“I got this for you at Whole Foods. It reminded me of you,” said Señor Chompy, handing me a tangelo. “How…?” I asked. The tangelo was exceedingly round, with a small protruding nub. “It’s happy looking!” It was indeed a jolly looking fruit.
We’ve been packing salads in jars and vacuum sealing them for weekday lunches. These salads are pretty balanced meals, if I do say so myself. Beans for protein and fiber, roasted sweet potatoes for grain-free carbs, and colorful veggies. The tangelo really kicked it up a notch though. If you’ve never had a tangelo before, they pack the juiciest sweet and sour punch.
Slice and quarter two sweet potatoes, toss with olive oil, and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.
This salad in a jar actually consists of two jars. I like to store the greens separate from the other ingredients so they don’t get soggy, so one jar holds baby spinach and cherry tomatoes, while the other is stuffed with layers of black beans, corn kernels, chickpeas, chopped bell peppers, roasted sweet potato triangles, and tangelo slices. Fruit AND veggie salad in a jar. BOOM.
Break the peeled tangelo apart into quarters, then slice them with a VERY sharp knife, cutting off any seeds too. If you don’t have a very sharp knife (can it slice through paper? that’s the test), then just break them into sections and pack them whole, leaving out any sections with visible seeds.
This salad is surprisingly filling, and I’m speaking as someone who needs to eat every 30 minutes. Señor Chompy refers to my appetite as “the hole,” as in, “uh oh, we have to feed the hole.” These salads, along with a handful of blue corn tortilla chips, do a pretty darn good job of filling the hole.
Quite the adult, nummy-pants lunch.
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Quarter and slice two sweet potatoes, toss with olive oil, and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool.
- Drain the cans of black beans and chickpeas, rinse under cold water and shake dry.
- Fill 6 jars with one layer each of black beans, chickpeas, corn, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, and citrus slices.
- Fill the other 6 jars with baby spinach and cherry tomatoes.
- Serve with honey mustard + balsamic vinegar or your dressing of choice.
5 comments
what do you mean by “vaccuum sealing” the jars and how long to these keep in the fridge?
Hi Reba,
There’s a tool you can use to vacuum seal the jars, which will keep the salads fresh for a week. Here’s an example: http://www.amazon.com/FoodSaver-T03-0023-01-Wide-Mouth-Jar-Sealer/dp/B00005TN7H/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407361500&sr=8-1&keywords=vacuum+seal+jars
Thanks for stopping by!
Easy dressing to use: Pepper, honey, mustard, olive oil, and balsamic mixed around with a fork then poured over the salad. Very easy and nummy.
Canned beans I assume or do we go to the trouble of cooking the dry? Also i’m getting the distinct feeling u eat sans dressing? ( which I like!). Great pics
Thanks Amy! I used canned beans this time, and went without dressing, but it’s great with honey mustard too. I’m thinking of doing a homemade dressing post sometime soon. Do you have a favorite kind?