Greek Salad Pita

 

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How often do you pack lunch for yourself? That’s a question I have been mulling a lot lately. For me, the answer is ‘not often.’ In fact, it might just dwell in the realm of ‘almost never.’

I realize how silly it is that I don’t. But it always seems to fall to priority ‘z’.

In the mornings, I make lunches for my two kids. Will, who turns 10 this week, is always happy with leftovers packed in a thermos. But he’s very easy going and will happily take a sandwich, salad or whatever else I feel like packing. Paige, who is 7, likes variety — sandwiches some days, cold pizza others. Add in a yogurt, fruit or two and one other snack item for the day, and they are ready to tackle whatever camp or school throws their way.

But me? I seldom make the time to assemble lunch for myself. Heck, I rarely even stop long enough to eat breakfast at home. Between making sure that all the teeth are brushed, shoes tied and bags packed — as well as getting myself ready — there just never seems to be enough time to pull something together for me.

And, of course, it’s so easy to fall into the habit of eating out for lunches — particularly when lunch options are plentiful and nearby. But this costly choice can get away from you. That’s why it’s important to have tasty recipes that can be made ahead of time and packed for lunches in your repertoire — like this Greek Salad Pita.

 

This Greek salad has a strong lemon flavor, which I love, and it’s off set with the coolness of the cucumbers, the sweetness of the red bell peppers and the brininess of the feta and kalamata olives. All of that is spooned into pita bread, ready to be devoured.

Greek Salad Pita

The best part? It takes less than 10 minutes to make a batch of this. Take a little time out of your weekend to make this, and you can have lunch ready to go.

To package this for work, pack the salad in portioned containers when you make it. Then, just pack a container and a pita into your lunch bag, and zip out the door. Easy peasy — even I can fit that into my busy mornings.

Have leftover grilled or roasted chicken? That makes a great addition to this sandwich.

Have tips, tricks or advice for me on how to make packing my lunch a priority? I’d love to hear them! Drop me a line at scaron@bangordailynews.com.

Greek Salad Pita
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 ear corn, steamed, kernels removed and cob discarded
  • ½ cup quartered kalamata olives
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4-6 pitas, halved
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir well. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then taste and season, as desired.
  2. Spoon into pita bread halves to serve.

 

Sarah Walker Caron

About Sarah Walker Caron

Sarah Walker Caron is editor of Bangor Metro magazine and senior features editor for the Bangor Daily News. She is the author of "The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook," (Sept. 2018, Rockridge Press) and the co-author of "Grains as Mains: Modern Recipes Using Ancient Grains" (March 2015, DK). Her recipes have appeared in the BDN, Betty Crocker publications, Glamour.com and more. She also writes about food at www.sarahscucinabella.com.