If you’ve been around Costco long enough, you know they have extra big packaging for most items. It’s part of their schtick and how they keep costs down. Many times Costco corporate will demand that suppliers provide unique flavors, or odd sizes (Like LaCroix water, who drinks those flavors?). A good example is the Roomba J8+ robot vacuum. It’s essentially the same exact thing as the J7+ you can buy from Amazon or directly from iRobot, but because they are Costco, they demanded their model number, so voila, you have a J8+.
Ok, what does this have to do with Simply Fresh Salads? Not much, except for the packaging. I am not sure where else you can find a four-pack of Simply Fresh Salads except at Costco.
What do you get in the box?
Unfortunately, what is the case with a lot of Costco products, is that they come with a lot of packaging. By that I mean a lot of plastic containers you need to get rid of. On the back of the box, it clearly states that these containers contain two recycled water bottles worth of plastic. This is great but still, now it’s our turn to get rid of it and it’s unlikely that, like me, cannot recycle plastic. It just ends up in the dump. Let me explain. There is a cardboard box thing that surrounds the four salads, which can be recycled. But for the individual salads, there are two plastic trays, one to eat the salad, one to hold the meat, corn and cheese. There is a thin film that goes over the top of it all. There is a pouch for the tortilla strips, a cup for the dressing and a fork. It’s a lot of plastic.
But what about the food? Here is what you get with every salad:
- Grilled seasoned chicken
- Cheddar and Jack cheese
- Roasted Corn and Red bell pepper
- Tortilla Strips
- Romaine lettuce
- Sun Dried Tomato and Chipotle salad dressing
Cost
At $14.69 for four salads, it may seem a little steep to buy them but as with anything from Costco, you save money in the long run. $14.69 divided by four equals $3.67 per salad which is actually a great deal considering you get a full salad that might cost $5 or $6 at a grab-and-go kiosk somewhere at work. I looked up the price online from other stores and Walmart was selling them at $3.98 apiece. So, but others were selling them for $5 or more individually.
How Long Does The Simply Fresh Santa Fe Salad Last?
At first, I was worried, could I eat these salads in the week or so the manufacturer listed as the Sell By date, but at the end of the week, I had eaten all four and would gladly buy more again next time I am at Costco. There were no rotten lettuce leaves and the corn and other things that might go bad more quickly than the chicken or cheese were exactly the same from the day I bought them to the day I ate the last one.
Nutrition
The odd thing about this salad is the high sodium content. 710 mg of Sodium per serving which is about a 1/3 of the daily recommended allowance of Sodium. For a salad?!?!?! There are also 15g of fat, most of which must be from the salad dressing. This isn’t too out of line for a salad. The only downside for me was this salad only had 270 calories, which for me is an appetizer. I would need two of these for a real meal. Luckily I had bought a Costco Rotisserie chicken at the same time so I just added more chicken (not pictured below).
Final Verdict
If I were to give this salad a rating based on the ease of taking it to work and eat it for lunch, it would be 9 out of 10 stars (minus one because you have to throw away all that plastic somewhere). I actually like this salad. The dressing had a nice amount of heat and it was just the right amount of salad dressing to cover most of the salad. The chicken was tender and flavorful. I really like the tortilla strips. They add a nice crunch element. The corn and red pepper also added a 3rd dimension to this salad, fleshing it out so to speak. The romaine was solid and crispy. The dressing had some heat but was so flavorful with the chipotles and the sun-dried tomatoes. It really packed a flavorful punch.
All in all, I really like it except for two things. The salad is small at 270 calories and I needed something else to make it a meal. Then all the plastic packaging.
Based on all that I am going to give it 8 out of 10 stars!
INGREDIENTS:
ROMAINE LETTUCE, SEASONED CHICKEN RAISED WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS (CHICKEN (BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST WITH RIB MEAT, WATER, POTATO STARCH, VINEGAR, SALT], SOYBEAN OIL SPICES, CHIPOTLE CHILI PEPPER, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, SEA SALT, DEHYDRATED ONION), SUN-DRIED TOMATO CHIPOTLE DRESSING (SALSA [TOMATOES, ONIONS, CHILIES, GARLIC, SALT, CILANTRO, CITRIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM], VEGETABLE OIL [SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA OIL), WATER, SUGAR, LOWFAT BUTTERMILK [CULTURED LOWFAT MILK, CREAM, SALT), TOMATO PASTE, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES, CHIPOTLE PEPPER SAUCE [RED JALAPENO PEPPERS, VINEGAR, SUGAR, SALT, ONIONS], RED WINE VINEGAR, EGG YOLK, GARLIC, NATURAL FLAVORS, SALT, CILANTRO, SPICES [MUSTARD], ONION POWDER, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, CITRIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM), ROASTED CORN & RED BELL PEPPER, CHEDDAR CHEESE & MONTEREY JACK CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATTO [COLOR], ANTI-CAKING (POWDERED POTATO STARCH AND CORN STARCH, NATAMYCIN (NATURAL MOLD INHIBITOR))), TORTILLA STRIPS (WHITE CORN, YELLOW CORN, BLUE CORN, SUNFLOWER OR CORN OIL, RED BEET POWDER, SEA SALT, WATER, TRACE OF LIME). CONTAINS: MILK. EGG