Quinoa Salad Jars

From Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body

Ingredients:

Balsamic Vinaigrette
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp water (more or less depending on the consistency you want)
2 tbsp honey (can be replaced with agave or brown sugar)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
You can also add any ‘flavorings’ to the dressing that you like including Roasted garlic, basil, shallots, onions.  This is a great dressing as is, or use this as a base for adding additional flavors.  Place all ingredients into a small jar (canning jar). Anything with a lid works well.  Shake to mix thoroughly. Stores in fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Or to make things easier and to keep the oil and vinegar from separating, blend ingredients for about 30 seconds, then store in a jar for 1-2 weeks.

Salad Ingredients  

Makes 2 salads in 32 oz mason jars

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 big handfuls spinach

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1/2 red onion, diced

4 tbsp balsamic vinagrette

Directions:

Layer the ingredients in the jar as follows:

dressing

onion

mushrooms

tomatoes

quinoa

spinach

The most important part of the layering is making sure the dressing and the spinach (or whatever ‘leaf’ you choose) don’t touch. As long as they stay separate, these salads can be made up to 4 days in advance and will stay fresh in the fridge with a lid on. 

This is a great way to have a salad everyday for lunch at work. Just make a few jars on Sunday night and grab one to bring to work. When you’re ready to eat, just shake it up.  They should stay fresh for about 4 days.