The glorious mason jar salad, or salad in a jar. I have been thinking about how to make working lunches easier to prepare while keeping them healthy. I knew mason jar salads were a thing but I hadn’t taken any initiative to start using them. Firstly, I will need some jars that are the same size. I have old jars from other food products, but they’re all different sizes and won’t be suitable for meal prepping in advance!
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Because there will be 3 of us taking lunch, I’m going to start of with 6 jars – that’s 2 days a week for 3 people. Just until I know whether mason jar salads are good for us!
The Formula
First layer: Dressing. The idea is you keep the leafy greens as far away from the dressing as possible to extend the shelf life, and pack all the ingredients down to create a seal between the 2.
Click here for 10 quick salad dressing recipes (courtesy of BBC Good Food)
Second layer: Hard, sturdy veg. Anything that will hold up well to being marinated in a salad dressing, really.
- Cucumber
- Onion
- Tomato
- Brocolli
- Radishes
- Peppers
- Sturdy beans
- Carrot
- Cabbage
Third layer: Protein.
- Bacon
- Chicken
- Egg
- Prawns
- Nuts
- Cheese
- Tofu
Fourth Layer: Leafy greens. Anything that would go soggy if in contact with the dressing for a prolonged period of time.
- Rocket
- Romaine
- Kale
- Spinach
- Cress
Tips
Sprinkle seeds on top just before sealing for an extra nutritional boost.
Add any soft veg (avocado, cooked veg) or grains (rice, pasta, couscous) somewhere between the harder veg at the bottom and the leafy greens… doesn’t really matter where!
Creamy dressings are packed with calories, so for healthier salads stick to oil based dressings.
Thoroughly dry the greens before packing them into the jar – a salad spinner will do the trick.
Don’t leave the layers loose, pack them so that they won’t move around in transit. The last thing you want is soggy leaves by the time lunch time comes around!
Add some fresh herbs or chilli under the leafy greens for a bit of a kick.
I will report back once I’ve given this a shot. I’m hoping I can just chuck all my favourite ingredients into a jar (in their appropriate layers) and it will be delicious. Let me know how you like your mason jar salads!
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