JAR SALADS TO GO

Quick and Easy Meal Prep for a Healthy, On-the-Go

Lifestyle

By Cheryl Meyer

I am committed to healthy eating no matter where I am.

I got an autoimmune disease and years.

eliminating toxins and by eating real food. I stopped eating the Standard American Diet of processed and fast food. My body was starving for nutrients, and I ate prime nutrients by eating organic fruits and vegetables. I now buy organic locally from a farm as close to me as possible, and I eat the full spectrum of the colors of the rainbow. I cook to control how it is prepared.

Jar salads are one of my tips for maintaining my new healthy eating habits.

I started to feel great eating real food. I learned that my body wanted to heal, but I had to give it the right building blocks to use.

When you start eating healthy, you begin to feel fantastic—no more SAD (Standard American Diet) for me. could eat real food while away from home.

A jar salad is how I carry lunch headed for an airplane. I also take these when I attend meetings or summits.

I have unbleached bamboo food out of the jar to eat.

I take my salad dressing. On a plane, it might be just olive oil, a whole lemon, and seasonings I have put into a little baggie so I can get through security. (I buy tuna in glass jars from Tonnino at Whole Foods or Walmart. Way cheaper at Walmart, and they deliver. Their jars hold a little over 6 oz of tuna in olive oil. I USE THE TUNA JARS TO CARRY MY SALAD DRESSING ounces of liquid in a container that I have been measuring 3 ounces of quality olive oil and then taking lemon with me to use as a salad dressing. Then I take seasonings in little stainless containers with silicone lids and viola; I have a lovely dressing for my salad. Long answer, but you get the gist. Security doesn’t stop my jar salad from going through if I don’t put any liquids in the jar. step of the way. You can do this too.

If I am not going on a plane, these jars perfectly hold my quality olive oil and organic red wine vinegar salad dressing. And by the way, the Tonnino Tuna in olive oil is delicious. (So, the jar is a bonus.)

I could sell these jar salads since everyone wants to know where I “bought” them. How can they get one?

The key is that I am committed to eating the rainbow and avoiding processed or fast food. My body LOVES that I am eating the rainbow.

How To Make Jar Salads

When buying ingredients, follow the Dirty Dozen card at a minimum; therefore, only use organic tomatoes, peppers, berries, celery, and cucumbers. If the produce

15 card, you can decide if you purchase organic or not. I look up the fruit or veggie on the USDA website “What’s on My Food?” social, which has nothing to do with what I feed my body.

The key to long-term health is that Food Quality Matters.

The rainbow jar salad was born.

By using Ball jars, my salads are secure and beautiful. I layer the veggies so that the rainbow is appealing.

Below, I share the tips that make my jar salads work best. I have learned that my salads work best if I build the salad bottoms up, with sturdier vegetables on the bottom and more fragile vegetables and fruits on the top. This way, my salad, veggies, and fruit remain crisp and fresh. Then, I keep homemade dressings and condiments in separate containers that are yummy and clean.

I carry my condiments in small stainless-steel containers with silicone lids or small tuna jars. I also carry my salad dressing securely in stainless-steel containers or small jars. I get the stainless containers breaks down how many pesticides and herbicides are sprayed on that food and what they are. Are they neurotoxins, carcinogens, hormone disruptors, developmental or reproductive toxins, and even toxins killing our bees? No pollinators, no food. Knowledge is power. Protect your body.

I started to make salads in Ball canning jars. (Ace Hardware stores). I travel with my food this way. The possibilities are endless. This is how I prepare “food to go” to stay true to my healthy eating. I pack the jars in an insulated carry bag with ice packs to keep them fresh. If I am going onto a plane, I carry the cheap ice packs that come with some shipped foods I buy. Then, before I go through security, I throw the ice packs away. My salad jar veggies stay fresh up to the last moment this way.

I do not expect others I join for lunch or dinner to eat as I do. However, I will not compromise how I eat either. This allows me to maintain my healthy diet. In addition, I can join friends and be

(see the note above for the variation if I am boarding a plane and going through security)

The possibilities are endless, and the items in my salads are quality organic real food items. Remember, Food Quality Matters.

1. As discussed, I added crunchy veggies to the bottom of the jar - Celery, carrots, cubed bell pepper, and jicama. It keeps the softer veggies layered above from getting soggy.

2. Next, layer the softer veggies as you can in rows. The rainbow presentation is very appealing.

3. Top with your greens. Use a variety.

Add protein

5. Finally, add the toasted nuts last to keep them crunchy. Or I carry those in the small separate containers.

6. Seal the jars with lids and store them in the refrigerator. Now they are all ready to go to grab on the way out the door. When you are ready to eat, shake it up, pour it into a bowl, and enjoy!

For one, they are so pretty! But more importantly, these readyto-go jar salads make eating a healthy weekday lunch easy. I’ve been prepping some mason jar salads on Sunday or Monday each week to prepare healthy week. (Depending on what you put in your salads, they will last 3-5 days. For example, the one with chicken stays fresh for 3 days after you cook your chicken.)

These ready-to-go salads in jars make it easy to eat a healthy lunch on busy weekdays. Having these ready to eat during my lunch break on busy workdays is wonderful.

I use Primal Palate organic

I use Ocean’s Halo Organic No Soy Soy-free Sauce (Soy is a sensitivity of mine, but no matter what, soy anyway.

Tip: Sometimes, I use Whole Food Salad Bar veggies and cut them up for fast prep. Only if their veggies are organic. In California, I get organic ingredients from their salad bar, but in Sedona, they only use conventional produce, so I buy the organic and chop up my own. Check with the store manager of each store. Things can change.

Fast food salad bars are sprayed with toxins.

For meat or protein

• Organic or Kosher chicken (Trader Joe’s) or Whole Foods (I bake myself, or a Mary’s cooked chicken at Whole Foods.

• ground beef that I cook myself. (Why buy grass-fed beef that important.)

• Or, on the top, Applegate cold cuts that are organic. I especially like their boiled ham, but they also have several healthy turkey and chicken cold-cut options.

• Tuna salad made with jarred Tonnino Tuna in olive oil in a kept cold with cold packs.

• could also make salmon salad out of it with organic mayo. I use soy-free Follow Your Heart Mayo. Celery, onion, carrots, and red pepper all go into my seafood salads. If you do make a salad out of it, it goes to the bottom of the jar. Or I carry it in a separate stainless container with a silicon top and pack it in need to be kept cold.)

• I also make crispy Applegate organic Sunday bacon at times, to carry separately in a stainless container with a silicone top.

I use Primal Kitchen salad dressings

I use Violife Vegan cheese. If you are not dairy sensitive, use organic or European cheeses.

Organic tofu is a good option, tofu is GMO, and you do not need those chemicals in your body.

• Organic beans you prepare and cook yourself or out of BPA-free cans. I love White Northern beans, drain them and then marinate them in olive oil, seasonings, and vinegar. First, I marinate them in olive oil www.thefuriesoliveoil.

• Hardboiled eggs. I use organic pastured chicken eggs. Sprouts carry them already hardboiled, but often I hard boil them myself. Why pastured eggs? Cage-free chickens are squished together and live in abhorrent conditions. And I do not want an unhealthy dose of their stress hormones. I have plenty of my own. Pastured chickens eat their berries, and bugs, not GMO feed. Conventional chickens sometimes are fed arsenic— Food Quality Matters.

• Barbecued chicken saladcorn, black beans, chicken, BBQ sauce, lettuce, cheese, and tortilla chips. BBQ Sauce should be Primal Kitchen (no sugar)

• Greek Salad - spring mix, feta cheese (I use vegan from Violife, kalamata olives, cucumber, tomato

seasonings, and red wine

Then, add seasonings and hard-cubed veggies and onions to the beans. I carry these in a separate stainless container do not marinate the beans. You cannot have the liquid or pack them in another Tonnino into a single quart baggie and combined.

• The balance of the salad should include all of the colors of the rainbow, starting at the bottom of the jar. Next, cut the pieces into cubes for easy eating.

Types of salads to make in Ball Jars (Use organic ingredients whenever possible):

• Cobb Salad - romaine lettuce, blue cheese, hardboiled pastured eggs, chopped tomatoes.

• Taco Salad (with separately carried organic tortilla chips. We like organic blue tortilla chips), iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, taco seasoned grasscooked with organic jarred tomatoes, organic defrosted corn kernels, celery, carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, black beans, guacamole in a separate container. Colby cheese shreds (I use Violife) (Carry salsa in a separate container.)

• Spinach Salad with feta cheese (I use vegan from Violife,) organic dried cranberries, hardboiled egg, tomato, pecans, and red onion. Buy organic cranberries at Nuts.com

• Burrito Salad – cooked Lundberg brown rice, red organic beans (both on the bottom of the jar), corn, avocado, onion, cheddar cheese shreds (Violife), or organic dairy cheddar cheese.

• Waldorf Salad - chunks of pastured chicken, red grapes, red onion, celery, walnuts, romaine lettuce, creamy mayo, I use Follow Your Heart

• Quinoa salad - put the quinoa on the bottom of the jar and then layer rainbow vegetables and fruits on top. Add nuts and quality meat. Add cucumber, colored bell pepper squares, and purple onion. Home-

Cherry tomatoes, Bok choy, celery, multicolored carrot circles, jicama, dried organic blueberries (Nuts.com), and apples, and make a lemon and olive oil dressing with herbs or a dressing of your choice in a separate container.

Why no soy? 95% of Soy is GMO.

• Shrimp Sushi Salad - sushi rice, seaweed salad or nori strips, Pre-cooked shrimp, red cabbage, green onion, sesame seeds, matchstick carrots, cucumber, avocado, wasabi, pickled ginger, no soy soy-free

Cucumbers must be organic, and the shrimp should be wildcaught.

• Pasta Salad with organic Cannellini Beans and spinach, celery, carrots, beets, and onion, or use your imagination and make your favorite pasta salad in the jar.

• Oriental Salad – 2 tbsp. Sesame-ginger dressing (I use cooked organic pastured chicken, shredded multicolor carrots, cooked quinoa, or cooked translucent rice noodles, mushrooms are very dirty sprayed with tons of pesticides. The other advantage of organic red wine vinegar, I buy one with the mother, which are probiotics good for my gut, and the taste of this vinegar is outstanding. give it a whirl. I carry these in little leftover tuna glass bottles that are small and secure to carry salad dressing. Always bag the jar so that it does not leak into your purse.

My favorite salad dressing is Danielle Walker Ranch Dressing. Her cookbooks are amazing for making beautiful, healthy food in general. Non-dairy. Garlic cloves, onion powder, fresh parsley, fresh chives, fresh dill, and lemon juice. Follow Your Heart no soy Mayo, a small can of coconut cream. Sea salt and Primal Seasonings Steak Seasoning. www.againstallgrain.

I did a cooking demonstration salads to go. It’s fun to watch and loaded with wonderful information. The second part of the podcast discusses why to buy local, the big advantages of eating fruits and vegetables just picked, and the many other advantages of Saladtogorainbowinajar

Or, I make a homemade salad dressing using my Cuisinart

Mini Chop, 3 cloves of garlic, a piece of shallot, a small piece of purple onion, Frontier Organic is extra virgin, and a nice olive color (https://bit.ly/furiesoliveoil), organic red wine vinegar (grapes