Mason Jar Meal Prep

When you are constantly on-the-go it is often hard to find the time to eat or more specifically eat right. A well balanced diet it essential to looking good, feeling good, and having the energy to make it through those really busy days. When I don't have time to cook a meal, I often would resort purchasing things like gas station snacks or fast food. The downside to this is A) it's expensive and B) most of the time the food I purchased was not a healthy option. So the solution I have been looking into and currently love is the Mason Jar!! 

Things that are great about Mason Jar Meals: 1. you can freeze them 2. you can microwave/bake them 3. they are great for portion sizing and control 4. they are cute and fun to eat with 5. you can conveniently take them to work or school with you in your purse or backpack. 

Mason Jars have recently become a huge trend because they can be used for so many things, not to mention they are super cute. When looking into mason jar meals, I wanted to look specifically for a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner option. I think sometimes when people think of mason jar meals they forget that the jars are glass and therefore are very versatile. You can make them into a cold meal or cook them for a few minutes and you'll have a nice hot meal. 

I have tried many different variations of the Mason Jar Meals and decided to post my favorites for you to try! For breakfast, the Raspberry Vanilla Overnight Oatmeal was my favorite! It is so easy to make and it's ready for you with zero effort in the morning. I used almond milk instead of skim milk for the recipe. I also substituted the vanilla extract by using a vanilla greek yogurt instead and left out the raspberry jam by just putting more berries in the mix. 

For lunch, I wanted to try different salad variations and see how they held up. I also wanted to find the simplest recipes with the most flavor. There are many Mason Jar salad recipes online, but many of them require extra cooking or preparing. When you're a Busyy Beauty.. you just don't have time for that! I found a blog called backtotheroots.com that has some of the best salad jar recipes. My favorite was the Strawberry Spinach Salad. The recipe online calls for this homemade strawberry vinaigrette, but I'm all about simplicity and the less ingredients I can buy the better. So I decided to use some raspberry vinaigrette that I already had in my fridge. The fruity flavor paired well with the strawberries. 

For dinner, I wanted to try a mason jar meal that you could heat up or cook conveniently. I sort of took what I saw and learned from recipes online and created my own. I made a veggie pasta pesto dish. There is a little prep work, but if you do this at the beginning of the week on like a Sunday afternoon or something, you can freeze the jars for the week. First I took a jar of pesto and put a big spoonful at the bottom layer of the jar. Next, I took three cherry tomatoes, halved them and put them in the jar. Then, I took shredded mozzarella cheese and filled a layer of the jar. Lastly, I cooked a whole box of veggie pasta (these noodles have less carbs and are jam packed with servings of vegetables and the nutrients that come with them) and divided the noodles up into jars to fill them. You can throw the jars in the freezer until you need them. When you are ready to eat, just microwave the jar for a minute or two, shake and tadaa! Dinner is served.