Mason Jar Salads

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I thought it would be good to collaborate my collection of mason jar salads from over the past few weeks (I have three to share with you today). These are our favorite go to thing for lunches. At the start of the week I make 4-6 jars and then Kyle and I have them to grab throughout the week. I don't make 10 because we don't want to eat them every day of the week. Instead they are made and ready when we don't have something else. We typically have left overs in the mix so it adds some variety to what we grab for lunch. And if I have a kid day activity I can toss one in and know I'm taken care of while either the kids eat out or I fix them something not so healthy but quick. 

Burrito Bowl Jar Salads recipe can be found here. 

Chickpea Salad with Minty Yogurt Dressing
Makes 4 jars

Ingredients:
½ cup reduced-fat (2%) plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
2 cups chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped cucumber
4 cups baby spinach
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley

Preparation
1. Place yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and mint in a blender; cover. Blend until smooth. (I made a double batch because I didn't have a smaller blender at the time)
2. Season with salt and pepper if desired; mix well. Evenly divide dressing between 4 pint Mason jars. Set aside.
3. Evenly layer chickpeas, bell pepper, cucumber, spinach, cheese, and parsley on top of dressing in jars. 

Fix container count: 1 green, 1 yellow, 1/2 blue

Nutty-Apple Jar Salad

Makes 4 jar salads

Dressing: (place all ingredients in small jar, cover and shake until mixed) 

3 T almond butter

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T pure maple syrup

2 T water

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp sesame oil

Other ingredients:

1 Apple (presoaked in salt water & rinsed to prevent browning) chopped in bite size pieces

1 c celery chopped

1 c radishes chopped (I couldn't fit these in, bigger jar next time)

1 1/3 c walnuts roughly chopped

3 c chopped chicken breast

4 c leafy greens - I used a power blend (kale, spinach, arugula, baby chard)

Place in mason jar in order listed: 

Orange container of dressing, 1/4 of the chopped apple, 1/4 c celery, 1/4 c radishes, blue container of walnuts, red container of chicken, green container of greens 

Fix container count:

1 Orange, 1 blue, 1/4 purple, 1 red, 1.5 green