What is a Salad Jar?

Salad in a Jar is a simple prepped meal. It is a type of layered salad that is easily portable and can be as varied and adapted to personal taste as you like.

Why Salad in a Jar?

Salad Jars are an alternative way to pack a take and go salad. The traditional jar used for salad jars in a wide mouth quart mason canning jar. Mason Jars keep a salad fresher for longer (up to 7 days depending on ingredients!) than plastic. They are also 100% BPA free! The Jars also allow dressing or other wet ingredients such as tomato to added to the base of the jar which prevents the more ‘fragile’ ingredients such as lettuce from becoming soft and limp. Mason Jars have a fantastic seal so they are ideal for keeping your salad fresh and keeping air out which also prevents oxidation of the foods (such as browning of avocado)

What do I need to make a Salad Jar?

1. Firstly you will need an appropriate jar with a really good seal. Canning Jars are the best, and Mason jars are the most commonly used, however Mason jars are not always easy to obtain, so any wide mouth jar with a tight seal is perfect. The size depends on just how much you want to eat. Try to purchase Jars that will hold just shy of the amount you want once packed.
2. You might also like to buy some take along cutlery, there are many different varieties which include different eating utensils.
3. Lastly you will need your salad ingredients, depending on your taste this might include pretty much anything!

How Do I Make Salad Jar?

The key to Salad Jars is in the assembly of the ingredients - layers should go like this…..

1. Bottom layer is ALWAYS dressing or other wet ingredient. Again, this is the key to keeping salads fresh and crisp! You need to keep the dressing away from the lettuce to keep it from getting soggy. The dressings is a very important part of the Salad Jar, make sure you make dressings that will enliven all the ingredients, try different varieties with different base ingredients, you might be surprised at the results!
2. The second layer needs to be a hearty vegetable, things that taste good marinated in the dressing are ideal - like cherry tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers, cauliflower etc. You can also add others ingredients to this layer that work well in a marinade such as such as tofu, or mushrooms. You will need a decent amount of these ingredients to keep the dressing and the lettuce separate.
3. Third layer is proteins or grains. This could be eggs, beans, rice, quinoa, pasta, etc.
4. The next layer is the addition of the greens.
5. Finally add seeds, nuts, croutons, crispy noodles or crumbled bacon as the last layer

Unconventional Salad Jars (Vegetable Noodle Jars)

Also known as spiralized salad jars. Spiralize several kg of vegetables (think zucchini and carrots) in just a couple of minutes giving you a gigantic bowl of vegetable noodles that will fill your salad jars quicker than any other recipe you’ve ever made. This is the easiest method to use when pressed for time. Just add your dressing on the day. You can also choose to mix your vegetable noodles with actual noodles (sorba noodles are delicious!) Try this with an Asian dressing!

How to Eat a Salad Jar

There are two ways to eat these delicious nutritious Salads in a Jar.

1. You can either dump it all into a bowl—the dressing and toppings fall just beautifully over the greens when you dump
2. Or, you can eat it directly out of the jar (this is great if you are out and about as you don’t have a bowl dripping with dressing to have to store until you can wash it. Simply screw the lid back on and you’re good to go!

Either way simply shake the heck out of the jar to distribute the dressing, and then dig right in!They make a super easy grab-and-go snack! And you can always stick the lid back on and nibble on any leftovers later in the day.

Salad Jar Hints and Tips

1. Make sure your jar is completely dry before you begin adding ingredients!
2. Use wide mouth jars. They’re easier to fill and use.
3. Use smaller jars for side salads.
4. Use quart jars for meal size salads. I like a lot of greens so I use the quart jars.
5. Use a combination of greens. Make sure to wash and dry thoroughly before adding to your jar.
6. Avoid chopped tomatoes, use whole grape or cherry tomatoes. Chopped tomatoes tend to get a bit soggy after a day or so.
7. When making a week’s batch individual jars are simple to adjust for individual preferences. For example, you may love avocado but your partner hates it…simply add it to some jars and leave it out of others!
8. Make at least several salad varieties for the week with several of each. Remember to label jars with similar ingredients
9. Leave a little room at the top for shaking/mixing if you want to eat out of the jar.
10. Assemble each step for all jars instead of completing one jar at a time, this saves on time and also makes it easier to see the difference in the salads.
11. Jar salads are easy to adapt for most salad recipes, just remember to follow the basic salad jar steps.
12. Specifically for the quinoa, rice or other grain salads, add the dressing to the grains before adding the mixture to the jars.
13. Have out all the ingredients needed, chopped, grated, cooked etc and ready to go before you begin layering.
14. Kids are great jar fillers and prepping the jars each week can be a fun family activity .It also encourages the kids to eat more salads if they help to prepare them!
15. If you eat them around other people be prepared for curiosity and a lot of questions. And the occasional sample!
16. Salads keep longer in the refrigerator if the ingredients are as dry as possible before layering them in the jars. For example, canned beans should be rinsed, drained and patted dry before adding them to the jars. Make sure your dressings are right at the bottom of the jar and avoid adding foods that are very wet higher up the layers.

Salad Jar Notes:

1. Salad Jars make great gifts, are fantastic for parties, picnics, work/school lunches, grab and go snacks, camping meals. They are as versatile as your imagination allows!
2. The basic Salad Jar idea can be adapted to other meals and recipes; a) Breakfast – overnight oats, yogurt parfaits, b) Grab and Go snacks – fruit Salad, c) Desert – cheesecakes, fruit and yogurt, >http://www.buzzfeed.com/candacelowry/incredible-meals-you-can-make-in-a-mason-jar#.jc56Ap1Dl

Salad Jar Recipes.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPB2Rplqi2Y
2. http://homemakingdivas.com/salad_jar.html
3. http://letslassothemoon.com/2014/12/20/mason-jar-recipes/
4. http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolynkylstra/mason-jar-salads#.towZWl0q7
5. http://eatdrinkpaleo.com.au/paleo-salads-in-a-jar-recipes/
6. http://www.simplebites.net/crunch-crunch-a-week-of-make-ahead-spring-salads-in-jars/
7. http://www.bostonmagazine.com/health/blog/2015/05/18/mason-jar-salad-recipes/
8. http://www.bostonmagazine.com/health/blog/2015/05/18/mason-jar-salad-recipes/
9. http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/recipes

• bunch of baby beets,
• 2 oranges peeled and segmented
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts 
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar mixed with
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

Method

1. wash, dry and quarter beets
2. drop in a large roasting dish
3. drizzle with a little olive oil 
4. throw in a few cloves of garlic and set aside covered for half hour.
5. preheat oven to 180'c
   
6. then roast for approx 30-45 min

To Prepare Salad:

1. allow beets to just cool enough to handle
2. put all ingredients into a large bowl and toss well....
   
   Serve as is, or as a side to a bbq.
   

• 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (or clean mayonnaise)
• 1 tablespoons chilli sauce (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoons soy sauce (or to taste)

1. Mix yogurt, chilli sauce and soy sauce in another bowl.

• finely sliced Red Cabbage
• finely sliced Cabbage
• Grated Carrot
• Finely diced onion

• finely sliced Chinese (wombok) Cabbage
• finely sliced Kale
• Grated apple
• Bean Sprouts
• Herbs (corinader, chives etc)

1. Mix all ingredients together well.
2. Store covered in fridge for up to 3 days.
3. Goes great with any bbq meat

• 1/4 pumpkin
• 3 whole beetroot
• 1 capsicum
• 1 head broccoli
• 3 cups spinach
• olive oil (or oil of choice)
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons organic cream cheese
• chives

1. slice pumpkin, peel and chop beetroot, toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. roast until JUST tender (the pumpkin will cook quicker than the beetroot),
   
3. set aside to cool
4. chop broccoli into florets, toss in olive oil and sprinkle with a LITTLE salt, pepper and garlic (to taste - personally I like a LOT of garlic!)
   
5. bake til just beginning to crisp.
6. Layer salad, spinach, then pumpkin, capsicum slices, beetroot ...top with cooked broccoli.
7. in a small saucepan place approx 1/4 cup milk and approx 2 tablespoons of cream cheese,
   
8. heat until cheese melts into milk  
9. toss in finely chopped chives,
   
10. drizzle over salad
11. Serve as is or as a side