Meals in Jars

Desk lunches are often a sad state of affairs, what with the wilted veggies and soggy crusts galore. The key to preserving your salad for a fresh midday meal? Layer ingredients with purpose, and wait to dress them until right before eating. Mason jars make perfectly portable vessels for a variety of meals, and the finished dishes are beautiful to boot (so that lunch or snack can become a social media star).

Love bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon? Well, here they are, stacked along with spring's best produce and finished with an everything-bagel-inspired dressing (which you can also use on any non-vertical salad). The jar makes this salad super portable and shows off its pretty layers.

Layered is the new chopped! We've taken winter's best vegetables and gone vertical for this colorful salad. We love the tender-chewy barley, but it can be swapped out for your favorite whole grain, like brown rice or quinoa.

Enjoy a layered lunch with this portable, Mexican-inspired quinoa salad. To save time, make a big batch of quinoa, and freeze portions in resealable bags for up to 1 month. Having a whole-grain arsenal in your freezer will help cut down on prep time later.