Part of the Farm Boy fresh- market experience is our hot and salad bars. Located at almost all of our store locations, they’re full of wholesome items prepared with care by our Chef team. At our Hot Bar, you’ll find classic dishes like macaroni & cheese, chicken tenders, and meatballs, as well as international delights like butter chicken and teriyaki chow mein. Every month, we also offer a menu featuring exclusive seasonal items made fresh by us! At our Salad Bar, you can load up on freshly prepared salads or build your own salad from a variety of crisp, colourful ingredients. For an easy, homestyle lunch or for items that can become a quick dinner later, our Hot Bar and Salad Bar are the answer. But with so many options, where do you begin?
Below is our handy how-to guide that’ll help you hack our Hot Bar and Salad Bar for maximum tasty results. Whether you’re grabbing lunch on the go or sticking around to enjoy a meal in our café with free wi-fi, our list of hacks is guaranteed to help. Learn more about our Hot Bar and Salad Bar here.
Hack #1: Load up on greens.
Building a salad? Go for the greens! Leafy greens and veggies are chock full of nutrition, and loading your salad base with a heavy dose of greens doesn’t add much in terms of weight, giving you more bang for your buck. We recommend baby spinach, spring mix, or our Harvest Kale. Think of these greens as your blank canvas for creating a delicious fresh salad.
Hack #2: Level up your leftovers.
We know how it is: it’s lunchtime, and you’re starving, so you grab our largest size container to load up. Sometimes, your eyes can be bigger than your stomach. Rather than let any of that delicious, fresh food go to waste, bring it home! Leftovers can help bulk up a low-maintenance dinner or be repurposed for a yummy meal the next day. There’s no need to toss any of those delicious, wholesome foods when they can be repurposed into something else or reused the next day.
Hack #3: Buy the protein you need.
Every meal needs a star. For those days when you have the odds and ends in the back of your fridge and need something to tie it all together, visit our Hot Bar and Salad Bar! Picking up a grilled chicken breast is an easy way to add protein while still using what you already have. Transform your next dish into something delicious using freshly prepared proteins (including vegetarian options) from our Chef’s Market. Talk about major ease and maximum convenience!
Hack #4: Try something new.
You don’t know a new favourite until you’ve tried it! Unsure about testing a new dish? Opt for just a small spoonful rather than a massive scoop. If you’re not a fan, it’s not a big deal. Or maybe you’ll try our Chicken Dumplings or Vegan Butter Chickpeas and decide you simply can’t live without them! Now, you have a new reason to visit us again! Our Hot Bar and Salad Bar have plenty of options for everyone to find something they’ll love. Always prepared with wholesome ingredients by our Chefs, they’re bursting with flavour. Discover a delicious array of vegetarian options, fresh salads, greens and veggies, and so much more! Consider your next trip to our Chef’s Market an opportunity to create a smorgasbord!
Hack #5: Shop smarter, not harder.
Our Hot Bar is loaded with items that may not always be in your culinary wheelhouse. Stop by to pick up an item that’ll complete the rest of your meal. For example, making pasta is as easy as boiling water, but meatballs may be too time-consuming. Instead, grab a few already made from our Hot Bar to upgrade your dinner. Or, if you’re a few ingredients shy of making your own meal, stop by our Salad Bar to load up on the small amounts of items you’re missing! (Maybe you only need a teaspoon or two of sunflower seeds, not a whole container!)
Hack #6: The value of convenience.
Not many of us have the time, money, or desire to grab a whole bunch of veggies, chop them up, and parcel them out throughout the week, which can lead to unused produce rotting in the back of our fridge. If a certain dish on our Hot Bar or Salad Bar would be too much work for you to prepare yourself, consider the value of picking it up from us, already made and ready to enjoy. This helps reduce food waste and keeps your belly full of nutritious, delicious foods that won’t go to waste.
Salad Bar Recipe Suggestions
Don’t know where to begin when you visit our Salad Bar? We have a few recipes to help you out! Please note: The availability of certain ingredients may depend on your store location as well as seasonality.
Berries & Greens Salad
Colourful and flavourful, this recipe using ingredients from our Salad Bar is also loaded with nutrition! Get fibre and iron from the mixed greens and spinach and a hearty dose of vitamins from the mixed berries. Looking for more protein? Add a hard-boiled egg! Drizzle it with our Farm Boy™ Apple Cider Vinaigrette for a delicious vegetarian salad option.
Power Bowl
Travel between our fresh Salad Bar and our Hot Bar to make this protein-packed creation! Perfect for a filling lunch or easy dinner, this recipe is loaded with vitamins, fibre, and protein. Choosing wholesome items like these—and skipping the time spent roasting, grilling, and boiling—really shows the value of convenience.
Mediterranean Mezze
Combine our chef-prepped pasta salads with other salad ingredients to create one super salad! Our ready-made Mediterranean Pasta Salad is full of flavourful items like red and green peppers, feta cheese, olives, and sundried tomatoes, so the extras are minimal. We added grilled chicken for protein and baby spinach for extra fibre and iron—plus, greens and veggies help fill you up! Finished with some carrots for colour and crunch, along with a drizzle of Farm Boy™ Balsamic Vinaigrette, and you have one tasty dish!
