Tired of looking for healthy snacks to carry with you to avoid grabbing a chocolate bar when hungry? Well, stop looking because the hippest, healthiest snack that you can make at home and carry with you anywhere is here! We are talking about the mason jar salad, of course.
Other than the fact that mason jars are all the rage nowadays, used for everything from storage to wedding decoration, they are the perfect size for you to grab and go. Salads need not be boring but colorful, delicious, and super healthy. What’s more, they can be taken to work, a picnic, or anywhere in between.
Salads, in general, make an extremely healthy meal because of the high fiber content and other benefits of vegetables and fruits. It’s also a great way to get good fat with very few calories. Eating salads will fill you up while lowering cholesterol, controlling blood pressure, and preventing constipation.1
Does a mason jar salad look easy to make? You are right, it is easy, as long as you know the basics of it. Making a good mason jar salad involves a little thought and creativity because you want to make sure that your lunch is as fresh and flavorful as possible.
Tips
To Create The Ultimate Mason Jar Salad
Plan The Meal
The main reason that most of us grab unhealthy snacks when we are on the road, in between meetings, or running out the door is that they are quick and convenient. Packing a lunch or snack may take a little time to prep, but they are way better for your waistline and your health.
Planning ahead also avoids the stress of cooking and packing in the morning. So, plan your lunch the day or night before. Cook the veggies and pick out the proteins that you want to include. Come morning, you just need to throw the ingredients together and be out the door in about 30 seconds!
Choose Your Ingredients
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- A mason jar
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Cracked pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, and Himalayan salt for seasoning
- Tomatoes and sweet potatoes
- Pasta
- Dry foods such as zucchini, corn kernels, whole cherry tomatoes, onions, radishes, peppers, broccoli, and kale
- One or more leafy greens such as arugula, baby spinach, romaine, and mesclun lettuce leaves
- Fresh cut herbs (optional)
- Drained tuna, chicken, seeds, shrimp, tofu, nuts or cut boiled egg
Follow The Right Order
The secret to a perfectly crisp and delicious Mason jar salad is the order of the ingredients:
- Dressing first! And your best traditional option is extra virgin olive oil. To get a little extra flavor, simply pour a few spoonfuls at the bottom of your jar along with a pinch of cracked pepper and Himalayan salt.
- Or, go dressing-free by giving some flavor to the other ingredients. One way to do this is to cook sweet potatoes with cooking oil and season it with turmeric and cinnamon. You can find plenty of other creative ways to avoid a dressing.
- You want to make sure that juicier foods such as pasta, cut tomatoes, and sweet potatoes are at the bottom of the jar. Placing them higher up would make your salad soggy by lunchtime.
- Next, you have to add the drier ingredients as the leaves will be following this layer, and you do not want them soaking up the moisture and becoming mushy. The dry foods are brawny enough not to get crushed by the weight of the top layer.
- The final layer is the quintessential leafy greens. You can pick any one type of leafy greens or go for a combination.
- The fresh cut herbs can be sprinkled on the salad for a hint of flavor.
- For some additional protein, add a drained tuna, chicken, seeds, shrimp, tofu, nuts, or cut boiled egg on top of your salad.
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