Citrus Salad in a Jar

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< 1 min read
Summary

This salad checks all the boxes: crunch from the cashews, creamy from the avocado, sweet and savory from the dressing, not to mention tons of nutrition from just about all of the ingredients, including spinach, cashews, lentils, avocado, and sunflower seeds. Prepare the salad the night before work in a mason jar for a delicious and healing plant-powered lunch, or add all of the ingredients directly to your favorite salad bowl for an impromptu tasty and nourishing meal.

Yields2 ServingsPrep Time10 minsTotal Time10 mins

Ingredients

 1 cup purple cabbage (chopped)
 1 cup red pepper (chopped)
 1 cup carrots (shredded)
 ½ cup red onion (chopped)
 1 cup lentils (home-cooked or BPA-free canned)
 2 cups organic spinach (chopped)
 1 large avocado (cubed)
 ½ cup mandarin oranges (sectioned)
 4 tbsp sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted)
 ½ cup creamy citrus dressing (link in notes)

Directions

1

Make the Creamy Citrus Dressing.

2

Divide the dressing between two 32-ounce mason jars, pouring it into the bottom of each jar.

3

Divide all ingredients above in half and layer in the jar in order of the ingredients as listed (the goal is to keep the spinach or mixed greens from getting soggy!). You may have to pack the jar down a bit to squeeze in all ingredients.

4

Store in the refrigerator for later or, If ready to eat, shake the jar so the dressing coats the ingredients. Alternatively, pour the ingredients into a large medium-large bowl and mix well.

Chef's Notes

Make the Creamy Citrus Dressing
The recipe can be found here.

Substitutions
Use your greens of choice if you don’t have spinach on hand. Try arugula, organic kale, red leaf lettuce, or any green you prefer or have in your garden.

Use the veggies in your fridge before they go bad! Feel free to substitute carrots, peppers or cabbage with any vegetables you need to eat.
If you can’t find mandarin oranges, try chopped navel oranges. The citrus is divine with the mild citrus dressing.

In place of sunflower seeds, try pumpkin seeds, almonds, hemp seeds, walnuts, or pistachios.

Saving the salad for later
You can keep the jar in the refrigerator until you’re ready to enjoy the salad. Keeping the dressing on the bottom and away from the greens will prevent the greens from getting soggy.

Add herbs
Add additional flavor and nutrients with cilantro, parsley, or basil.

Ingredients

 1 cup purple cabbage (chopped)
 1 cup red pepper (chopped)
 1 cup carrots (shredded)
 ½ cup red onion (chopped)
 1 cup lentils (home-cooked or BPA-free canned)
 2 cups organic spinach (chopped)
 1 large avocado (cubed)
 ½ cup mandarin oranges (sectioned)
 4 tbsp sunflower seeds (raw, unsalted)
 ½ cup creamy citrus dressing (link in notes)

Directions

1

Make the Creamy Citrus Dressing.

2

Divide the dressing between two 32-ounce mason jars, pouring it into the bottom of each jar.

3

Divide all ingredients above in half and layer in the jar in order of the ingredients as listed (the goal is to keep the spinach or mixed greens from getting soggy!). You may have to pack the jar down a bit to squeeze in all ingredients.

4

Store in the refrigerator for later or, If ready to eat, shake the jar so the dressing coats the ingredients. Alternatively, pour the ingredients into a large medium-large bowl and mix well.

Notes

Citrus Salad in a Jar