Mason Jar salads make a fun lunch – book review

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Disclosure: I received this book to review. The post contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase through these links I may receive a small commission. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

A couple of years ago, one of my students gave our team a basket of salads for an end-of-year gift.  The salads were delicious;  even better, they were assembled in layers inside mason jars.  I ended up purchasing more items from the farm where the salad ingredients were grown.  Inspired by the delicious salad idea, I wanted to experiment with more jarred lunches.

Mason_Jar_Salads-pomegranate_pear Hooray –  Mason Jar Salads and More: 50 Layered Lunches to Grab and Go is here with a cure for the sad desk lunch!

The possibility of saving time and money while also eating more healthful food really appeals to me.  The recipes in this book include ingredients that are easily found in a local farmer’s market, CSA, or any grocery store.  In fact, some of the produce is available right in my own backyard garden!  The author provides helpful hints that will make it even easier to assemble my own jarred meals.  Additional meal suggestions are included in the book; for example, quick jarred breakfasts, smoothies, and risotto recipes add a spicy kick to the meal plans.  A handy conversion chart is located in the final pages so that the reader can successfully prepare a jarred meal with only a few moments’ notice.  I’m looking forward to trying out these ideas.  Do you suffer from boring desk lunch?  Try one of these recipes and let me know what you think!

Try this recipe from Mason Jar Salads!  Images and recipes used with permission.
Pomegranate and Pear Salad

This salad never fails to put me in the fall spirit. Pears and blue cheese pair beautifully, but it’s the tart pomegranate seeds that really make this salad special. You can buy pomegranates whole and break them down yourself or purchase just the seeds at most grocery stores.

Makes 1 serving

1 pear, cored and thinly sliced
3 cups spinach leaves, divided
1⁄2 cup pomegranate seeds
1⁄4 cup roughly chopped pecans
2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
3 tablespoons Sherry Vinaigrette
1 quart-size Mason jar

Place the pear slices in the bottom of the Mason jar. Layer 2 cups of the spinach on top of the pear, then add the pomegranate seeds, another 1⁄2 cup spinach, and the chopped pecans. Finish with the remaining 1⁄2 cup spinach and the blue cheese.

Make a small cup out of parchment paper at the top of the jar and pour in the vinaigrette dressing. Seal the jar and refrigerate until ready to use.

Sherry Vinaigrette
2 1⁄2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk together the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking, until the dressing thickens.

Thanks to Ulysses Press for sending me a copy of Mason Jar Salads.


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Comments

  1. The Porcini Mushroom Risotto sounds fantastic! I love mushrooms so much!

  2. Linda Marie Finn says

    I like the looks of the one with the fruit in it !
    Linda Finn

  3. Cute and inventive idea! I’ve seen mason jar desserts but not salads before.

  4. Now that looks like a fun cookbook. These would be fun to send in for the hubby’s lunch.

  5. THEY LOOK SO GOOD! I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS.

  6. I have always loved the idea of salad in a jar. This year my son is taking some salad in a jar for his lunch. The school serves salad but they don’t have honey mustard which is the only dressing he will eat. The little jelly jars work perfect for his 1st grade appetite.

  7. The Crunchy Asian Salad sounds wonderful. They are so pretty. This is really cool.

  8. That looks so beautiful and yummy!
    Cinny recently posted…Channeling the inner #turtle with a Sassy #Leonardo #Costume #TMNT #sp #fashionMy Profile

  9. That sounds so amazing and probably looks really cool all put together!!!

  10. I love the idea of the pomengranite seeds! I have never seen that in one of these mason jar salads. So pretty.

  11. The recipe for Crunchy Asian salad sounds really good.

  12. They all look amazing I’d most like to try the porcini mushroom risotto.

  13. The Pesto tortellini with cherry tomatoes sounds good

  14. They all look good to me

  15. Crunchy asian salad for me first.

  16. Sherry Compton says

    The curried chicken salad sounds good.

  17. Saundra McKenzie says

    The Crunchy Asian salad sounds good.

  18. Kitty Iecvan says

    The Porcini mushroom risotto sounds good.

  19. Sherry Compton says

    I’ve always wanted to try overnight oatmeal, and they have a recipe for it.

  20. Sherry Compton says

    My daughter would enjoy trying the blueberry salad

  21. marnie ward says

    I visited Amazon and checked out some of the recipes and the Spicy Salsa Sounds Great. I would love t make it.

  22. The Crunchy Asian Salad sounds good.

  23. Of the recipes listed in the book’s TOC, the one I’d most like to try would be the spinach, blueberry, and blue cheese salad.

  24. This is such a great idea. Not only does it give options for healthy lunches but cleanup is a breeze. So many other containers need to be hand washed.

  25. This is a great idea!

  26. Your salad looks delicious! I keep hearing about putting salads in mason jars but I have never done it before. Looking forward to learning more about it in January.

  27. They have some cute container that would work well for this. If I was still working, that’s what I’d be packing!

  28. This does look like such a great idea. Thank you for sharing this great idea.

  29. I need to try making some of these. Thanks for the recipes!

  30. Dorothy Boucher says

    Wish I had seen this, I love making salads in a jar and preparing them ahead of time, for lunch, snacks, or when we go on a road trip. So many ways to make a salad in a jar.
    @tisonlyme143

  31. This is such a fun idea and simple!

  32. I’ve seen plastic mason jars, which would be perfect for this if you are taking lunch to work.

  33. I would love to try mason jar salads!

  34. It’s almost Spring and time to freshen up my salads. This looks yummy.

  35. Fun way to change up your salads.

  36. Oh my that salad with the pomegranate in it looks so so good. I love salads and this is a great idea to make different stuff in it to make for others too

  37. I’ve had salads with fruit at parties or restaurants. However I’ve never made it at home. This one looks so delicious!

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