time in a jar
Time. we all wish there was more of it; we have too much to do in too little of it. what if i can give you an extra 2 hours in your week? what would you do with that 2 hours? i bet you can easily find something! here's an idea (courtesy of sue ansari) that has you prepare 5 delicious, easy & nutritious meals at once. the result is 5 awesome salads-in-a-jar. (one client has dubbed them "jartopia.") the concept is not new; prep once/eat 5 times. they keep easily for 5 days (i've kept them for 7 and been fine!) so you have 5 meals, in the time it took to make 1 meal, that you just dump in a big bowl and eat. done!
assemble ingredients:
5 quart sized glass canning jars, the wide mouth ones are best. (amazon.com, target, michaels or walmart all have these cheaply)
1 can beans (chickpeas, black beans, etc.)
1 bell pepper
olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, seasonings
grain (quinoa for complete protein, black rice, or brown rice...)
roasting veggies (cauliflower, sweet pot's, onions, yams, eggplant...)
nuts
dark leafy greens
cook a few cups of whole grain, like quinoa or brown rice following package directions (i cook mine in veggie broth for added flavor)
roast some basic veggies (lately i've been obsessed with sweet potatoes and onions, but your choice)
while grains are cooking and veggies are roasting, blend in food processor super easy homemade salad dressing (7 tsp lemon juice, 4 tsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 3 tbl tahini, water to thin if needed, salt, pepper, cayenne to spice it up if you like)
assemble jars, in this order:
1/8 c dressing
1/8 c dressing
1/4 c beans of your choice chopped bell pepper
1/2 c roasted veggies
1/4 c nuts (almonds, cashews, etc) or seeds (chia, sunflower, hemp or flax)
1/2 c grain 2-3 big handfuls of your fav greens
do not shake jars and make sure they're kept upright, so dressing stays on the bottom and the greens don't come into contact with it until you're ready to eat. then just dump the jar in a big bowl, and voila - the dressing will come out on top - where it belongs! :) again, thanks to sue ansari for this!
*this salad is totally customizable to your taste. please play around with it and have fun making it your own! i'd love to see some pics or read about some of your customizations, so please do share your comments, as well as what you do with your extra 2 hours this week.
