Salad Jars

Tim and I have been enjoying a lovely weekend in Santa Barbara and will be here for the next week.  Last week, I was working on a couple of things that I want to talk about while we are here!  I have some exciting new projects coming up that I am really thrilled to share them with you, but in the mean time: would you like to implement some healthy eating and eco-friendly practices into your daily routine?  Well lady (or gent), you've come to the right blog.  (I feel like Lucy on the "Vita-Meata-Veg-Imen" episode). 

I make these to-go salads for the family I work for almost daily back in Seattle and I love the process and outcome.  They are really kind of fun to make, take very little prep time and obviously taste amazing because it is a bunch of yummy veggies put together.

Here are a few great reasons for making salads in jars:

1. You get to recycle!  You can basically use any size glass jar: like... marinara sauce jars, pickle jars, or any you buy and stock on a regular basis.  You just throw them in the dishwasher (well....don't throw them!!!), peel off the sticker (if those kind of things drive you nutty like they do me), and reuse them again and again.

2. You put the dressing on the bottom.  This may sound like an inconsequential detail but it matters!  When you put the dressing on the bottom, you dump the jar upside down on the plate and the dressings ends up on top!  Utter brilliance I tell you.  Also, if you want to keep the lettuce from getting soggy, you can put all the topping on the bottom and the lettuce on the top.  

3.  You can prep these the night before or even on the weekend and have them ready for the week.  Like I said, it is really fun and they last a few days so you can purposefully plan to be conscious of lunch decisions throughout the week..  I hope you make these at home and enjoy! Annnnddd let me know if you make them.  I would love to see these floating around the gram.

My suggestion to you is use any salad recipe you like and just divide the amounts into several different jars or eye ball the amount to your liking.

The contents of this salad include:

• Arugula
• Roasted Butternut Squash (I simply dice the squash into semi-big chunks, drizzle with olive oil and top with salt and pepper.  Then pop in a pre-heated oven at 425 for about 30 minutes or until  soft.
• Pomegranate Seeds
• Feta Cheese
• Pepitas (A.K.A. Pumpkin Seeds)
• Dressing: Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Dijon Mustard, Maple Syrup, S + P.

Like I said earlier, usually I just make the dressing in the jar at the bottom and start with all the toppings and then stuff the lettuce in on top.  When you dump it out the lettuce with be on the bottom, then toppings, then the dressing.  I really hope this makes your week healthier, easier and yummier.

enjoy!

Love, Kait