Summer Salad in a Jar

Taste and Savor's healthy chef Nancy Waldeck whips up fresh salad jars and shows us how to stack them on 'Atlanta & Company.'

Straight from Chef Nancy:

Salad in a Jar is the perfect solution for hot summer days and lighter, seasonal eating! Make it at home and serve it up for lunch, picnics, or serve to the kids as a personal dinner side.

When the dressing goes on the bottom, and veggies and other get piled on top, everything stays separate and dressing-free until you toss the salad together in a bowl.

With the lid sealed tightly, these salads can last for several days in the fridge — veggies salads hold better. When you’re ready to eat your salad, just unscrew the cap and shake it into a bowl.

How to Layer Your Salad – 

1. 1 to 4 TB Salad dressing
2. Hard Veggies like carrots, cucumbers, red or green pepper, radishes, etc.
3. Beans, Grains, like chickpeas, rice, quinoa or orzo
4. Cheese and/or Proteins, like shredded or crumbled cheeses, rotisserie chicken or tuna
5. Softer veggies or fruit like tomatoes, berries or peaches, even dried fruit like apricots or raisins
6. Nuts, Seeds
7. Salad greens like shredded romaine, baby greens or arugula

Honey Mustard Dressing with Salad in a Jar

• ½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• ¼ Cup Dijon Mustard
• 1 TB + 1 Tsp Honey
• Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Shake all the ingredients together in a jar.

SEVEN LAYERS

• Honey Mustard Dressing
• Chopped Carrots
• Chickpeas
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Golden Raisins
• Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Baby Greens

Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

• 2 Cups Blueberries
• ½  Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 TB Honey, (optional if blueberries are not beautifully ripe)
• 2 TB Lemon Juice
• 1 TB Dijon
• 3/4 Cup Avocado Oil (or olive oil)
• Salt Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Place the berries, balsamic vinegar, honey if using, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper, to taste in a blender or food processor and process until fairly smooth.

SEVEN LAYERS

• Divide the dressing into 4 large jars
• Chopped Cucumbers
• Red Quinoa
• Crumbled Blue Cheese and Shredded or Chopped Cooked Rotisserie Chicken
• Cups Blue Berries
• Chopped Toasted Pecans
• 2 Cups Baby Greens or Arugula

What to drink with Light Summer Salads?

We’re just not as familiar with the Gamay grape as others! But we should be! Especially in the hot months of summer when we are craving a cooler wine, but it just has to be red! Gamay is from Burgundy, France specifically at the very end of the region. It’s light and refreshing, so it can be served a little cooler than other red wines. Look for wines named “Beaujolais” in your grocery store. The French wine is named after the place is from, not the name of the grape!