Hello and welcome to another iteration of “how to Tuesdays”! Where I walk you through some steps for how to achieve something awesome in the kitchen! Today, we are all about those Mason Jar salads! Now, I know what you’re thinking, “ugh….Mason Jar Salads are soooooo 2015 Pinterest” — Well while I cant deny that there are some great ideas for Mason-Jar salads on Pinterest, I would argue that they are definitely not out of style! {or maybe I’m just behind the times like I normally am….oh well}.
Regardless of the trending style of these types of salads, you’ve got to admit, they are super easy to prep, stay fresh all week long, and give you an excuse to eat some veggies during our already crazy schedules. I mean, I’ll take that! So I have a few “rules” of Mason-Jar salad making to share with you, to help YOU build your perfect lunch-time, any-time salad!
The Rules:
Start with ingredients you like.
Nothing is worse than forcing yourself to eat a salad that doesn’t even appeal to you! Eating {in my opinion} should always be a positive experience, so get out veggies that you like to eat! There are no rules for what can go into a salad. Who cares if you put the same thing in every salad either, I mean, you’re the one eating it! But also try to think outside your comfort zone when it comes to these salads. Maybe give some different nuts a try, a new salad dressing or mix up the type of lettuce you use. Mixing and matching will allow you to build that perfect salad.
Choose the right jar.
Now, you may be thinking that all Mason Jars are built the same, but you would be wrong my friend. My favorite mason jar for a Mason Jar salad is a wide-mouthed 2 Cup (or Pint) Jar. The wide mouth allows for easy ingredient additions as well as easy turn out of ingredients when you’re ready to eat your salad. You can find the one’s I used here.
Build it right.
Now that you’ve got your ingredients and your jar, it’s time to put it all together! There may not be any rules to what you put in your mason jar salad — I do have a few recommendations for how to assemble your salad.
Start with the dressing. Regardless of what kind of dressing you use, you want it to be at the bottom of the jar. This allows it to remain separate from the lettuces up top to keep them from getting soggy over time in the fridge. You want these salads to last, so place your dressing in the jar first.
Next, add your “hard” ingredients — carrots, onions, radishes, etc on top of the dressing. For this layer, you basically want ingredients that can sit in the dressing without becoming soggy. This will make the perfect layer between the dressing and the rest of the jar. Follow those with “softer ingredients” {proteins, cucumbers, seeds/nuts, dried fruit, etc} and top that with any cheeses {Feta, blue cheese, goat cheese, etc}. Finally, top with your favorite lettuces.
Another key tip is to “pack” your mason jars fairly full with ingredients. This means less air in the jar which in turn means that your salads will last longer.
Eat it right.
So you’ve assembled your salads and stored them in the fridge and now it’s time to but one out and eat it! You can eat the salad out of the jar, but I prefer to “turn out'” my salads on to a plate or bowl. That way it’s like an insta-salad! Dressing on top and lettuce on the bottom. Super easy!
So with that my friends, you too can master the mason-jar salad craze and have a healthy lunch that will be the envy of your co-workers.
See ya next time!
XO,
Danielle
Mason Jar Salads
Clean eating made easy with these customizable Mason Jar Salads!
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp salad dressing
- 1 Cup Carrots Shredded
- 1 Cup cucumbers chopped
- 1/2 Cup red onion
- 1/3 Cup dried fruit like cranberries
- 1/3 Cup nuts/seeds
- 1/3 Cup Cheese crumbles
- 6 Cups Lettuces
Instructions
- Begin with 4 clean wide-mouth mason jars. Add 2 tbsp salad dressing to the bottom of each jar.
- Add 1/4 of the carrots & onions on top of the dressing in each jar. Follow with 1/4 of each: cucumbers, dried fruit, nuts and seeds and cheese crumbles.
- Top with 1/4 of the lettuce or more as needed. You may have to press the lettuce in to the jar to make it fit.
- Top tightly with the lid and refridgerate for up to 5 days.
- To eat: Turn out on to a plate and enjoy!
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