Imagine taking your pre-made salad or burrito to work, only to take a bite at mealtime and realize it’s soggy enough to be soup. Or how about when you slave over your weekly meal prep and have to keep the dressing or salsa separate until you’re ready to devour, only to end up having to actually finish making the meal and wash extra dishes when you’re ready to eat. Here’s when our new favorite meal prepping trick comes in handy.
The Mason Jar
Mason Jars come in a variety of sizes, and you should choose the size that’s right for you based off of how much you typically eat in a meal. A 16 oz jar is a generally good size to be able to fit all of your favorite ingredients in. The jar does not have to be clear, but it’s helpful to see where you’re at when trying not to overfill the jar.
The trick to keeping your food fresh and crisp with this meal prep is to start with the liquids on the bottom. This can be dressing, salsa, sour cream, or anything thick enough to hold a few more layers on top of it. This article describes how to make a burrito jar or a salad jar, but you can make so many creative meals just by following these simple steps:
- First layer is the liquids
- The next layer can be black beans or corn; if you’re making a salad it would be the tomatoes or vegetables. This ingredient should be anything that can sit next to dressing and not get soggy.
- The next layer is rice, or another type of filling, like tofu, chicken or quinoa. Whatever you choose, be sure it is cooked and ready for consumption.
- The last couple layers are up to you on how you layer it, but we recommend that you leave the lettuce for last so it stays fresh. Onion, avocado, cheese, cilantro, etc. are great to add in before the lettuce.
Last Touches
Leave some room at the top so when you shake your lunch the ingredients have room to move. Be sure to put the lid on when you store them in the fridge to keep them fresh. Keep your mason jars upright to avoid the dressing going to the top, and when you’re ready to eat, simply shake the jar to mix the ingredients and enjoy right out of the jar or pour straight onto a warm tortilla!