Salad in a Jar

Packing a salad in a jar is an easy way to transport a healthy and satisfying lunch, while also managing to eat the rainbow. You can customize your salad with any of your favorite vegetables and toppings, but the order that you place your ingredients into the jar is important to prevent your salad from becoming soggy.

The order of ingredients is as follows:

1. Put 1-4 T of your favorite salad dressing into the bottom of the jar.

2. Place hard vegetables, such as carrots or cucumbers, into the jar. These vegetables will not deteriorate when submerged in the dressing.

3. Put any beans, grains, nuts or seeds into your jar on top of the hard vegetables. This could include things such as black beans, chickpeas, quinoa, brown rice, walnuts, or sunflower seeds.

4. This step is optional, but you can place any proteins or cheeses into your jar in bite-sized pieces. This could include hard-boiled eggs, cubed tofu, diced chicken, or feta cheese.

5. The last step before adding the salad greens is to add any fruits or soft vegetables. These foods are more delicate, and should not come into contact with the dressing until it is time to eat your salad. These ingredients could include avocado, tomatoes, diced apples, or dried cranberries.

6. Finally, add your salad greens to fill your jar. Try to choose darker leafy greens, such as spinach, kale or romaine, rather than iceberg lettuce, as they contain more nutrients. When you are ready to eat your salad, simply dump out the contents of the jar onto a plate or in a large bowl. Toss with a fork if needed and enjoy!

Easy Pasta Salad

This pasta salad can be easily customized and made in a large batch in advance. Try one of the flavor profile combinations:

- Mexican: black beans, corn, tomato/salsa, green onions, cheddar cheese

- Greek: chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, olive oil

- Italian: spinach or basil, tomato, mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinaigrette (see recipe below)

- Autumn-inspired: cubed and roasted butternut squash, apples, pecans or almonds, dried cranberries

- Create Your Own: Put a combination of your favorite vegetables, proteins, and toppings together in your pasta salad.

You will need:

-1 box whole wheat pasta

-various toppings, vegetables, and dressing of your choice

Begin by cooking your pasta according to the directions on the package. During this time, you can cut up toppings and prepare your dressing. Once pasta has cooled, mix in the toppings and dressing. 

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

Makes about 1 cup

- 3/4 cup olive oil  
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar  
- pinch of sea salt and pepper

Optional extras: spoonful of mustard, minced shallots, minced garlic, minced fresh herbs, teaspoon dried herbs, spoonful of honey or brown sugar

Place ingredients in a jar or bowl and shake or stir to combine. Separation may occur, so it might be necessary to shake or stir directly prior to serving as well. This dressing works great for the above pasta salads but also for regular salads as well.

Additional Customization:

Making homemade dressings and vinaigrettes does not have to be too challenging. Simply mix 3 parts oil with 1 part acid. Some examples of each of these are:

Oil: olive oil, grapeseed oil, walnut oil, etc

Acid: balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, lemon juice

Easy Hummus Wraps

These wraps are incredibly quick to prepare, only need a few ingredients, and are delicious for lunch or whenever you need a snack.

You will need:

-1 whole wheat or gluten-free tortilla                 

-3 T hummus                 

-assorted vegetables and toppings of your choice

Spread the hummus on the tortilla and top with vegetables. Roll up the tortilla or fold it in a style similar to that of a burrito.

Overnight Oats

This recipe is very easy to prepare the night (or several nights) before, and makes for the ultimate grab-and-go breakfast (or an easy afterschool snack!). Once you have mastered the base recipe, customize it any way you want.

Base Recipe:

Small Serving:            
1/4 cup rolled oats                             

1/2 cup milk of choice                                                

1/2 T chia seeds                                                                                

small pinch of sea salt  

Larger Serving:    
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk of choice                                             
1 T chia seeds
pinch of sea salt

Mixed Berry           

1/4 cup fresh or frozen berries

1 T sweetener of choice

Apple Cinnamon                                   

1/2 apple, diced

1 tsp cinnamon

1 T sweetener of choice

Chocolate Banana

1/2 banana, thinly sliced

1/2 T cocoa powder

1 T sweetener of choice

Pour all of your ingredients into a bowl or jar and mix well. Cover the bowl or jar with a lid or plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight, or for at least 3 hours. When ready to eat, remove from fridge and enjoy! If you would like your oatmeal to be warm, heat it prior to serving.

If you find that you have very busy weeks with school or work, I recommend making a week’s worth of overnight oats at a time. This is an effortless way to stay on track with healthy eating.