by Kilah Hemesath, Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds Marketing Intern
Packing lunch before heading out the door in the 
morning involves either throwing a few granola bars into my bag or arriving five minutes late to class because I took time to pack a real lunch. Thankfully, my dilemma was solved when I went home last weekend!
My mom had been telling me about a new trend called “Mason Jar Salads in a Jar.” I was a bit skeptical on how long they would stay fresh, but they lived up to the test! On Day 10, the salad was just as crisp and fresh as they were on Day 1.
After a trip to the grocery store and three hours of labor, we had 40 pints of salad in jars! We made 10 of each kind: Ranch Rotini, Tortellini and Artichoke, Taco Salad and Strawberry Vinaigrette. These recipes can be found here, along with 27 others!
Those three intensive hours of cooking, chopping and packing led me to develop a list of ways to speed up this process in the future. Here are my top three takeaways:
- First cook the ingredients that must be cooled. Each recipe either called for noodles, quinoa or salad dressings that had to be cooled before being packed into the jars. Cooking these first minimizes downtown because you can be preparing other items while these are cooling.
- Cut up your veggies at the same time. There A LOT of veggies to cut, especially if you make four kinds of salad! Cutting all veggies at the same time reduces the need to continuously clean up plus results in fewer dishes to wash in the end.
- Make an assembly line. With multiple ingredients going into each jar, it’s easier to
have everything laid out nicely. This is also a great way to create an assembly line if multiple hands are there to help!
Depending on the ingredients of your salad, you may want to prioritize the order in which you eat them. For example, I don’t want to save the taco salads for last because of the fresh avocado.
A quick, easy and healthy lunch option is now doable with the Mason Jar Salads. Give it a shot and switch up your lunch!