Must-Have Mason Jar Salads Cookbook For Busy Moms

Summer is in full swing, and that means lots of backyard BBQs, trips to the beach and running back and forth to swim team meets.  While the Mason Jar food craze has been all the rage for a while now, I never jumped on board.  That is until now.  I recently discovered a fabulous cookbook called “Mason Jar Salads and More” by Julia Mirabella and now I am a Mason Jar salad making machine.  This book is full of great summer meals that are yummy, healthy and totally portable.

I love that I can assemble these ahead of time and just grab a jar on the way out to camp pickup or swim team practice.  They also make great options for park or beach picnics or even to bring to a friends BBQ.  A few of my favorite recipes are:

the Southwestern Salad

the Pomegranate and Pear Salad

The Cobb Salad

The author doesn’t just stop with salads either.  She includes recipes for smoothies, pasta and soups, which will be great as we welcome in the fall.  I can already see how some of these recipes will be staples of mine as we enter the hectic back to school season with all of the after school activities.

If you’ve never experimented with Mason Jar salads, there are a few key tips that make all the difference:

• The first layer should always be the dressing
• The second layer should be hearty vegetables (they’ll soak up less of the dressing)
• Continue to layer on ingredients and make sure to pack the ingredients tightly
• Salad greens should always be on top (so as not to get soggy)

If you’re not yet convinced, here are a few other benefits of Mason Jar Salads:

• Saves Time as you can make healthy salads ahead of time (even for the whole week) so you can just grab a jar in the mornings as you head out the door
• Keeps the salads fresh longer than plastic containers
• Aids with Portion Control
• Allows us busy moms to have portable healthy snacks and meals while out and about with our kids