Mason Jar Greek Salads

 I know, I know...I feel like most people think salads in the winter aren't that great. Maybe it's because salads are "cold", or produce seems out of season...but if they taste GOOD~they're good any time of year! Don't be afraid to experiment with different types of vegetables and lettuce if your usuals are out of season. This recipe uses traditional Greek toppings, (but you can still swap out ingredients to your liking 😊) Enjoy!

 Mason Jar Greek Salads

Put the following ingredients into a quart sized Mason jar in the order listed from the bottom to the top.  Multiply the amount of ingredients by the number of Mason Jar Salads you are making.  We usually make six (three for hubby and three for me).  I have found the salads easily stay fresh for three days after making them. 

~2T Garlic Expressions Dressing 

~1/2 cup of garbanzo beans

~4-6 Grape sized tomatoes

~1-2T of red onion, slivered (based on level of amount of onion you prefer)

~1/3 cup of cucumber, chopped

~1/4 cup of kalamata olives

~2T of feta cheese

~fill remaining jar with lettuce of choice.  

Store in fridge upright until ready to eat.  Shake and eat right from the jar or pop onto a plate.  *While this is a vegetarian recipe, you could easily add 1/2 cup cooked, diced chicken to the bottom of the jar (under the garbanzo beans). Tip: marinate the chicken (or other lean protein) in the Garlic Expressions dressing! 

Mason Jar Rainbow Summer Salads

 Mason Jar Rainbow Summer Salads

Do you need a colorful, quick and easy salad for your mid-week meal prep? I think I have you covered.

This salad just screams summer and we have been happily munching it for lunch every day this week.

Here's the recipe.. I hope you'll try it for your mid-week meal prep!! :)

Put the below ingredients in the Quart sized Mason jar >>> Make sure you follow this order: the dressing needs to be on the bottom so the lettuce stays crisp!

-1T T. Marzetti Simply Dressed Strawberry Poppyseed Vinaigrette

-4-5 grape-sized tomatoes whole

-1/3 cup blueberries

-1/3 cup cut-up Strawberries

-1/3 cup mandarin oranges

-1/2 cup diced yellow peppers

-1/2 cup of blanched or grilled asparagus diced

-1/2 cup grilled or rotisserie chicken diced,

and then fill the remaining jar with

-mixed lettuce leaves.

Store in the fridge till ready to eat.

When ready to eat turn the jar upside down and shake to disperse dressing.

Eat right from the jar or pour it into a bowl.

Enjoy!

Mason Jar Southwest Burrito Bowl Salads

Seriously mason jar salads are amazing, They have made my lunch this week extra special!

This one is great because it has all the ingredients of a Chipotle burrito bowl but way HEALTHIER. Ground turkey instead of beef, a heck of a lot less sodium, and a clean eating southwest dressing.

Here's the recipe:

-1 tablespoon of southwest salad dressing (see below)

-1/4 cup of black beans

-1/4 cup of brown rice

-2 tablespoons onion, finely diced

-1/4 cup of orange pepper, diced,

-1/2 cup of taco seasoned lean ground turkey

- 1 1/2 cups shredded leafy green lettuce, -1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro.

Southwest Salad dressing:

Per salad use:

- 1 tablespoon of T Marzetti simply dressed ranch dressing

-1/2 teaspoon of homemade taco seasoning

-add hot sauce to taste.

Directions:

1. Cook ground turkey in a skillet with taco seasoning until golden brown


2. Cook brown rice in a saucepan until soft


3. Chop onions, bell pepper, lettuce, and cilantro


4. Prepare salad dressing and set aside


5. Arrange in mason jars by this order: 1 tsp salad dressing, black beans, brown rice, bell pepper, turkey, lettuce

** For the homemade taco seasoning, check out this post:

http://www.trishzfitness.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/

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Flat Belly Mason Jar Salad

 

<<Flat Belly Mason Jar Salads>>

As soon as I saw this flat belly salad posted to the Pop Sugar Website I knew immediately that I wanted to meal prep it in bulk into Mason Jar Salads.

Why? Why would I want to put them in Mason Jars? By storing salads in Mason jars it allows you to prep multiple salads in advance and they stay fresher longer. The salad dressing goes on the bottom. You then stack the ingredients in the order that can withstand the acidic ingredients of the salad dressing. The Mason jar is then topped with the tender lettuce on top.

I did have to make some slight adjustments to the ingredients in the original salad because it would not store well for make ahead salads (i.e. I deleted the avocado).

All of the ingredients in this salad work to fight belly bloat and support a healthy weight loss. Here is the recipe. The ingredients are listed in the order you stack them into the Mason Jar:

1 T Bragg's Healthy Vinaigrette
1/2 cup shredded carrots - fiber for regularity
1/2 cup pineapple - eases digestion
1/2 cup blueberries - helps fight belly fat
1/2 cup cucumbers - helps to flush out digestive system
1T chopped almonds - reduces bloating
1/2 cup chicken breast
1 cup leafy green lettuce

I have pinned this recipe to my Pinterest library so that you can find it in the future. There are also numerous other mason jar salad combinations to try.

https://www.pinterest.com/trishzelenak/

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Vacuum Sealing Mason Jar Salads

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