Mason Jar Salads?

sunnyazgirl

I want to try some mason jar salads to bring to work. t amazes me that people can make them up seven days in advance and have them stay good for a week! Have any of tried them and what do you put in them? Do they really last that long? I want some that are low carb and high protein to use as a main dish and keep me going. I see a lot of recipes online, but a lot have pasta and other higher carb items. I am thinking of chicken, eggs, cheese as my proteins, but would love some yummy recipe ideas for variety.

annalisbeth74

I totally forgot about mason jar salads! I might try them this week.

I don't know if I'd do 7 days' worth. Maybe 2 or 3.

sweetteadrinker2

I've never done it, but maybe if the lettuce was dry, and the salad dressing added after you got ready to eat it they would last.

ladipoet

Try adding some of these: peppitas seeds or sunflower seeds, real bacon bits, sliced or whole black olives or even just plain ol' olive oil along with whatever dressing you like. Don't forget the salt and pepper. Or add one serving of your favorite kind of nuts. I like to use "Just The Cheese" baked cheese as faux croutons especially the herb & garlic flavor. Salami and Canadian Bacon are nice meat choices to rotate in now and then too.

KurlyStarr

I tried it one time, and my jars have been in the cabinet ever since. Lol....as wonderful of an idea it is, I quickly realized that my aversion to leftovers made them seem very unappealing to me around day 3. They "look" fine after that, but didn't have that same freshness after sitting in the frig (to ME) even in the jar. As long as you aren't quirky like me, then think they would be okay until about the 5th or 6th day.

Start small. Only do a couple to test first. I made nine damn jars, and three almost became science experiments. Lol

KurlyStarr

annalisbeth74 wrote: »

I totally forgot about mason jar salads! I might try them this week.

I don't know if I'd do 7 days' worth. Maybe 2 or 3.

Totally agree. Don't make that many until you test to see how they last for you and suit your tastes.

sunnyazgirl

Thank you all for the replies. I will make just a few when get back from vacation to try. I work a three day week (three 12 hour days in a row) so if I make three the night before I start my stretch it may work. I was also thinking of making all three a little different and logging them in advance when I make them.

@ladipoet - I haven't seen "Just the Cheese" but it sounds good. Do you know where to find it?

My "Go To" lunch has been just sticking a Lean Cuisine in my lunch box with bagged salad greens or other supplemental veggies, but since I am going to try reducing my carbs I thought that the Mason Jar salads would be good. When I am working B2B days I seem to be only sleeping, driving or working and taking more than 10 minutes to put together a lunch on my way out the door does not fit into the time budget. Any other ideas for a yummy, ready-made or made in advance lunch? The Atkins frozen dinners are waaaay high in sodium. Since I am very sensitive to sodium with my blood pressure they are out for me.

ladipoet

I usually get them online here:

http://www1.netrition.com/just_the_cheese_page.html

I've only seem them at one local (if you can call it that) low-carb store; however, it's an hour drive for me to visit this particular store because I'm rarely out that way so I usually just order them from www.netrition.com. I suggest you wait to add these to your jar salads until you're ready to eat them because I don't think they will stay crisp for more than maybe an hour in liquid. I think they even offer a "lower salt" version too.