Mason Jar Salad! The perfect, portable way to eat healthy! Pack your mason jar salad with your favorite salad ingredients. Everything stays fresh until you’re ready to eat! Just dump, mix, add your dressing and enjoy!
We’re heading into a long weekend over here. . no school on Monday. . actually no school for the next two Mondays. How lucky are we?
Lately, I’ve been consumed with beauty and fashion bloggers. Like, this one. Their feeds on Instagram (love this one) what they are wearing and I’m convinced I need this off the shoulder top. What do you think?
I keep seeing all white kitchens. Everywhere. Calling out to me. And then, I saw this. Kill me now. I want every single kitchen. These kitchens are so freaking beautiful.
I’m trying to cut back on dairy. I tried this non-dairy cheese and like 15 kinds of non-dairy ice cream. So far, coconut bliss is the best I’ve tried. I made pizza with the daiya dairy-free “mozzarella style shreds.” Never again. Never again. At least not anytime soon. It wasn’t horrible but just too weird for me. Tasted ok but then it didn’t. But I did pick up some provolone dairy free cheese, in slices, that I like so we’ll see. Maybe it was the shreds?
Today, I’m going with my youngest on her last school field trip. We’re going to the zoo. The zoo here is perfect for little kids. Not too big and enough for them to see to keep them entertained. We have to bring a sack lunch so I’m bringing this salad with me.
Yes, I’m going to be that mom that shows up at the zoo with a mason jar salad.
This actually happened because I made this quinoa salad and had a ton leftover. Easy salads like this are a great way to make use of leftovers!
Plus, I had all of this beautiful produce. And I HIGHLY recommend throwing fruit and berries into your salads. Do it! It’s so good! My Summer Berry Salad is another great example of just how delicious berries can be in salad.
You can tell what state my mind is in by looking at my kitchen. It’s been a crazy busy week for me and my kitchen is a mess. A huge mess! But I’m not going to think about it right now. Let’s focus on this salad.
And let me explain one thing. The way I packed my mason jar salad.
Probably every post you will find online will tell you to pack your leafy greens on the top (so to pack them in the jar last.) You pour your jar out when you’re ready to eat it so what is on top goes onto your plate first, right? Well, if you’ve ever made a mason jar salad and poured it into a bowl or plate, you know that the salad just kinda falls everywhere. There’s no real order here.
And I don’t like adding my dressing into my mason jar. I prefer to keep everything dry and I just add the dressing separately. . along with an avocado (which I don’t like adding into the jar either). This way you can prep a whole week’s worth of lunches without worrying about anything getting soggy.
So, to me, you can pack your mason jar salad any way you want! The most important things to me are:
- Pack fresh greens and fresh fruit
- Try to add some protein
- Add foods that have a lot of texture
- Keep it colorful
- Try hemp seeds!
Mason Jar Salad
Ingredients
- fresh leafy greens Boston bibb, romaine or green leaf lettuce
- quinoa or pasta salad
- peas
- red grape tomatoes
- fresh berries
- sprouts
- hemp seeds
- your favorite salad dressing
- special equipment: a large wide mouth mason jar with lid
Instructions
- Pack your mason jar with your salad ingredients. Try to keep the ingredients in layers. Close with lid and store in a refrigerator until ready to eat.
- When ready to eat, pour salad onto a large plate or shallow bowl. Top with salad dressing and enjoy.
Mir says
May 20, 2016 at 5:23 amThe thing about cutting back on dairy (or most food groups, for that matter) is that the ratio of processed food goes up. The cheese is just so far from cheese. I’ve found a lot of healthy products I love, but I have yet to find a vegan cheese that does the trick for me. The pizza looks great, though!
As does all the fashion. You must buy it all. Off the shoulder is happening!
Putting salad in a mason jar just ups the cute. I love it!
hipfoodiemom says
May 20, 2016 at 7:28 amMir, yeah good point. . I need to read the labels more. . I’m a little lactose intolerant. . hence the cutting back on dairy but you are absolutely right! and thank you so much!!! have a fabulous weekend!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
May 20, 2016 at 5:35 amThat is a beautiful looking salad. I make mason jar salads for my husband to take to work and then stay nice and fresh until he is ready to eat it.
hipfoodiemom says
May 20, 2016 at 7:27 amThank you so much, Dannii!!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
May 20, 2016 at 6:54 amWe have a long weekend coming up here too, so I’m really looking forward to it and, plus, the weather is supposed to be nice so lots of time outside and bbqs!
What a healthy and convenient salad to pack! All good stuff in there! Love the addition of fruit. Oh, by the way, yes I think you do need that off the shoulder top, Alice. It’s gorgeous 😉 Have a great weekend, girl!
hipfoodiemom says
May 20, 2016 at 7:26 amThank you, Dawn!!! Wishing you a fabulous weekend! you are the sweetest! I’ll let you know if I get the top! 🙂
Liz says
May 20, 2016 at 9:00 amI’d be the jealous mom with my boring sandwich! What a fantastic salad—the additions of fruit and a quinoa salad push it over the top! Have a blast at the zoo!!!
Ami@NaiveCookCooks says
May 20, 2016 at 10:16 amI have never made mason jar salads but I have always loved the concept!! Need to try these soon!
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
May 20, 2016 at 4:28 pmSuch a perfect lunch idea, I love those pretty layers!
Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says
May 20, 2016 at 5:34 pmI love white kitchens too – white kitchens with some natural wood accents are just stunning to me! It certainly makes colorful dishes… or jars like this pop! I’m going to have to try this with my husbands lunch!
Elizabeth says
May 20, 2016 at 7:37 pmWe love mason jar salads too! Great post! And thanks for including Coconut Bliss!
hipfoodiemom says
May 20, 2016 at 10:16 pmHi Elizabeth! Thank YOU for the visit! 🙂
Megan - The Emotional Baker says
May 23, 2016 at 6:38 amI’ve been wanting to try mason jar salads, but haven’t had a chance yet! These look so flavorful and perfect for spring. What s great make ahead lunch 🙂
Kelly says
May 23, 2016 at 1:11 pmHope you guys had a great time at the zoo! Haha so cute – love that you brought these mason jar salads – I am totally that mom too 🙂 They look gorgeous!