Archives for March 2017

Mason Jar Salad: Tips and Tricks

March 31, 2017 By Jill

Weekly Mason Jar Salad logo

Each Friday, I have been trying to share with you a wonderful Mason Jar Salad that you can make for the week. These salads are large and filling, and they are such a blessing to have ready to go. I eat a jar salad 3-6 times a week. If I don’t eat it for lunch, I will eat the salad for a filling snack or even serve a jar as a dinner side for the whole family.

If you’ve read my posts and thought about taking the mason jar salad plunge what’s holding you back? Do you question: how long they will last, what kind of lettuce to use, how to fill the jars, how to eat them? Well, today I’m here to answer some of these questions.

Mason jar salad tips

How long do mason jar salads last?

I have been making these for over a year, and I can promise you they definitely last a week. Usually, I plan how many I need so that I do not make MORE than I need for the week. But some weeks haven’t gone as planned, and when I’ve even eaten them at 8-9 days old, THEY ARE STILL CRISPY! The trick is keeping the “wet” ingredients in the bottom of the jar. By doing this, the lettuce sits up above and does not get soggy. A second trick is to stuff the jar as full as possible leaving less air to wilt the lettuce.

What type of lettuce do you use?

I’m here to tell you, you can use ANY type of greens. Spinach, kale, romaine, ice berg, mixed lettuce, and anything in between. I will admit right here my FAVORITE kind of lettuce is bagged shredded iceberg lettuce. YES, THAT’S RIGHT; I SAID BAGGED, and it still keeps for over a week. I buy it from Sam’s Club, and the bag fills about 4 jars full. Someone told me one time: when buying bagged lettuce, look for the bags that seem to be vacuum sealed or that do not have lots of air in them because the lettuce lets off air as it starts to ripen. When I’m at Sam’s, I dig around the find the bags that appear to be vacuum sealed.

What type of jars do you use?

Making these salads in large mouth quart size jar is the easiest way to prepare them. This makes a very large salad. Sometimes I also make pint size jar salads for my kid’s lunches too. I like to use plastic lids instead of the metal ring and seal that come with the jars. I purchase these plastic lids from Amazon.com.

How do you get everything into the jar?

These salads are definitely not rocket science although I can give you a few tricks that may make the process a little less messy, but these salads are definitely not rocket science. One tool I use to load them up is a canning funnel.

It is wide, and I can easily throw my cheese and lettuce in using it without making a huge mess. Another thing I like to use is a small flexible cutting board. I use it to cut chicken or other meats, and then I can easily bend it and slide the meat into my jars.

How do you eat these salads?

When I first started eating these, I thought you could just shake them up and eat them out of the jar. Well, maybe some people do that, but like I said, I fill mine full! There is no shaking room. I also want to keep the air out so I don’t leave extra space in the jar. To eat them, I dump the salad out into a BIG bowl and then scrape the dressing out with a spatula. I do this because I like to get ALL of the dressing and make sure it gets on every bite!

Hopefully, these tips and tricks will give you the confidence you need to purchase the ingredients and make a few Mason Jar salads to try. You won’t be disappointed when the day gets busy and you open the fridge to find a healthy tasty option ready and waiting for you!

Are you ready to get to work and prep for the week? If so, be sure to check out all the Mason jar salad recipes I have shared. I’m sure you will find many that you will enjoy!

Click the photos below to view the full post and recipe.

Chicken Cesar jar Salad Recip — Chicken Cesar jar Salad

Eggroll in a Bowl Freezer Style

March 28, 2017 By Jill

We have dabbled with a few Mexican recipes lately. How about we try some Asian flavors? I don’t want to be accused of not exposing my kids to culture! Wink wink. Eggroll in a bowl is a super easy Trim Healthy Mama (THM) fuel pull (FP) meal. I have gotten questions about this meal being freezable but I have had great success with it. So successful, in fact, that when I took this recipe and Air fried it in wonton wrappers my husband said it was the best eggrolls ever!

Eggroll in a bowl is one of my favorite meals to have around. This is not something I would normally eat but I fell in love with it. Thankfully my cousin dragged me kicking and screaming to try it!

Eggroll in a bowl is great because it is a filling fuel pull meal for any time of day. I often use it at the 3-5pm time of day when I feel like Cookie Monster!

For those of you that are wondering what this THM stuff is and what fuel pull means, I highly recommend you read the THM plan book available on Amazon

Even if you do not know the plan you can enjoy this healthy, low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-glycemic meal!

I know…I know get to the point…here are my tips and tricks for this wonderful recipe. It can be found in the THM cookbook on page 63. This online version is also close to the same and will give my non-THM readers an option to make it with us. Get the recipe here.

Eggroll in a Bowl

Please remember to read my first post about my freezer meal theory (found under the super mom on the menu bar top right) so you can learn to cook only one night a week! With that in mind here is how I make four pans of eggroll in a bowl…

I use my biggest stock pot to brown my meat (Using ground turkey to make it fuel pull) and add all my ingredients. I don’t keep sesame oil on hand so I just use coconut oil instead. Last week I learned you aren’t supposed to heat MCT oil (a melted version of coconut oil) or olive oil so that is why I’m using coconut oil.

For the cabbage part, I like to keep it simple, so I use the large bags of coleslaw mix from Sams Club. To quadruple this recipe I use two of the big bags. Before I add the cabbage I divide everything between two pans otherwise it’s too much. Once separated you can add the cabbage and cook down. When I’m done and it’s cooled I divide it into my pans (I’ve also used freezer bags and vacuum bags) and then freeze. To use it from the freezer simply thaw and reheat. Reheating can be done on the stove again, microwave or oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

You won’t be disappointed!

The end product is fabulous and even better when you can have leftovers for snack time! I have also made this for my family and served it to them rolled in eggroll shells that I air fried. My husband said they were the best eggrolls he’s ever had! Yahoo!!

The Amazing (Trim Healthy Mama (THM) friendly) Taco Jar Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

March 24, 2017 By Jill

Weekly Mason Jar Salad logo

Spending 12 days in Mexico was AMAZING but I seriously missed some of my favorite Trim Healthy Mama (THM) foods. Especially this amazing taco jar salad. I have a very hard time trying different jar salads because I could eat this one EVERY day!

Poppy Seed Dressing-The Secret Ingredient

THM Poppy Seed Dressing, Sugar Free and Low Glycemic

This poppy seed dressing is definitely the secret ingredient in this mouthwatering salad. My cousin made me my first salad with her mother-in-law’s dressing on it and I have never turned back!

I usually make this dressing in large portions so I can have it in my fridge all the time. I use my Tupperware Quick Shake container to store it so I can shake it up and just pour it out when I want to use it. This is also a great coleslaw dressing and goes amazing on so many salads!

Now for the full recipe!

Taco Jar Salad

1/4 cup poppy seed dressing

Large spoonful of salsa

1/4-1/2 cup taco seasoned ground beef (I do my ground beef in the crock pot just like I do my chicken. No liquid. Just put the beef in and let it go! Next, I drain it and add my taco seasoning. You can do whatever seasoning is your favorite. I usually make my own.)

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I often leave this out because I try to eat little dairy)

Stuff full of shredded lettuce (or whatever your favorite lettuce is)

I cannot promote this salad anymore other than telling you it is AMAZING! I could eat it EVERY SINGLE DAY! Sometimes I get sick of having it for lunch and have it for a snack instead! Hah! You will not be disappointed!

Printable Recipe

Taco Jar Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients

1 Recipe Poppy Seed Dressing (1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup olive oil or MCT oil, 1/4 cup almond milk, 2 T Super sweet, 1 1/2 t apple cider vinegar, 1 T poppy seeds)
1/4 cup dressing
1 T Salsa (I don't really measure just one decent size scoop)
1/4-1/2 cup Taco seasoned cooked ground beef
1/4 cup Shredded Cheese Optional
Stuff full of lettuce

Instructions

After you prep your dressing and brown your ground beef. You can begin layering these into your jar in order.
ENJOY!

Don’t miss the next post!