21 Day Fix - Mason Jar Salads = My Favorite Lunch

I won't even begin to pretend like these mason jar salads were my idea! I'd been eyeing them on Pinterest for MONTHS, and the 21 Day Fix gave me the motivation to finally try them. I'm SO glad I did!

I loosely followed the steps on this blog, and now I don't even need to look at it when I make my salads!

I've been making the jars on Sunday afternoons, and I make four jars at once so that I have salads prepared for most of the work week. I work from home on Wednesdays and Fridays, but I quickly found it was easier to have my jar salad prepared for Wednesday than to take time to pull out all of the ingredients to make a fresh salad! The only reason that I don't make one for Friday is that I usually eat dinner leftovers and/or whatever is left in the fridge: )

My salads are layered like this, but the jars are easy to customize to meet your container needs: 

• about 1/6 red = cottage cheese (I measure this with an orange because it is easier than dumping from a red!)
• about 1/6 purple = salsa (I measure this with an orange because it is easier than dumping from a purple! I don't really count this as anything - but you could count it as a little bit of a purple!)
• 1/2 green = 5ish carrots 
• 1/2 green = 10ish cherry tomatoes (I've also used zucchini!)
• 5/6 red = cooked chicken with homemade taco seasoning
• 1 orange = sunflower seeds or pepitas
• 1 green = spinach (or other greens)

So, for me, one jar = 2 greens, 1 red, 1 orange, and a little bit of a purple!

These pictures aren't the greatest, but you'll get the idea: )

Prepping!
salsa/cottage cheese/tomatoes/carrots + prepped chicken* 
(*See my chicken tips below!)

All done!

Poured into a bowl at work for eating!

The salad doesn't look big in the photo, but I promise that it is the perfect size, and it has just the right amount of crrrrunch! The mix of ingredients is satisfying, and the flavor is delicious! The jars are convenient and easy to clean, and the salad keeps me full for several hours! 

SUPER Easy Way to Cook Chicken

This is my absolute go-to way to prep chicken for the week! 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spread frozen chicken breasts over a cookie sheet or glass casserole dish. (You can do this with one breast or several. I change up the amount I bake based on how many meals I will be using it.)
3. Bake the chicken for 25 minutes.
4. Take the chicken out of the oven.
5. Season both sides with the seasoning of your choice! (I usually do the homemade taco seasoning - YUM!)
6. Put the chicken back in the oven.
7. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
8. Allow the chicken to rest for at least ten minutes before dicing or shredding!

Enjoy: )

If you decide to make mason jar salads, please share your "recipe" and hints! I need to try some new flavors in mine!