Mason Jar Food Prep: Southwest Ranch Taco Salads (21 day fix approved!)

When you're trying to balance healthy nutrition with a family's worth of busy schedules, work, and the day-to-day "must-dos," grabbing snacks and haphazardly throwing together a lunch are simple ruts to fall into. But then, weekly meal preparation can feel daunting.  The idea of preparing so many meals ahead of time seems like surely it will eat up my entire #SundayFunday and that is not a trade-off I'd like to make.  While there's no denying that meal prep takes a bit of time, when done right, it's consolidated, streamlined time.  What you can do in an hour of prep on a Sunday can eliminate 30 minutes a night (or morning!) while you're tired or rushed and not able to make decisions that are well-balanced and working towards your nutrition goals.  There are plenty of time saving tips out there but one that I've found to be especially useful are Mason Jar salads.  The beauty of these is that once you have the concept, they can be whatever you want them to be. Its really just preplanning your food and storing it conveniently (and in a "green" way!) in Mason Jars. The idea is you layer your salad ingredients with the dressing on bottom, heartier ingredients towards that bottom (think cucumbers or beans - things that won't get soggy in the dressing), all the way up to the lettuce which won't even touch the dressing until you shake it all out at lunch time. *PRO TIP: When you're shopping for your jars, purchase Quart Size WIDE MOUTH Jars… much easier to shake out the salad. #dontmakethesamemistakeidid! #liveandlearn

One of my favorite Mason Jar salads is Turkey Taco Salad with Southwest Ranch dressing.  The dressing I use even offers an extra punch of protein rather than an oil or healthy fat. And it's 21 day fix approved for anyone working with that program. #Bonus

To start, you'll just cook up a pound of lean ground turkey as if you're making regular taco meat.  You can always use prepackaged, lower-sodium taco seasoning, but I like to prepare a bulk amount of this Southwest Seasoning and keep it in the pantry for whenever my life needs a little fiesta, but margaritas aren't socially appropriate. #its5oclocksomewhere

Once the taco meat is prepared, 1 pound can be portioned into about 4, 3/4 cup portions. 

 The salad part itself is up to you.  Your choice of lettuce (I tend to keep spinach and kale on hand so thats what I used), tomatoes, black beans, cucumbers, sweet peppers, fresh cilantro…these are all excellent ideas to add into this salad!  

Start with your dressing.

The most important part is ordering the layers. Given the above ingredient ideas:  Start with dressing, then add beans and tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, taco meat, and once there's a good bit of distance from the dressing, add in your lettuce, herbs, and shredded cheese or avocado if you'd like!  Finally, if you want any crunch in your salad, the last thing you'll want to add are some crunched up tortilla chips.

Add your hearty veggies…like tomatoes...

…Cucumbers...

…and peppers.

Next add your protein.  I added some black beans to my taco meat as well.

Now its time for the stuff that you don't want to get soggy.  I added fresh chopped cilantro...

Baby kale, Baby spinach & shredded cheese.

Repeat this with all 4 portions of prepared taco meat and store in the fridge for the easiest grab-n-go lunch salad you ever did meet.  

Once you're ready to eat, simply open the jar, dump it all out onto whatever plate or bowl you've got handy in the office lunchroom and enjoy!  

It should be noted that since my "office lunchroom has been known to be my SUV in the carpool pickup line at preschool, I HAVE eaten it directly out of the jar.  If you're in this scenario, simply give the jar some really good shaking before opening to get the dressing distributed a bit.  Not as pretty but just as tasty and less cleanup!

Portions & Ingredients:
2T Southwest Ranch Dressing (recipe below)
1/2-1 C Vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc)
3/4 C Turkey Taco Meat 
1/2 C Baby Kale, packed
1 C Baby Spinach, Packed 
1/4 C Shredded cheese OR 1/4 Avocado
2T Crushed Tortilla Chips

Southwest Ranch Dressing
1/4 C cottage cheese
1T Plain Greek Yogurt
1.5T unsweetened, plain almond milk
1T Southwest seasoning
Combine ingredients and blend in vitamin/food processor to a smooth, dressing consistency.  Add up to another tablespoon of almond milk to adjust consistency.

Mama's Meal Planning: 101

Whether you're looking to get a handle on your nutrition, your time spent in the kitchen, or your budget, Meal Planning is an activity that can help with all of it!  Going into the week already knowing what is for dinner each night and what groceries are needed will absolutely add efficiency to a busy family's life.  If you are a SUPER planner, some people even like to do the dinner meal planning for the whole MONTH ahead, although thats not something I've found myself able to stick to.  Each week I'll see a recipe or hear about a meal that sounds too #delish to put off for a whole month. I want it in my belly asap I would be scratching out a monthly plan far too often. 

My favorite kind of meal planning sessions is when I have a little buddy nearby.  #startthemyoung

When I first started meal planning, it was for nutrition.  I was working to lose weight and having very prescribed days was pivotal to my success. Then it just became habit. I loved that I knew exactly what I needed every time I walked into the grocery store, and I didn't get stressed in the afternoons thinking about what I'd be putting on the table because all I had to do was look at my calendar and pull stuff out of the fridge.

When I was in "losing weight mode" and followed 21 day fix like a religion, these were my go to tips for staying on track week after week.  Now that I'm in "maintenance mode"I still find these tips to be really beneficial because the more prescribed the day to day is, the more flexibility I have for the occasional ice cream with my kids and wine with my girlfriends.  When I know that my day-to-day eating has been on track, I don't have to worry about the occasional splurge or treat.

1. Tip número uno: Have a plan to Plan ahead!  Don't wait until Sunday night to meal plan if you can help it.  Once the plan is set, theres still shopping to be done and let's be honest, we want to be relaxing on Sundays! It might seem early, but I try to start thinking about my meals for the next week on Thursdays.  That gives me time to not get it complete until Friday and still have Saturday or Sunday to get the shopping and prep in.  Allowing that flexibility makes it more realistic to me and less of a hard deadline.  Trying to do planning, shopping, AND prep on a Sunday, when you really just want to relax with your family, is a recipe for something not getting done…and of those options, I'm gonna bet on the planning getting the drop.

2. Start simple. When in doubt, allow a day or two of your week to be protein, veggies, and maybe a starch if needed.  When I’m not sure of what to make, I know that a salmon filet, tons of veggies and maybe some roasted potatoes or quinoa will satisfy!

3. Create a Schedule. In my planning, I keep the following mindset: Mondays – Fish, Taco Tuesday, Wednesday Sandwiches, Thursday Casserole, Slow-cooker Friday, Grill/Roast Saturday, Cooks choice Sunday.  It doesn’t always end up working out exactly like that, but it gives me a starting point that seems more manageable than "Food." 

4. Once you've got your daily schedule, organize Pinterest Boards that correspond with each day's theme. I have separate boards for each day of the week so when I’m looking for Monday ideas, I’m only looking at fish dishes on my Monday board. Streamline.

5. Stumped on meal ideas? Ask a friend. What seems played out in their house might be a bright new idea in yours, and vice versa. 

Need a template to get started?  Here's a super basic place to start!

Want to check out my meal boards on Pinterest?  Follow me at https://www.pinterest.com/mamasbluebinder/