We’re celebrating National Salad Month with this Mediterranean Mason Jar Salad. Don’t you feel like salads often get a bad wrap? They’re more than a collection of greens, drenched in bottled dressing or part of a dieters’ regular routine. We see them as the potential for a hearty, refreshing, nutritious option for any main meal.
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Mediterranean Month

In addition to National Salad Month, it’s also National Mediterranean Month. The Mediterranean Diet was named THE top diet of 2019 by U.S. News and World Reports. Research consistently finds that the Mediterranean Diet and its lifestyle practices reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. In addition, there is compelling evidence that omega-3s, found in a number of Mediterranean Diet foods, can boost the health and brainpower of everyone from infants to the elderly. Our Mediterranean Mason Jar salad represents the diet with a variety of vegetables, serving of whole-grains, and healthy fat tahini yogurt dressing.

Benefits of the Mason Jar

It took me awhile to jump on the Mason Jar salad bus. To be honest, while thought they were pleasing to the eye, the assembly process was a pain. However, once you get the hang of proper assembly, they come together quickly. Using the mason jar method keeps pre-made salads from getting mushy. Plus, you only have one container to clean compared to needing one container for lettuce, grains, and dressing.
You’ll need a 24 oz. mason jar with a wide mouth:

Proper Layering

The key to any mason jar salad is how you layer your ingredients. The proper order is as follows:

Bottom: dressing
Non absorbing proteins (chickpeas)
Non absorbing veggies (peppers, cucumbers, olives)
Grains (quinoa)
Fragile veggies (tomatoes)
Lettuce! Here in St. Louis, we have a local variety of greens from a company called Bright Farms. I love to use their greens because they’re delivered within 24 hours of harvest, so I know they’re going to be both fresh and retain their nutrients with less time from harvest to salad bowl. You can find these greens at your local Dierbergs.

Once you’re ready to enjoy, simply make sure you have a big enough bowl to host all your layered goodies!