- Don’t make a million at once. These guys stay crisp, bright and awesome for four days. By day five- meh.
- Make two types at the same time. Anymore will be a crazy hot mess in the kitchen.
- Clean your counters and set aside about 20 minutes to prep– (make sure your jars are cleaned and dry before you begin.)
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Pay attention to your layers. Many images of salad jars you see on Pinterest are not in the right order. This is not an OCD or aesthetic issue- layering the right way is what keeps your salads flavorful, crisp and fresh.
The correct order to layer is this:
- Dressing goes on the bottom
- Crisp items you want to marinate in the dressing go next- (think: tomatoes, red onion, peppers, celery, olives, – these form a barrier to protect the other items from getting soggy. These goodies will marinate in the dressing and pick up a lot of that flavor-
- Next- less crunchy goodies- like beans, artichoke hearts, corn, mushrooms, fruit, avocado, guacamole, sliced eggs
- Pastas and grains go next if your using them
- Then proteins- you need these to make the salad filling. Think: beef, chicken, tuna, cold cut pinwheels, cheeses
- Finally, lettuce. I really like iceberg or the chopped bag salads that have cabbage, Kale, carrots, radishes in them. I haven’t loved spinach salad or oft lettuces because I think they get a little mushy. But that’s my personal taste. The lettuce always goes on top. Don’t trust any photos you may see saying otherwise.
Here’s a helpful image I found on The Two Bite Club blog
To date, I have made four different salads- and the trick is to make 2 at a time, and have everything chopped and in baggies before you start. This way, you can have an assembly line- and bag up any leftovers easily. I cook up one pack of beef for my taco salads, and about 6 chicken tender strips for salads that have chicken.
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Macho Taco Salad with Guacamole
salsa
southwest ranch dressing
chopped cherry tomatoes
black beans- cold from the can
guacamole (topped with a splash of fresh lemon juice)
corn cold from the can
cheddar cheese
cooked taco beef- well cooled
lettuce
tortilla strips.
*the guacamole stayed bright and happy with the lemon juice. And no- I didnt mind the meat cold- it was really yummy!)
Chef Salad
creamy blue cheese dressing
cherry tomatoes chopped
sliced hard boiled egg
ham and turkey- sliced thin rolled into a log together and cut into pinwheels
lettuce
pumpernickel croutons
* I liked the blue cheese- but may play with a vinaigrette next time
Chicken Apple and Poppy-seed Salad
poppy-seed dressing
green apples topped with a splash of fresh lemon juice
red grapes, halved
crumbled blue cheese (*goat cheese or cheddar could work too!)
chicken- grilled, cooled and sliced
craisens
lettuce
chopped pecans
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Chicken Cobb Salad
Blue cheese vinaigrette
chopped cherry tomatoes
chopped celery
chicken- grilled, cooled and sliced
bacon- cooked and chopped
blue cheese crumbles
Lettuce
* I might add sliced avocado next time
Finally, keep in mind, these photo’s were taken when I used the big jars- now I am using the pint and a half jars like these:
If you’d like to see my Pinspiration for Jar recipes- check out my Pinboard of Jar Joy here! And- I’d love to hear if you have any good ones to share!