Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not so good at the whole “half-ass” thing. I tend to throw my everything into whatever I’m doing and even though it might bomb heavily, I’m going to go for it.
And such went the whole Salad in a Jar experiment.
You see, I’m heading down to Calgary for a weekend of teacher training – prenatal training to be specific. I’m staying with a friend of mine and she’s amazing, but I didn’t want to subject her to my food stuff. I know she’ll provide me with wonderfully nutritious food but I’m going to have to pack lunches (and in some case suppers) and I didn’t want her to have to try to feed me for 7 meals. So I started looking. And then it’s like this giant lightbulb went off. Salad in a jar!
I made 9 jars. There are 6 different types of salad. And I’m going to tell you what I put in all of them.
First of all, making salad in a jar isn’t for the faint of heart. This is what my kitchen looked like partway through the process.
Now granted, I have an extremely small kitchen. But still.
However, this was the final result:
My little guy was all about helping. And once I started cutting fruit he was SUPER into it.
So without further ado, here are some recipes. And know a few things: One- I love red cabbage and really dislike traditional lettuce. Two – I wanted these to be vegan if I could. Three – You can change them up using your favourite stuff!
Salad dressing base used for Taco and Curry:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar of some kind (I used red wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp salt
dash of lemon juice
This dressing made enough for 4-5 jars. I split it up fairly evenly.
Taco – I made one using quinoa, one using traditional salad ingredients.
Add 1 tsp of taco seasoning (I used epicure) and stir it up.
Quinoa version:
Add 1/2 cup of quinoa.
Layer in the following order: 1/4 cup of chickpeas, Corn, Red Tomatoes (not cut)
Salad version:
Layer in the following order: Cucumber, Corn, Red Tomatoes (not cut), Red onion, celery, radish, Top with red cabbage
Curry – I made one using quinoa, one as salad
Add 1 tsp of curry powder and stir it up.
Quinoa Version:
Add 1/2 cup of quinoa.
Layer in the following order: Snap peas, Radish, red onion, celery, 2 tbsp. raisins, sesame seeds
Salad version:
Layer: Shredded carrot, zucchini, Red onion, radish, Cabbage
Avocado:
I used the salad dressing found here: Lemon Avocado Salad Dressing
I split the dressing between 2 jars.
Quinoa Version: 1/2 cup quinoa, Green snap peas, Red Onion, Radish, Celery, Red tomatoes (not cut), Shredded carrot
Salad version: Chick peas and lentils (totalling 1/3 cup), Shredded carrot, zucchini, Red cabbage
Waldorf Salad: I used the basics of the salad that can be found at Produce by Amy
I used a similar dressing but this is my only non-vegan option as I used Hellman’s Mayonnaise. This is my only non nut-free salad as well.
Dressing: 2 tbsp. mayonnaise, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tbsp. avocado oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Place on bottom of jar.
Layer: Shredded carrot, Red cabbage, Red onion, Green Apple, 2 tbsp. almonds, 2 tbsp. pomegranate.
Lentil Salad:
Layer: Dressing (2 tbsp. avocado oil, 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar, splash of lemon juice, 2 tsp dill), 1/2 cup lentils, Shredded carrots, red tomatoes (not cut), cucumber
And finally, I wanted something to snack on during the long days of training so I made a simple fruit jar by layering pomegranate seeds, mango, blueberries, green apple and strawberries.
And voila. Now I have to decide which 4 to bring with me..
Starting at the Top left going clockwise: Quinoa Curry, Quinoa Taco, Quinoa Avocado, Waldorf, Lentil, Salad Avocado, Salad Taco, Fruit, Salad Curry
Bon apetit!