I brought one of these stacked up salads to school today and let me tell you, it got quite a few comments. The recipes are all flexible and the salad stays fresh for days in your fridge so you don’t have to scramble for lunches in the morning.

I saw this idea from both The Daily Muse and Healthy.Happy.Life. so to say the least I am not the first to try this concept, but I made the contents original. Using mason jars instead of tupperware is way better in terms of leaking too, and it’s not made out of plastic which is a bonus.

I made 2 different kinds of mason jar salads, one large and one small. For those of you that think salads are not a substantial meal on its own, then I challenge you to try this. I was so stuffed from these and they’re so colourful and healthy. Hard not to love, really.

Option #1: Colourful Berry Salad with Ginger-Dijon Vinaigrette

Ginger-Dijon Vinaigrette

• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 3 tsp. olive oil
• 4 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 3 drops of Tabasco sauce

Colourful Berry Salad

• 1/2 cup mixed salad greens
• 1/4 cup almonds or cashews
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup blackberries
• Handful of pine nuts
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cucumber
• Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Method

The layers are very, very, very important so make sure you follow these directions! Otherwise your salad will not stay fresh.

Using a large mason jar, put the dressing on the bottom of the jar. ALWAYS do this because it prevents your ingredients from becoming soggy and drenched in vinaigrette.

Next, put the ingredients that can withstand sitting in dressing without becoming ruined. I put the cucumber and red pepper. Next, add in pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, almonds and cashews. These are all ingredients that can handle getting a little dressing on them while still tasting good, but you don’t want them sitting right on it.

Next add the blackberries. Then put the salad greens (important!) on TOP because none of the juices will make the leaves wilted and gross.

Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and close the lid of the jar tightly. These will save in the fridge for about 3-4 days so it’s a great make ahead lunch.

When you’re ready to eat, just shake it up and enjoy!

Option #2: Cold Noodle Salad

• 1/2 cup spicy tomato sauce
• 1/4 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup celery, finely sliced
• Tofu noodles
• Chili flakes to taste

Method

Using a small mason jar, follow the same general steps as option #1.

You want to layer all of your ingredients so the most durable ones are near the bottom, and the ones that need the be dry are at the top.

So for the cold noodle one, put the tomato sauce on the bottom layer. Then the tomatoes and mushrooms, followed by the celery. Put the noodles on top of everything and season with chili flakes. It’s always bugged me a little bit when people refer to something as a “pasta salad” because really, it’s just cold noodles. BUT it works for this, so I’ll be a hypocrite in this case.

You know the drill.