, you eat all your pre-prepared supper, it is easy to roast or cook extra vegetables with the intent of combining them in the next day’s lunch. A tasty combination is orzo combined with roasted red onions, tomatoes, and lemon zest combined with a roasted garlic and oil dressing.

After a hard day of fighting and constant forward motion, the relative safety of your nightly camp along with a hot meal feels like a five-star restaurant. Healthy, nutritious, and safe meals are vital to your continued survival, so remember to pack your lunch!

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  • arielletje

    This series is like my favourite thing right now. All my zombie apocalypse planning tends to end at “which stores would I immediately loot” and involves no real day-to-day considerations; this is definitely pertinent.

    • Sarah

      Awesome! :) It’s important to have skills that will let you survive past the initial onslaught of zombies!