I’ve been on a hunt to find lunches that I can prep ahead of time on our Sunday Prep Day. Frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are perfect (they thaw right in your lunchbox!), but we’re getting a bit sick of them. Plus, I make the world’s best PB&J, but my secret is extra peanut butter and extra jelly. Not exactly a “low calorie” lunch!
I’m currently in a 3 month weight loss competition to help me lose the baby weight from our 4 month old little girl (and if we’re being totally honest here, also a few pounds from our 2 year old little boy). The winner wins 10k dollars (woo hoo!) and we’re currently in 6th place, so light yet filling lunches are a must. I’ve seen salad in mason jars floating around Pinterest for a while and have been a bit skeptical. It can’t be that easy.
I decided to go all in and give it a try for a week. I learned a lot this week, most importantly that Salad in a Jar is amazing! There were some drawbacks and things to consider, but this will be a staple in our house for a while. Here’s what my experience was…
YES! Overwhelmingly yes!!! This was so easy to prep, there was almost no cooking involved (I made my husband grill the chicken), and made the week so much easier! I prepped 10 salads in much less than an hour, and kept a clean kitchen with almost no dishes. That folks, is a win.
P.S. If you would love to stop wasting your time and money trying new ideas on Pinterest to only have them be a disaster, you’ve come to the right place! I’ll test out DIY, Organizing, Food Hacks, Time Management, and Money Saving Ideas every Wednesday for you to see if they’re really worth it and send the results straight to your inbox. Worth It Wednesday launches on June 10th. Sign up now by entering your email address below!
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They’re perfect for meal prep! Prep a big batch of salad over the weekend, store them in five separate mason jars and you’ll have a salad for each day of the week! They’re perfect for a convenient, grab-and-go meal option. The flavor combos are endless so you’ll never get bored!
Tips and Tricks to Salad in a Jar:
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- Buy triple washed salad to avoid having to wash lettuce. If you do wash, it must be completely dry when adding it to the jars.
- Oils dress better than creamy dressings. 2 tablespoons of oil dressing felt doable, 2 tablespoons of creamy dressing felt pretty dry. I was tempted to add an extra 2 tablespoons of dressing which would bump that salad up to 700 calories.
- Try your dressing ahead of time! The dressing is a huge factor in how the salad tastes so this isn’t the time to try a new dressing on a week’s worth of salad.
- Over stuff your jars. Stuff as much lettuce in as possible so that nothing in the jar shifts.
- Layer correctly! All the wet ingredients are toward the bottom, the lettuce to the top, and dry ingredients in the middle.
- Pack a separate container to make eating this easy. We used a Sistema Bakery Box for ours. The Bakery Box fits in our lunchbox, has a clip on top so secure it and has lots of room to shake the salad up in it (very important for creamy dressings!)
- If you’re using the salad as your entire lunch, get wide mouth quart size Mason jars. If you’re looking for a side salad, get wide mouth pint sized Mason jars.
Cost Analysis for Salad in a Jar:
Costs are determined by the amount used (2 Tbsp. versus the entire bottle) because we’re making them all the time, so the extra ingredients get used up and reduce the cost of the next batch. Cost is per quart sized jar of salad.
1/3rd of a triple washed bag of romaine lettuce: $ .83
2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds: $ .17
¼ of a pepper (green, yellow, red, or a mix of all): $.30
4 Grape tomatoes: $.66
1/8th of a chopped white onion: $.10
¼ cup Shredded cheddar cheese: $.23
¼ can of corn: $.09
1/3rd of a chicken breast diced (and cooked obviously) $.66
2 Tbsp. marinade for chicken (to grill or cook chicken in) $.16
Salad dressing of your choice, we used 2 tablespoons of Hidden Valley Spicy Dressing (kind of a chipotle ranch): $ .20
Total Cost= $3.40
Total cost of a comparative salad at Chipotle Mexican Grill? $6.80
You save $3.40/day per person by making your own salad instead of buying a chipotle one. ($47.60 for 2 people over a week, and $2,475 for 2 people over a year)
MASON JAR COBB SALADS | High Protein Lunch Meal Prep Ideas for Salad Recipes!
FAQ
Why do people put salads in mason jars?
Do you eat mason jar salads out of the jar?
What is the purpose of a mason jar?
Does salad stay fresh in mason jars?
What to eat in a mason jar?
Try this fruit salad in a mason jar with blueberry lemon dressing from Produce with Amy. 13. Simple Mason Jar Salad This simple mason jar salad from Pass the Plants contains radish, apples, celery, and walnuts. It’s a light and healthy salad perfect for lunch.
Are mason jar salads good for lunch?
Mason jar salads are the perfect grab-and-go lunches. They are great for meal prep throughout the week because they are so easy and quick to make. Quick and easy: These are so simple to make and only require a few ingredients. Save money: You will save money by not buying salads or other meals.
How do you eat a mason jar salad?
When it’s time to eat the salad, grab a large plate or a giant bowl. You want to DUMP the ingredients out of the jar so that the lettuce comes out first and the dressing is on top. Then toss everything together and serve! For this particular post, I created four different mason jar salads — one for each week in the month.
What is in a mason jar salad?
Be sure to download the printable PDF recipe book for all 4 mason jar salads here: Week 1: Southwestern Corn and Black Bean Salad With a quick Salsa-Ranch dressing, this blend of corn, black beans, shredded cheddar cheese, sweet grape tomatoes, and crisp Romaine lettuce is a vegetarian entree that’s tastes like your favorite restaurant lunch.