Simple salad jars for picnics and lunch

A great way to bring a healthy and really tasty salad on a picnic is in a glass jar. It’s also an easy way to take lunch to work.

Layer ingredients such as: cooked sweet potato, radish, chickpeas, buckwheat, avocado, cucumber, marinated and then fried tofu, and fresh spinach.

You can come up with lots of combinations; if there are several people, you can make one jar per person.

Choose your favorites and mix; marinated tempeh, lentils, cooked beans, cooked brown rice, cooked cauliflower or raw marinated cauliflower, rutabaga, shredded zucchini, shredded beets, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, carrots, sprouts of all kinds, dry-roasted seaweed, cabbage, cooked millet, cooked quinoa, bell pepper, fresh berries, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, fresh herbs, and so on…

Make a tasty dressing and bring it on the side!

Tahini Dressing

Tahini is a big favorite; it’s simply stone-ground sesame seeds. It’s fatty, tasty, and satisfying.

Mix olive oil, vinegar or lemon, dark or light tahini, pepper, and herb salt in a blender. Taste and add salt as needed. That’s it!

Buckwheat & Avocado Salad

• 2 dl buckwheat – soaked overnight
• a few small spring onions
• 2 lemons
• 2 limes
• 1 large head of romaine lettuce or a few small ones
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 handful of mint leaves
• 1 handful of parsley
• 1 handful of pea shoots
• 0.5 dl sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• flaxseed oil
• olive oil

1. Drain the water from the soaked buckwheat and rinse again. Cook the buckwheat in fresh water for about 20 minutes. When you turn off the heat, let the buckwheat sit covered for another 5 minutes before fluffing it with a fork.
2. Pour into a large bowl and let cool.
3. Dice the onions. Add to the buckwheat. Add a little salt.
4. Add juice from the lemons and limes, along with a bit more salt.
5. Chop the romaine lettuce and pea shoots, dice cucumber and avocado, and finely chop parsley and mint leaves. Add to the bowl.
6. Add chia seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds. Mix until well combined. Top with olive oil and flaxseed oil. Of course, you can choose another oil instead of flaxseed oil, such as black cumin oil, omega 3-6-7-9, or avocado oil.
7. Taste and see if more seasoning is needed.

Salad with Spiralized Vegetables

• 1 zucchini – shredded – easiest done with a spiralizer
• 1 large pear – shredded
• 1 large carrot – shredded
• 1 package arugula
• 1/2 dl pomegranate seeds
• 1/2 dl coarsely chopped walnuts

Dressing

• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup (omit if you don’t want any sweetness)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp tamari
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Mix the dressing.
• Mix everything into a salad.

With a spiralizer, you get wonderful, hearty salads that are easy to eat.

Bean & Quinoa Salad

• 5 dl cooked beans of your choice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Shredded purple cabbage
• Chopped greens, e.g., kale or chard
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Shallots
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 shredded carrot
• 2 dl cooked quinoa
• Salt & black pepper
• Lemon juice

1. If you’re cooking the beans from scratch, they need to be soaked overnight first.
2. Rinse your greens and chop into larger pieces.
3. Sauté onion and garlic over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
4. Then add the greens, 1 tbsp oil, and sea salt. Cover for about 3 minutes and let soften. Remove from heat and place all ingredients in a large bowl.
5. Add carrots, shredded purple cabbage, cooked quinoa, cooked beans, and a splash of lemon juice.
6. Season with salt, pepper, and any other spices you like.