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Mason Jar Salads
Oh.
Remember last year when we discovered mason jar salads? We made some delicious Balsamic Chicken Mason Jar Salads. In fact, we made several rounds of these salads and enjoyed them for lunches a few weeks in a row. And then, like happens all too often, we got off our routine one week and never got back to it. Until yesterday.
I found this Chopped Black Bean and Corn Mason Jar Salad recipe and I knew I had to try them. We were going to add chicken to ours (picking up an already-cooked rotisserie chicken) but we forgot. We’ll have to try that during another round.
I altered my recipe a little bit from the original. I used a LOT less avocado and nonfat Greek yogurt to cut out additional fat. Today when I ate my salad at lunchtime, I also took about 5 tortilla chips, crushed them, and sprinkled them on top. There is something so satisfying about a good CRUNCH in a salad! I also love to throw an extra handful of romaine into the bowl when I’m about to eat one of these salads. You can only cram so much into one jar – it’s nice to bulk your salad up even more once it’s in the bowl!
Remember that when you are making a mason jar salad, the KEY is to keep the wet ingredients far away from the lettuce. You want your lettuce to stay crisp and dry as it sits in the jar up to a few days.
We made 10 jars at once – 1 salad per day for Bob and myself. You can certainly adjust the ingredients and amounts as you prefer.
Here are the ingredients that go into ONE salad. Multiply by as many as you’d like to make!
You will need:
(1) clean (and dry!) quart sized mason jar
1/4 Cup Salsa
1 TBSP Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 Cup black beans
1/2 Cup corn (I used frozen that I let defrost a little while I prepped the other ingredients.)
1/2 Oz Pepper Jack Cheese (cut into small cubes)
1/10 avocado, cubed
1/10 red onion, chopped
1 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Cups romaine, chopped
4-6 crushed tortilla chips (optional)
How to make:
:: Layer ingredients in jar in this order: salsa, yogurt, tomatoes, avocado, red onions, beans, corn, cheese, cilantro, romaine.
:: Make sure the dressing is not touching the spring mix or it will get soggy.
:: Place lid on jar and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat it.
:: Enjoy deliciously flavorful crispy salads all week long!
Here’s a close up of my bowl – before I added an extra handful of romaine!
