Big Salad Energy – Episode 1

Each week I meal prep for my best friend, Elliot, and myself. Jar salads are an absolute staple. They are the perfect size (32 oz., wide mouth, Ball jars for the salads – 16 oz., wide mouth Ball jars for the dressing) and keep incredibly well with each of us having three salads a week. The base is always spinach, because that’s our favorite, but the toppings and flavors change week to week. Finally, it’s time to start sharing our Big Salad Energy.

Chickpea, Salami & Sweet Pepper Salad

– with homemade Caeser dressing

Ingredients and Directions (for 6 salads)

• 16 oz. spinach
• 8 oz. cabbage
• 6-8 oz. salami
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1 bag sweet peppers
• 1 red onion
• 2 cups cherry tomatos
• 8 oz. feta
• 1/4 olive tapenade
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2-3 anchovies
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and slice the sweet peppers into rounds. Dice the onion. Add everything to a bowl with the olive tapenade (store bought or homemade work) and feta. Stir until well combined.

In 16 oz. jars, spoon even amounts of the chickpea salad into the bottom. Follow with equal amounts of cabbage and finish with spinach.

Chop the salami and store separately in a small food storage container. I’ve found salami prefers to be on it’s own until ready to eat. It loses flavor and consistency through the week if you mix it in with other salad toppings.

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until well combined. Add water as needed to loosen the consistency. Pour into an 8 oz. jar and refrigerate until ready to eat!

Kinda Classic Cobb

– with homemade Honey Mustard dressing

Ingredients and Directions

• 16 oz. peppered ham
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 8 oz. cherry tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 purple onion
• 6 eggs
• 16 oz. spinach
• 1 1/2 cup mayo
• 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp Nature’s Seasons

Clean and chop all veggies and stir together.

Hard boil the eggs. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, place eggs in and set a timer for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs to an ice bath to cool before peeling.

Dice the ham into bite sized pieces.

In 16 oz. jars, evenly distribute the ham. Top with the tomato and pepper mixture. Add spinach until each jar is full.

For the dressing, blend together mayo, mustard, honey, Nature’s Seasons, and add water as needed until you reach the consistency you prefer.

BBQ Meatball Salads

– with homemade Ranch dressing

Ingredients and Directions

• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach (a 1/2 cup after it’s defrosted)
• 1 1/2 tsp Nature’s Seasons
• 1 white onion
• 4 cups shredded green cabbage
• 16 oz. spinach
• 2 cups BBQ sauce – I prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s
• 16 oz. sour cream
• 1 cup milk (plus more depending on how thin you want your dressing)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic power
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp dried dill
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Defrost frozen spinach and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Finely dice the onion and add to a bowl with ground pork, mustard, Nature’s Season, and the spinach. Use your hands to combine. Roll bite sized meatballs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove and let cool, then toss in BBQ sauce.

In 16 oz. jars, add equal amounts of meatballs. One pound yielded about 50 meatballs (I rolled them bite sized!) so we got about 8 meatballs per salad. Add equal amounts of shredded green cabbage and equal amounts of spinach until the jars are full.

For the dressing, combine sour cream, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, parsley, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Blend until smooth, adding more milk until you reach the consistency you prefer.