How to Pack Salads So They Stay Fresh All Week For Work

 Will Schuerman · January 11, 2016

Eating salad on a daily basis can be a great way to stay healthy. Personally, if I don’t pack a salad or something healthy, I wind up going out to lunch and eat a burger or pizza. Quite the opposite of healthy.

Here’s a great way to make a bunch of salads ahead of time (e.g. Sunday night).  Since you are making them all once, it really doesn’t take much time to create five great tasting salads.

You can use either mason jars or plastic containers.  I personally like using mason jars, but you just have to make sure to keep them upright else the dressing can make the greens all soggy.

For Mason Jars:

1. Start with salad dressing. By putting the dressing at the bottom, gravity will do its just and will keep it separated from the greens.   Therefore, no soggy greens.
2. Add your veggies. After the salad dressing, throw in your vegetables.  The harder more dense vegetables (e.g. carrots) should go first, then add the softer vegetables like peppers or tomatoes. The denser vegetables will not get soggy when touching the salad dressing.
3. Add your leafy greens. This should take up at least half of the jar.  I like to use spinnach or kale.  If you aren’t using packaged lettuce, then make sure it is completely dry before adding or else it’ll go bad.
4. Put protein last.  This includes cooked meat,  grated cheese, nuts and seeds.  The weight of these should help push down the other items to fit more in.
5. Screw the cap on tightly and store in your fridge.

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When you are ready to eat, just shake the jar thoroughly and you go good to go.  Tip: make sure to keep the jars upright to prevent the greens from getting into the dressing.

For Plastic Containers:

The other option is to use BPA free plastic containers. Make sure to use ones that are flat and rectangular.  They are easier to stack and spread out the greens.

Unlike mason jars where you put the salad dressing at the bottom, store the salad dressing separately in another container.

What I like to do is buy these little 1-oz. cups with lids (see picture below). They’re the perfect serving size for a salad I take to work – and conveniently will fit inside my salad container without taking up too much space.

You can usually find them at a local party store (they’re marketed as Jello-shot cups), but I prefer to buy mine on Amazon because it’s a way better deal.

Amazon

1-ounce cups with lids (125 count), $6.75

Source: http://www.simplemost.com/how-to-pack-salads-so-they-stay-fresh-all-week/?source=WTVF&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=WTVF