Meal Prep 101: Salad Jars For Summer (When Being Poolside Is Your Number One Priority)
Summer is here and the living is easy!
Unlike most people, I feel like I have a harder time staying on track with eating clean during the summer because of A) nonstop bbq to the patio, pool party to FUN IN THE SUN!! B) During the winter, I am hibernating at home so I have no excuse but to meal prep and keep up with the healthy A -GAME.
And as you know, I’m a huge believer in balance. If you’re killing it at the gym and eat healthy 80% of the time, then it’s okay to live your best life when the next pool party is offering that juicy burger with a few poolside cocktails (Aperol spritz anyone)?
SALAD JARS: So salad jars, or honestly any meals that travel easily, work for me in the summer, as I try my best to follow the 80/20 during summer days. I have brought on food stylist, recipe developer, and blogger Rivki, who has pretty much made a career out of planning nourishing meals to support her fitness goals and around her nonstop, on-the-go lifestyle. She has created the following 2 salad jars that last well in the fridge- one featuring more basic vegetables, the other with a little more attitude.
Some Pro Tips by Rivki!
Sometimes creating some of the most beautiful dishes requires as little work as choosing the unique versions of the veggies and fruit you already buy.
For example, buy the multicoloured tomatoes (especially in the summer) instead of plain old red; choose watermelon radish instead of regular radish or slice candy cane beets instead of classic red beets. Open up your eyes to pink-fleshed cara cara oranges, rosé strawberries (yessir!), yellow zucchini, and purple carrots- and suddenly a simple dish of tomatoes, radishes, and zucchini becomes a veritable rainbow of orange, fuschia, yellow, and green!
2. In my experience, every dressing requires these components:
Acid, from vinegar or lime/lemon juice
Sweet little somethin’ like stevia, monk fruit, maple syrup, or yacon syrup
Emulsifier- like oil, but often I even skip this guy
Salty element- kosher or sea salt preferred
(So a basic example would be lemon juice, stevia, salt, and a drizzle of grapeseed oil.)
It is my actual job to create dishes that catch your eye, but don’t let that put you off! Your meals do not have to look like a Picasso or something you could never imagine making or eating. Eating a varied diet of wholesome foods- the ones that make you feel awesome, the ones you actually enjoy eating, and the ones you can envision becoming staples in your fridge, is as simple as you need it to be.
Once you see as assemble these babies, you too will think these salad jars are easier than you imagined, with that tiny little bonus that they have all the healthy nutrients you need: greens, protein, good fats and healthy carbs!
Follow along Rivki and I as we take you through the salad making the journey and check out the recipes below!
Carrot Radish Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing:
Carrots, radishes, arugula- produce you can almost always find in my fridge. Their colour makes eating vegetables exciting, and the flavor? It’s the bomb!
2 carrots, julienned with a julienne peeler, or 1.2 cup pre-shredded carrots
½ cup julienned raw zucchini
1-2 watermelon radish, sliced thinly
6 grapes, quartered, optional
Arugula or frisse
1 T chickpeas, toasted or not
2 t chopped dill, optional
1 T golden raisins, optional
Maple mustard dressing, recipe follows
Maple Mustard Dressing:
¼ cup oil
2 T maple syrup
2 t lemon juice
1.2 t Dijon
½ t salt
Instructions
Layer 2-3 T of the dressing in the bottom of the jar. Continue layering first 4 ingredients. Fill rest of the jar with tightly packed arugula or frisee, or any lettuce of choice. Top with chickpeas, and optional dill and raisins.
Classic Summer BBQ Salad:
Reminiscent of barbecue fare, with classic ingredients and minimal prep.
¼ cup pickled red onion, recipe follows
½-1 red pepper, finely diced
1 cup diced tomatoes
¼ cup of corn
1/3 cup quinoa
Romaine
1 T hemp hearts
2 t finely chopped parsley
Balsamic dressing, recipe follows
Pickled Red Onions
1 red onion
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon stevia, or 2 T sugar
1 tablespoon salt
Balsamic:
¼ cup oil
¼ cup balsamic
2 T tamari
2 T maple syrup
¼ t dried ginger
Instructions
Peel and slice the red onion into thin slices. Place into a container with a resealable lid.In a small saucepan stir together vinegar, stevia/sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.Pour mixture over onions in a jar until full. Place the lid on and let cool to room temperature. Place the lid on to seal and refrigerate. Layer 2-3 T of the dressing in the bottom of the jar. Continue layering first 5 ingredients. Fill rest of the jar with tightly packed romaine, or any lettuce of choice. Top with hemp hearts, and optional parsley.
Eat your hearts out
xox
Karina