Salad in a Jar

MistieWalters · April 2013

I saw this posted on my Facebook feed, and thought to share with everyone here! What a great idea this is!

Utterly brilliant, people. Not only does SALAD IN A JAR save space in your fridge, it also reduces food waste and gets non-salad eaters (me) to mow down daily.
THE ARRANGEMENT
From BOTTOM to TOP:
Dressing
Shredded carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Sunflower seeds
Hard boiled eggs
Baby spinach
DIRECTIONS
1) Arrange ingredients in a large mason jar
2) Store in fridge for up to a week
3) When ready to eat: shake jar, place on a plate, and eat!

You can make any arrangement you want… you can add red onion, cucumbers, radishes or peppers. Always remember to put the dressing at the bottom and the lettuce at the top—a MUST.

****NOTE**** If your making a few salads at a time for the week, you MUST remember to vacuum seal the Mason Jars. (Mason jars can be bought at Wal-mart, and various grocery stores) They must be vacuum sealed to remain fresh and crisp

Here are two different ways to vacuum seal a mason jar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhb1gfVSB9Y
Non Foodsaver vacuum seal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMDfyRjfBbc

Swanlake999 · April 2013

I do this every Sunday evening but I don't put the dressing in the jar. I find that I can do four jars -- which takes me through Thursday and they stay very fresh. I've been doing it for months and I don't vacuum seal mine. I just put the lids on the mason jars and store them in the fridge, grabbing one each morning on my way out the door. They stay very fresh and crisp, however I do make sure I use grape tomatoes to avoid sogginess. It's a great way to have four healthy lunches while messing up the kitchen only once! I have also noticed a big change in the amount of money I spend each week. No need to spend $8 on a lunch that isn't really very good for me anyway. These salad jars rock!

N.B. Two cup (pint) Mason jars will hold lots and give you a filling lunch...

Ready2Rock206 · April 2013

I don't vacuum seal mine - they work great. Just be sure the layer on top of your dressing is something dense that won't get soggy. I usually use carrots and/or snap peas.

ellaloveslove · April 2013

This is so awesome! Thanks so much for posting this!

MistieWalters · April 2013

I love the helpful tips! I'm glad that I dont have to seal these to keep them fresh. I didn't know just using a jar lid would work too

Thank you guys for the suggestions! I'm hoping to start a new job in the next couple of weeks, and seeing this I thought "Oh! Look! Save time AND money on lunch!" It's just such an amazing idea, KUDOS to whoever came up with it!

I also didn't know it was already so popular lol... Glad to share, in case it helps other people like me who were totally clueless to this kind of quick-trick ^__^

dognamedpig · April 2013

This is fantastic! I'm going to share it with my sister. Thanks for the tip!

1223345 · April 2013

I do this only I use a bowl. I have a ton of lock&lock. It works great for this purpose. I will say, depending on your dressing, you may not want to leave it in there for more than a day. Sometimes the cheese can get kind of gross.

lmfujishima · April 2013

I've become mildly obsessed with mason jars recently. So far I've just been making a bunch of breakfast smoothies over the weekend and then freezing them in mason jars, but I definitely want to try the salad in a jar technique. Here's a link to a woman who makes six salads (3 different kinds) within an hour. They look so delicious! It would probably take me three hours doing it my first time, but it's worth a try.

http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2013/01/one-hour-three-salads-six-meals-3-2-1-go/

She has a lot of other good recipes in there if you aren't ready to try that particular one.

amphora · April 2013

I went ahead a pinned this awesome idea! Not only do I have tons of mason jars I also tend to skip lunch when I'm working-- then get starved and stuff whatever crap I can find in my face ASAP.

Love this idea. Thanks for sharing!

smaihlee · April 2013

I've been obsessively saving jars lately for different things, and this is a great new idea. Thanks!!

gingerninja22 · April 2013

bumpppppppp!

Ready2Rock206 · April 2013

I don't vacuum seal mine - they work great. Just be sure the layer on top of your dressing is something dense that won't get soggy. I usually use carrots and/or snap peas.

I should add - I don't know if it makes a difference but I use the plastic lids for the jars that you can purchase separately and not the metal lids.

catfulford · April 2013

bump

FussyFruitbat · April 2013

Blegh no thanks, I don't like my food touching other foods until it absolutely has to. No mixing flavors or getting soggy!

I do like the idea though, and will probably try and modify it for my picky tastes.

sdereski · April 2013

Brilliant!!:happy:

ghhosstt · April 2013

great idea, thanks.

Ramberta · April 2013

This is a really neat idea, but too much prep work for me haha. I just throw all the ingredients sans cheese and dressing together in a little tupperware container the night before, then add in the cheese and dressing before leaving in the morning... works for me

Ramberta · April 2013

Blegh no thanks, I don't like my food touching other foods until it absolutely has to. No mixing flavors or getting soggy!

I do like the idea though, and will probably try and modify it for my picky tastes.

But... but... the foods on your tracker pic are touching

:laugh:

Bbwnomore2 · April 2013

one to try

lmfujishima · April 2013

Blegh no thanks, I don't like my food touching other foods until it absolutely has to. No mixing flavors or getting soggy!

I do like the idea though, and will probably try and modify it for my picky tastes.

I think you're supposed to put the dressing on the bottom along with hard items that won't get soggy or you wouldn't mind soaking up the dressing (carrots, quinoa, tofu, etc.) Then the lettuce goes on top so it stays nice and crispy! Haha but yeah, if you don't like flavors mixing then that's another problem.