We eat a lot of salads. It’s one of my kids favorite vegetable sides to have with dinner and also easy so it’s often on the plate. The only reason we don’t eat them for lunch more often is because I have to pull everything out of the fridge… again. Why yes, I AM a lazy lunch person! Haha. I usually grab a protein shake or PBJ.
I saw ‘salad in jar’ while scrolling pinterest and thought it looked like a pretty easy solution for our school days lunches. So, last night before plating up our dinner salads I had the kids (and myself) make our own for the next days lunch. Bonus, I only had to pull out all the fixings once! They really enjoyed putting together their own thing and looked forward to their healthy lunch.
These are supposed to last 3-5 days. We didn’t wait that long. obviously, but I will say that there was a definite seal on the jars and the lettuce was extra crisp so I wouldn’t doubt they last at least a couple days. The trick to keeping it from getting soggy is the layering.
You begin layering by putting wet on the bottom, so #1 dressing, and then things like sliced tomatoes, cucumbers or even eggs. I added avocado slices right in the dressing to keep it from browning. Worked perfectly!
Then add any meat, cheese, carrots, broccoli mushrooms, cherry tomatoes or things of the like to create a separation for the lettuce and the dressing. You could add your nuts, raisins or seeds here too if you like.
Last thing is the greens! Lettuce, spinach, whatever you’re leaf may be. Pack it in somewhat tightly but don’t crush the leaves. We then added croutons. Don’t do that…. if you want them crunchy. Save the crackers or croutons for when you’re ready to eat. Ours weren’t awful after a day, I actually enjoyed them but they weren’t crunchy.
We only stored for a day so I’ll update the next time we do this as to how many days they stayed fresh. Definitely making a few days worth soon! Tuna or chicken salad will be added to some of our next batch.
Have you tried these? Are you going to try them? This is a keeper idea for us for sure!
Anna Marcella's 
I actually prep a base of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Then I add beans, tuna, or guac when it’s time to serve. Salads are such a hack for nutrition and ease of prep. Am looking to diversify though, since I know salads can taste amazing, while mine tastes pretty… vegetable-y, lol.
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