I love salad. We eat a lot of veggies because of our Yasukochi Famil Farms CSA box subscription, and I’m always looking for new ways to serve veggies and keep them fresh.
Jar salads have already had their heyday a few years ago, but they are an amazing meal prep idea. Many of us have Eating Healthy and Losing Weight are New Year’s Resolutions- Jar Salads are a great tool.
It’s quite popular to use wide Mouth quart Mason jars, but I’m a little clumsy, so I prefer Quart-sized deli containers. I also find that Quart-sized deli containers are a little more economical and can easily be recycled when they wear out. And they stack really well in the fridge.
Whichever option you choose, here are some tips for perfecting your salad creations.
Whether you use a quart-size Mason Jar or a quart-size deli container, start with 2 tablespoons of dressing and build your salad.
Bottom Layer: The base where wetter ingredients go. Putting the wetter ingredients together helps keep the more delicate ingredients like lettuce crunchy. Ingredients for the bottom sections include: Dressing, salsa/sauce, tomatoes, guacamole, avocadoes, strawberries, citrus, and grains (rice, quinoa, pasta, farro).
Middle Layer: Beans, bell peppers, corn, seeds/nuts, onions, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, hard cheeses, sprouts, pickled veggies, hardboiled eggs, tofu, and other protein sources such as chopped chicken breast. Shredded cabbage or coleslaw blend/ shreds can also go on this layer.
Top Layer: Bite-size lettuce or other greens.
These salads can be really filling, depending on which ingredients you choose. 3-5 salads a week is a great start. Jar salads like this tend to last 5-7 days in the fridge, stored upright.
Making Salad Dressing is so easy, and for so long I had no idea.
SeaWorld has three amazing offers for free admissions.
It’s that time of year when folks start writing up their New Year’s resolutions. I don’t plan on doing any for the coming year, just continuing to do what I’m doing now.
I’ve got 5 more days of my day job until winter break! I’m looking forward to hanging out with the kids, going to look at holiday lights, and maybe a quick jaunt up to Julian for some pie.
Hewes Family Fun 