Salad Jars: A Quick and Healthy Lunch

Salad jars are a great way to ensure you get your daily serving of vegetables.  They are also very convenient for people with busy lifestyles. In less than an hour you can have a whole week’s worth of healthy lunches ready to grab and go in the morning. 

 All you need to make a salad jar is a quart size mason jar, and your favorite salad ingredients, including dressing. The only rule with salad jars is do NOT let the dressing come into contact with the lettuce until you are ready to eat. I recommend adding your protein layer directly after your dressing. This layer will be in contact with the dressing for a few days, so it’s best to use a sturdy layer that won’t get soggy.

In the pictured salad jars I used 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and ½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing. Then I added a layer of mushrooms, followed by shredded chicken breast. I’m not a mushroom lover, but I eat them since they are so nutritious. I found that by adding the mushrooms first, and allowing them to marinate in the dressing, they tasted so much better, and I actually enjoyed eating them. 

The next layer is for various vegetables. In this layer I added carrots, radishes, celery, green peppers, and tomatoes. Even though the mushrooms and chicken completely covered the dressing, I added the carrots first, since they are sturdy, just to be safe.

The final layer is for lettuce. In my jars I added romaine lettuce, goat cheese, feta cheese, avocado, and crushed almonds. I also chose to add more delicate toppings in this layer because I didn’t want the flavor of these topping to change if by some chance they came into contact with the dressing.

Once your jar is filled to your liking, attach the lid and store in the fridge until you are ready to eat.  At mealtime, shake the jar to mix up all the ingredients, pour into a bowl or eat straight from the jar, and enjoy.

Suggestions

• It is much easier to eat straight from the jar if you use a wide-mouth mason jar.
• Use a FoodSaver, or other vacuum sealer with a mason jar attachment to keep your salads fresh for a longer period of time.
• Have a side with you salad jar, such as a baked sweet potato or brown rice, to keep you full until your next meal or snack.
• Use a pint size jar if you prefer side salads as opposed to meal-sized salads.

Real BBQ Sauce

This is an all natural BBQ Sauce, with absolutely no preservatives, GMOs, or high fructose corn syrup, all of which are found in BBQ Sauces bought at grocery stores. I offered samples to some law school students, who tend to consume highly processed foods on a regular basis, and all agreed it was one of the best BBQ sauces they had ever tasted. One even referred to it as being "Saucesome." This just goes to show you that all natural, unprocessed foods are just as tasty, if not better than processed stuff, while also being much better for you.

 

Ingredients

• 1 6oz Can of No Salt Added Tomato Paste
• 1 ½ Cup of Water
• 9 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 6 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 ½ Tablespoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• ¾ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ¾ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions

1. Add all ingredients except olive oil to a pot and bring to a boil, using a whisk to stir occasionally.
2. Once boiling, remove pot from heat and stir in olive oil 

Recipes yields about 3 cups of sauce

 

Notes

Tomato Paste: It is best to use no-salt-added tomato paste, because then you can control the amount of sodium within the recipe. However, if you can’t find a no-salt-added tomato paste then omit the 

1 ½ tablespoon of salt.

Maple Syrup: To keep this recipe “real,” as in no preservatives, only use 100% pure maple syrup. Using a syrup with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or corn syrup (CS) defeats the purpose of making your own BBQ Sauce. Pure maple syrup can be expensive, but I recently found out that Aldi carries an 8.5 oz glass bottle of pure maple syrup for only $3.99, and it tastes amazing.

Worcestershire Sauce: No matter how organic, vegan, or natural your store bought Worcestershire sauce claims to be it is not a “real” food. Almost all store bought versions contain HFCS or CS, and those that don’t tend to have a long list of ingredients, most of which are preservatives. Basically make your own or omit it completely, which will alter the taste (it is good without Worcestershire sauce, but I like the extra zing it provides). I use Martha Stewart’s recipe, but I substitute the ¼ cup brown sugar for ¼ cup honey. The recipe can be found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/258132/homemade-vegan-worcestershire-sauce

Tips

Tomato Paste: To easily remove the tomato paste from the can, use the can opener and completely remove the lid. Turn the can upside down over the pot, and then completely open the bottom. Once the bottom lid has been opened don't remove it from the can, then press the lid down into the can until all the tomato paste slides out of the can and into the pot. Remove the lid from the tomato paste in the pan, and you are ready to go.

Tomato Paste with bottom lid still attached.

Measurements: If you don’t want to measure out tablespoon after tablespoon, 9 tablespoons equals ½ cup and 1 tablespoon, while 6 tablespoons equals ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons. The first time I made the recipe I measured out each tablespoon, and I thought it was a hassle. The second time I used the above equivalents, but I thought that was even more inconvenient, since I ended up with more dirty dishes. So I have provided both measurements, and you can choose to use whatever you feel is easiest.

Storage: I used a pint size mason jar to store the BBQ sauce, which was too small, so i used the excess to marinate pork chops for dinner. If you plan on using a mason jar, I would recommend a quart size jar. Be sure to pour the sauce into the jar immediately after mixing in the olive oil, place the lid on the jar, and twist the band into place. In about 40 minutes the jar will seal itself from the heat of sauce. When you here a pop sound, your jar is sealed.

Dinner: BBQ Pork Chops, Green Beans, and Whole Wheat Macaroni with White Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Blueberry Banana Muffins

 School started back on January 10th, and since then my time has mainly been spent with these guys.

I have also been testing out some new recipes so there will definitely be quite a few Food posts in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for those.  Today's post is all about my all time favorite muffins.  These muffins have absolutely no added sugar or preservatives.  They are naturally sweetened by fruit and have major staying power. I especially love these topped with natural peanut butter right before a workout. At the bottom of the recipe I have posted some substitutions, so if you don't have a particular ingredient on hand or have an allergy you should still be able to enjoy these.  Also, even though I'm not a calorie counter I have also included the nutrition facts for those trying to watch their calorie intake, to show that even all natural, unprocessed foods can be delicious and low in calories.

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Ingredients

3 Bananas

¼ Cup Natural No Sugar Added Applesauce

¼ Cup Egg Whites

½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

½ Cup Old Fashioned Oats

½ Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Baking Soda

⅛ Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Blueberries

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Mash bananas and mix in applesauce, egg whites, and vanilla extract.

3. Add flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the liquid mixture.

4. Fold blueberries into the batter.

5. Portion batter into muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Nutrition Information  Per Muffin: 104 Calories, 0.7 grams of Fat, 22.2 grams of Carbohydrates, 5.6 grams of Sugar, and 2.9 grams of Protein

Notes

Bananas Mashed with Fork

This recipe is very easy to make using a mixer, but I did mix the entire recipe by hand just to show that it is possible to make all natural foods without having in special gadgets. If mixing by hand, you can use a whisk to mix the wet ingredients, but I do recommend using a rubber spatula once you add the dry ingredients because the mixture is very thick.

I recommend using a ice cream scoop to perfectly portion out the batter.  If using silicone muffin pans, once the muffins have cooled, push the bottom of each muffin mold and muffins will easily pop out. Since there is no oil in this recipe the muffins, if you use metal pans be sure to use muffin liners or grease the muffin tins.

Substitutions

This recipe uses very basic ingredients that most of you probably already have in your house; however, if you don't have all of the ingredients or if you have an allergy to some of these ingredients, I have listed some substitutions that do not interfere with the chemical structure of the recipe. Please be aware that any substitutions will alter the listed nutritional information.

Basic Ingredients

Applesauce: The applesauce is used in place of oil. If you prefer to use oil instead, then I recommend coconut oil, which is much less processed than vegetable oil; however, if vegetable oil is your only option it can be used in this recipe.

Egg Whites: If you do not have the liquid egg whites then you can use the whites of two eggs, which should equal ¼ cup. If you prefer to use the whole egg instead of just the whites, then use one egg.

Whole Wheat Flour: You could use another whole grain flour, such as spelt, and the recipe will still turn out the same. You could also use whole wheat pastry flour which would make the muffin lighter which some people prefer, but I prefer a dense muffin so I use whole wheat flour. If you have a gluten allergy both oat or almond flour can be used.

Old Fashioned Oats: I have never tried this recipe with quick oats or steel cut oats, but I don’t see any reason why they would not work with this recipe, so if you don’t have any old fashioned oats on hand try out one of the others.