Meal Prep Mexicana Mason Jar Salads

Aaaaah, January. The time of year when you vow to stick to a budget, exercise everyday, quit drinking wine, stop eating fast food for lunch, and finally become a superhuman! 

While your intentions are admirable and undoubtedly genuine, they’re unlikely to produce lasting results. 

Sorry to burst your bubble by being a Realistic Rhonda over here. But you already knew it deep down, didn’t you?

My friend, colleague, and newest Dietitian Blogger on the block; Kristy, had this to say on Instagram at this optimistic time of year: 

” It’s tempting to think “Oh gosh, my eating is terrible, I need to overhaul EVERYTHING!” The problem with this thinking, though, is that it essentially sets us up to fail. You see, science tells us that when we tackle ONE thing at a time and experience success in that one thing, it actually builds our confidence in our ability to make ADDITIONAL changes, thus increasing the likelihood of making AND SUSTAINING changes over a period of time.”

This year, make a change….. to your resolutions! This year, instead of trying to overhaul your whole life choose ONE thing to work on. And don’t make it an all-or-nothing-change. Those resolutions are typically hard to stick to. Instead of saying you’ll stop eating fast food for lunch altogether, decide to eat out less. Make a plan for when you’ll grocery shop for ingredients and pack your lunch. Then once you have success with the small change you can build on that momentum and expand your goal or switch focus and work on the next one! 

So…. if bringing healthy packed lunches to work actually is your intention this year, I’ve got just the recipe to help you with your plan! These Mexicana mason jar salads come together in a snap and are super delicious! 

Make chicken for supper and cook extra to put in these salads. Even easier? Pick up a rotisserie chicken in the deli of your grocery store! The chicken is super flavourful and works like a dream in these salads. 

If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram!  I’d love to see your creations! 

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meal prep mexicana mason jar salads

Print Recipe

Prep 4 of these Mexicana inspired salads and you'll have lunch ready for the week!

4

Ingredients

• 1 head romaine lettuce torn
• 1 1/3 cups cooked and diced chicken
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn defrosted
• 4 small tomatoes diced

Dressing

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tsp buffalo sauce Franks
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

• Whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Layer the following in each of 4 (1 litre) mason jars

• 1/3 cup chicken
• 2 tbsp +1 tsp dressing
• 1/3 cup black beans
• 1/4 cup corn
• 1 small tomato, diced
• Fill with torn romaine leaves.

Nutrition

Serving: 4

Servings: 4

Calories:

Author: Jessica Penner, RD

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