Simple Jar Salads
Video below on how to throw together these salads together
I love salads, but rarely make them, due to the time it usually takes to get them all together. The solution? Jar salads. These can be made with virtually any salad recipe, made ahead of time (up to 5 days prior to when you want to eat), in a jar or cylinder container/tupperware, and stored in your fridge. The luxury of these is that you can essentially make five salads on a Sunday, have them in your fridge, and then each day, grab one for lunch. Or for me, even if I only make one, that’s a win! Already ready to go, no hassle, and no time commitment during the week days!
The approach to jar salads is to start with your salad dressing and then add items that are ok, or even better, soaked in dressing, followed by ingredients that are ok to get a little dressing on them, then those you don't want any dressing to soak into, always topping with your leafy greens. So generally, you would follow these as your steps:
1. Salad dressing (first thing you put in so it’s at the bottom of the jar)
2. Ingredients that are ok to, or will only get better with soaking in dressing (tomatoes, onions, etc.)
3. Ingredients that shouldn’t be soaking in dressing, but can be a little wet (beans, corn, etc.)
4. Ingredients that should be dry (cheese, grains, hard-boiled eggs, etc.)
5. Leafy greens (last thing you put in so it’s at the top of the jar)
Here are a few delicious and easy salads to consider throwing together in you jar:
Caprese Salad:
1. Balsamic vinaigrette
2. Tomatoes
3. Mozzarella cheese
4. Greens (I used spinach leaves)
Chickpea Greek salad
1. Dressing (a vinaigrette of some kind works great for this)
2. Red onion
3. Tomatoes
4. Black olives
5. Cucumber
6. Bell peppers
7. Chickpeas
8. Feta cheese
9. Greens of your choice
Again, nearly any salad recipe will work for this, just be sure to follow the layering process as noted. And when ready to eat you have two options; you can either shake up in the jar/cylinder container the salad is made in, and eat from there, or you can pour into a bowl or onto a plate, and the pouring process will naturally mix the salad. And best of all, instead of waking up and wondering what you are going to make for lunch, the only food decision you will have to make is WHICH salad am I TAKING for lunch? Enjoy!