Produce with Amy

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 
Your thoughts become your words, 
Your words become your actions, 
Your actions become your habits, 
Your habits become your values, 
Your values become your destiny.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

In what feels like a blink of an eye the weekend is nearly gone and we were just starting to get acquainted (to make it even more unbelievable, I had a three-day weekend and still it felt short). Last week’s Weight Watchers topic was weekends. I posed the question to my members, “What do you like to do on the weekends?” and “What do you need to do?”

I feel fortunate to be a WW leader because in addition to helping others learn, or reclaim, healthy habits — it keeps me accountable to my own weight management goals. Over the years I have learned to use the weekend to reflect on my progress and prepare for the week ahead. The majority of my weekend, during the school year, is dedicated to preparing lessons/grading and food prep. While I would love to be completely leisurely, I know that I have a much better week when all of our meals and snacks are cooked and prepped.

Over five years ago when my husband Mike and I made the commitment to eat whole foods we decided that we would keep processed food to a minimum and spend our money on quality ingredients. This means that we do not rely on takeout meals. This weekend we discussed going out to dinner but decided that I would prepare our favorite restaurant meal instead and save money. While sometimes we do treat ourselves for lunch or an evening out, the savings in opting out of restaurant fare makes purchasing fresh produce feel more affordable. Therefore, I never feel guilty when my grocery cart is full of fresh food. The time that I spend in the kitchen each week is essential to our health and weight management ~ and I believe that Mike and I are worth the hours that I labor over wholesome meals.

When I came up with the name for the jarred salad that I am sharing in this post, I was thinking about my passion for fresh and vibrantly colored vegetables. Food for me goes beyond taste ~ presentation, along with the nutritional value of ingredients, is important when I select meals and come up with recipes.

Did you know that blue and purple fruit, berries, and vegetables are high in anthocyanin? These compounds are believed to lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. Anthocyanin is a powerful antioxidant that is also believed to promote brain health, memory, and have cancer fighting properties. So not only are blue and purple produce beautiful, but they help us thrive.

Most of my jarred salad recipes serve as entrée (I include raw nuts, beans, or quinoa etc. for protein) so I wanted to come up with a salad that I could eat as a side. Of course, if you want this salad as a filling meal you can add your choice of protein to bulk it up.

Instead of lettuce I decided to add red/purple cabbage. I love the crunch that cabbage brings to a salad and I find its sweetness a wonderful compliment to fresh berries. I have also found that cabbage holds up really well in the Mason jar salads and that salads made with cabbage will last for well over a week (in fact I had one on day ten and it tasted just as fresh as the first day). The fiber in cabbage make it filling and I find that it takes me a bit longer to eat than lettuce which is also an important factor in satiety. As discussed in Weight Watchers meetings a few weeks back, it takes our bodies twenty minutes to register feelings of fullness (since our brains must send this message to our body) and that, on average, a person overeats by twenty bites.

I also decided to make one dressing and add ginger to 1/2 and rosemary the other 1/2 to add variety.

If you are new to jarred salads you may want to check out this post for tips and suggestions.

TANGERINE VINIAGRETTE DRESSING

• 1 tangerine (juice and zest)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of onion
• 1/4-1/2 cup of white balsamic vinegar (I suggest adding vinegar a little at a time. I enjoy a tart dressing so I am generous with the vinegar)
• 1/4 cup of olive oil (I leave the oil out and add 2 teaspoons of oil to each jar)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all of the ingredients. I split the dressing in half and added fresh ginger root (since ginger is spicy I suggest adding a bit at a time if you are not accustomed to the taste) to 1/2 and to the other 1/2 I added a teaspoon of dried rosemary.

PURPLE PASSION JARRED SALADS

I layered these ingredients, in the following order (I used 6 ~ one quart Mason jars):

• 2-3 Tablespoons of Tangerine Vinaigrette
• Colored bell peppers (2-3 peppers)
• Shredded carrots (one bag)
• Blueberries (2 quarts)
• Blackberries (one quart)
• Purple/red cabbage (one small head)

Tangerine segments would also be a great addition to this salad.

Pin the recipe HERE.

The simplicity of these salads makes them quick to prepare and they are brimming with healthy nutrients. They will help fuel your week and the vibrant color may even help chase away the winter blues.

Please stop by my Facebook page and feel free to share my recipes with others. Make sure that you check out the salad tab at the top of this page for other Mason jar salad recipes. Check back often because I have three more jarred salad recipes and a soup recipe to share in the next couple weeks. Even though my schedule is full, I promise to make time to post because we are worth it. Together we can make fresh produce the cornerstone of our meals and thrive with health and energy. 🙂