Mason Jar Meal Prep: The Simple Way to Eat Healthier

One day of meal prep can save you tons of time in the kitchen throughout the week. And mason jars are making this process even easier.

Melissa Griffiths shares how to meal prep in a mason jar for every meal.

Find more tips from Melissa on Instagram, @blessthismessblog

Asian Inspired Salad in a Jar

For the Salad

• Asian Infusion Dressing (recipe in the notes)
• Cooked quinoa
• Chopped cucumber, red cabbage, broccoli, and shredded carrot
• Chopped Romaine and spinach

Asian Infusion Dressing:

• 1 T. Tahini
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 1 t. sesame oil
• 1 t. honey
• 1/4 t. EACH – salt, pepper, ground ginger, garlic powder

Method

1. For the dressing:
2. Add everything to a small mason jar, put on the lid, and shake until well combined. Makes enough dressing for about 3 salads in a jar.
3. To assemble the salad:
4. In a pint mason jar add the dressing, quinoa, chopped “extras” and then greens (in that order). Pack the jars pretty tight. Add a lid and store in the fridge. When you are ready to eat dump the jar into a bowl and stir to combine or shake the jar very well and eat from the jar.

Omelet in a Jar

Ingredients

For the Jars

• Chopped vegetables like onions, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, fresh spinach
• Optional additions like cooked chopped bacon or diced ham

For the omelet

• Olive oil
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• shredded cheese, optional

Method

1. Wash and chop your veggies and pack them into a jar. I used 1 cup wide mouth jars and that was just right for one serving. You can always add more vegetables to a larger jar. If you are using fresh spinach, add it last to the top of the jar. I like to prep 4-6 at a time which is a week’s worth of healthy breakfasts or simple lunches for me.
2. On the day you want to make an “omelet” heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet. When the oil is hot, add the contents of one jar and saute until the veggies are tender crisp. While the veggies are cooking break your two eggs into the empty jar and use a fork to scramble them.
3. Add the eggs to the cooked vegetables when the vegetables are tender crisp and stir often until the eggs are cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add optional shredded cheese. When cheese is melted, serve right away.
4. OR
5. You can saute the vegetables until tender crisp and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside (or scoot them to one side of the pan if it is big enough. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook them over easy. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soft-centered eggs over the cooked vegetables. The yolk turns into this amazing ‘sauce” almost and it is delicious!

Freezer Smoothie Jar

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups greens
• 1 cup fruit
• Extras (hemp seed hearts, chia seeds, cacoa nibs, flaxseed)
• 1 cup liquid (milk, nut milk, juice, water)

Method

1. Add all of the smoothie ingredients to a baggie or a wide mouth pint jar, close, and freeze.
2. When you are ready to make a smoothie add the contents of one freezer smoothie jar plus 1 cup liquid to the jar of your blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy right away.

Make Ahead Snacks in a Jar

Ingredients

• Cauliflower and broccoli + greek yogurt ranch dip
• Cottage cheese + fruit (I used mango, though I love pineapple and oranges too)
• Greek yogurt and berries/pomegranate + granola
• Apple slices + cheese cubes
• Cucumber + date balls or oatmeal energy bites
• Celery + peanut butter
• Grapes + roasted chickpeas
• Mandarin orange + pistachios
• Apple slices + dark chocolate and nuts
• Bell peppers and carrots + hummus

Method

• Wash and cut up your cauliflower and broccoli into small florets. Fill the mason jar about 2/3 of the way full with your vegetables. Add some Greek yogurt ranch dip to the fruit cup (great time to measure and use portion control if you are prepping for weight loss), add the ranch dip in a cup to the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Measure out a serving of cottage cheese and add it to the mason jar. Fill the fruit cup with fruit of your choice (mango, pineapple, mandarin oranges, berries, and even cherry tomatoes are all good). Add the fruit in a cup to the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to eat, add the fruit to the cottage cheese and enjoy.
• Place a serving of Greek yogurt in the mason jar and top with your choices of berries (fresh or frozen) and/or pomegranate seeds (arils). Add some granola to the fruit cup (this is my favorite healthy granola recipe). Place the granola filled cup in the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to eat, add the granola to the yogurt and enjoy.
• Prep the apples by slicing/coring them and dipping them in something so that they don’t turn brown. You can dip apples in a little bit of lemon juice, Fruit Fresh(it’s absorbic acid), or even a bit of orange juice. Place apples in the bottom of the mason jar. Fill a fruit cup with a serving of cheese cubes. Place the cheese cube filled cup in the mason jar, screw on the lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Prep your cucumber by washing it and slicing it into rounds or spears. Place cucumber in the bottom of the mason jar and fill the fruit cup with a date ballor oatmeal energy bite (or two). Place the “bite” filled cup in the mason jar, screw on the lid, and place in the fridge for up to 3 days. Cucumbers, especially cut ones, don’t last as long as other more firm vegetables. Plan to eat these at the beginning of the week. Here are some of my favorite date ball recipes and I have lots of oatmeal energy bites coming your way!
• Prep your celery by washing, trimming, and cutting it into sticks. Cut the sticks short (about 2.5 inches long) so that they fit in the mason jar and you still have room to add your cup of peanut butter. Place the celery in the bottom of the mason jar and fill a fruit cup with a serving of peanut butter. Place the peanut butter filled cup in the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to a week. Celery lasts a really long time like this!
• Prep the grapes by washing them and taking the grapes off of the stem. Fill a mason jar 2/3 of the way full with grapes. Fill a fruit cup with roasted chickpeas (recipe coming soon! They are so good!). Place the roasted chickpea filled cup in the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Peel and segment a mandarin orange (or other small citrus fruit) and put the pieces in the jar, or, if it is small enough, pop the whole fruit into the bottom of the jar. Fill a fruit cup with a serving of pistachios. Place the pistachio filled cup in the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Prep the apples by slicing/coring them and dipping them in something so that they don’t turn brown. You can dip apples in a little bit of lemon juice, Fruit Fresh (it’s absorbic acid), or even a bit of orange juice (my kids fuss if they are dipped in lemon, but orange is great). Place apples in the bottom of the mason jar. Fill a fruit cup with a serving of nuts and dark chocolate. Place the nut and chocolate filled cup in the mason jar, screw on the lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days. I really like these extra dark chocolate chipsjust FYI.
• Prep bell peppers and carrots by washing and slicing. Fill the mason jar 2/3 of the way full. Place a serving of hummus in the fruit cup. Place the hummus filled cup in the mason jar, screw on a lid, and place in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you do only carrots and not bell peppers, you can keep it in the fridge for a week. Carrots that you peel and cut on your own last much longer than “baby carrots,” just FYI. I’m not sure what they do to baby carrots, but they seem to get slimy or soft much faster than a big carrot you prep yourself. If you are using baby carrots I’d eat within 3 days.