Mason jars are something I never get rid of. There are tons in our house and we use them for all sorts of things. I enjoy canning when fruits and veggies are in season, but I always make sure I have at least a dozen wide mouth pint jars empty. And when I do, I eat much healthier! IronFish and I both will resort to fast food if we don’t plan ahead for our lunches. Even days when I’m working at home, I’ll end up going out for fast food if I don’t pre-plan my lunches. So, we’ve finally come up with a great, easy solution to having healthy salads without the need to prepare them daily. Salads in a jar! Ok, not necessarily a new idea, but I do think we’ve come up with a good solution to reduce the time it takes to make a healthy salad that is filling enough to be a whole meal.
Trying to Eat Healthier
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you know my August hasn’t gone as planned. But, I’ve been attempting to get myself back on track, and at least get back in the habit of healthy meal planning (did you join me in the 7-day challenge?).
For me, the fewer ingredients the better. Not only do I manage to get myself all confused when there are more than say, 5 ingredients… I want the kids to get more involved in the kitchen. Fewer ingredients mean less of a chance of them feeling overwhelmed and giving up.
You’d think salads wouldn’t be so hard…
Well, years ago… pre-kids… IronFish and I were very strict about taking our lunches with us to work. It was that or not eat lunch. So, we would get all kinds of ingredients to make healthy salads… Lettuces, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chicken… Again, doesn’t sound that bad.
But, we’d bring our groceries home and cook the chicken so we could then dice it up to add to our salads. We’d wash all the veggies, peel and chop. Then we’d assemble salads into individual containers. It was a lot of work, especially with a tiny kitchen and about 2 feet of usable prep space.
Monday and Tuesday lunch would be fine.
Wednesday and possibly Thursday, we could deal with it.
By Friday, our salads were limp and unappetizing.
After a few weeks, we resorted to prepping everything and assembling the night before.
It became a real chore.
Fast forward 16+ years, we now have 3 active kids and there is no way I want to deal with making 5 different lunches every single day!
But, I still want us to have healthy options that are quick and easy to grab.
And not fast food…
Salads in a Jar
I started pinning jar salad recipes several years ago. Some of the salads looked great! But, I’m always on a time constraint. I just don’t have the energy by the time dinner is served and cleaned up to make salads that in-depth.
But, layering the salads in a mason jar means they don’t end up soggy and last longer in the fridge before they wilt… up to two weeks!
Then that light bulb moment struck!
We love the simplicity of the bag salad kits from Costco. My little sister pointed out Costco sells their rotisserie chicken as breasts off the bone!
While I love their rotisserie chicken and sometimes buy 3-4 of them to use for multiple meals… I just don’t have the time to be picking all of those chickens clean anymore. Gasp, I haven’t been making and canning homemade chicken stock like I used to either!
With the bag salad kits, I can assemble at least a dozen, if not more, salads while dinner is in the oven. I try to make enough to last us 2 weeks.
It’s super simple, here’s how:
The salad kit comes with dressing and other toppings. Divide the dressing up between your jars. I found one Costco bag made 6-8 jars (the number of servings on the bag + 1 is my basic rule of thumb). Then add in as much chicken as you feel will make it a solid meal, I’ve also used nuts as our protein. Next, layer any toppings included with the kit (except for croutons or other bread toppings, leave them out).
Now it’s time to fill the jar with the lettuce! Really pack it in there, dividing it up between your jars. The less air in the jar, the better. This is what helps it last longer.
Sometimes I even use the smaller jelly jars because the kids will eat a salad, just not as much as IronFish and me.
Put the lids on and stock the fridge! Until recently, I was using the metal rings and seals, but now I save those for canning and use these BPA-free plastic lids, I just find them easier to use when washing repeatedly.
When it’s time to eat our jar salads we have a few different ways. IronFish and the girls say their jars get tossed around in their bags enough they eat some salad out and then stir the rest. My lunch bag doesn’t pre-mix my salad for me. I simply dump my salad into a collapsible bowl, mix it up, and chow down!
More Healthy Lunch Options
I’ll admit, I’m often not the healthiest eater. But, I continue to try! Plus, I try to continue to encourage my kids to eat healthily and offer them healthy options.
Something we’re trying new this school year is a few new cookbooks. Yeah, I’ve long since gotten rid of most of my physical cookbooks in favor of Pinterest, but sometimes a cookbook makes you think a bit differently about what to make.
When I go looking for a recipe to try online, I usually have an idea of what I want, or what ingredients I have on hand. Looking through a cookbook, even digitally, leads me to recipes I may not have ever thought to look for.
One of my favorite resources for healthy cooking ideas is the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle. So far I have found several recipes to try in the two cookbooks I’ve gone through… The Well Nourished Lunch Box and Gluten-Free Kids in the Kitchen.
That’s only 2 of the 96 resources in the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle, which is on sale for just a few days for less than $30. The funny thing is, if I had bought just those two e-cookbooks, it would have been more than $30! So, it was kinda like buy two get 94 free!
As I said before, I keep trying to be healthy, it’s a constant goal. Having resources at my fingertips makes it easier for me. There’s something for everyone in this bundle. Tasha has to be gluten-free, O-Man is a picky eater, and JuneBug, well, let’s just say there are quite a few resources in this bundle I’ll be sharing with her.
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