Last year for Mother’s Day our youngest son, then 10-years-old, surprised me with a salad made from sprouted greens that he grew in his bedroom window.
He followed the directions on a package of seeds that his Grand-Maman gave him and patiently grew the greens in a mason jar on his sunny bedroom ledge. On Mother’s day, he chopped the greens and tossed them into a bowl with a few other odds and sods he found in the fridge and then proceeded to look up a vinaigrette recipe in one of my cooking magazines (could you die?)…. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything quite as fresh or delicious in my life (except for everything else my boys make…).
As for mason jars, what can I say, I’m a complete sucker. They remind me of every nostalgia-drenched southern movie I’ve ever cried over. And let’s face it, nothing says home comfort quite like a mason jar.
I think these would be really fun to bring along on a picnic but I particularly like the idea of offering them up as gifts – I’m thinking: hostess; new mom/dad; mother’s/father’s day; an under the weather friend; or just because… (I don’t know ’bout you, but I’d pretty much pass out on the spot if someone showed up at my door with a fresh salad in hand).
The next time I visit my mom, I’ll be bringing along a set of these individually portioned salads that she can pop in her fridge and enjoy over consecutive days.
Healthy, Convenient and Oh. So. Yummy!
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1 cup cooked chickpea, thoroughly rinsed if using canned
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1/2 cup grated carrots
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1 cup cherry tomatoes, left intact they will preserve longer than sliced
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1 cup shelled edamame beans
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1/2 cup pine nuts, or other nuts as desired
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1 cup fresh spring sprouts of choice such as alfalfa, mustard, clover, onion
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5 Tbsp olive oil
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2 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
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4-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
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1 heaping tsp sweet Dijon mustard
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Sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
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Notes:
This particular recipe is set up for 2 x 500 ml (or 2 cup) jars. But you can choose any size jar for these salads depending on your needs and intended use.
By the way, these salad jars also make great party favours for showers, parties and even weddings. If properly packed, they can last for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Generally, the heavier ingredients should be placed on the bottom of the jar (such as your protein choice: poultry, fish, lentils, legumes, tofu, etc.) and the lighter items over top – vegetables, nuts, fruit, as desired. It’s best to leave fragile greens for the very top.
The dressing sits at the bottom of the jar so all you have to do is pour the salad out onto a plate/bowl or simply turn the bottle upside down and shake gently with lid on if enjoying directly from the jar.
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Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a container with fitted lid and shake well.
Place chickpeas in a bowl and pour basil vinaigrette over, mixing to combine.
After thoroughly washing two mason jars, place a 1/2 cup of the chickpea/vinaigrette mixture into each one, being sure to add all of the dressing which will be needed for the rest of the salad.
Layer a 1/2 portion of carrots followed by tomato, edamame and nuts. Finish with sprouted greens.
Seal jars and place in the fridge until ready to use or to offer as a gift.
This Sprouted Spring Salad in a Jar idea is truly amazing and unique, I was actually looking for same. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Love this Sprouted Spring Salad in a Jar, seems amazing and delicious . never tried this before , excited to try this one.
Love this Sprouted Spring Salad in a jar, amazing one . Thanks for sharing with us .
Love this Sprouted spring Salad in a jar Idea, Love this healthy and natural gift Idea.
Love this “SPROUTED SPRING SALAD IN A JAR’, looks so unique and amazing one.
This salad was really good but pretty hefty on the calories if you only divide between 2 jars – I suggest dividing among 4 jars unless you’re training for a major athletic event.
Thank you for your feedback Rose. I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed the salad and appreciate you stopping by to let me know.
wow this looks so cute! ;) Do you think you’d be interested in submitted your photos to my food gallery site: http://www.healthfreakfood.tumblr.com it’s fast growing and features many beautiful photos of healthy, fresh, whole food dishes such as yours.
So colorful and beautiful!
pinning this if you don’t mind.
This is just genius! Looks so beautiful. Love this salad!
What a wonderful gift! You must be so proud of your son to come up with a creative gift. I will share this with other’s, including my kids school teachers. This would make a terrific school project too!
i need to some mason jars! sprouts in a salad or a sandwich.. YUM!
It looks great; just like it grew that way in the jar!
So nice that your son made you a salad with his homegrown sprouted greens – love this idea in the mason jars. Can’t wait to hear what your boys make for you this Mother’s Day.
That’s such a cool idea… especially more so now that I read the post and actually realised what was actually done as opposed to just looking at the photo – really pretty, healthy and delicious!
It made my year – I’m still talking about it!! ;-) Thanks Food Jaunts.
Hi Karen, definitely perfect for a picnic (packed with plenty of softness surrounding the jars ;-)
Thank you so much for dropping in to share that lovely thought Kim Bee – most appreciated!
It’s still melting… thanks France :)
Thanks so very much Shannon! I appreciate you stopping by.
Hi Cassie – thank you so much for stopping by! These are really fun and a great way to brighten someone’s day… :)
Thanks Angie and happy day to you!
Thanks so much MJ – I have to say that Mother’s Day last year was over-the-top in terms of thoughtfulness… all 3 ‘men’ in this house went out of their way and were incredibly thoughtful. Spoilt rotten I am! :)
Thanks Judy – it’s really practical to have the dressing built-in that way and what a great idea about creating storage space in the pantry with the left-over jars… thanks! :)
Haha, too funny on the hubby connection – that thought never even crossed my mind (clearly I have to grow some insecurity! ;-)
I hope you’re having a great weekend Amy!
Thank you Sissi – I wish I had a bit more light hitting these salads to make them light up as they deserve but it was pouring rain when I shot these… oh well, I think they turned out ok under the circumstances and since it rained virtually all week, I’m glad I didn’t wait! ;-)
Actually the boys don’t refer to my mom as Grand-maman at all but her pet name would be meaningless to non-family members so I went with the generic ;-)
Thank you so much for your kind words Sissi… greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for dropping by Sylvie – most appreciated. It pretty much was the best reward a mom could ask for in many ways… :)
I agree! :) Thanks Tiffany ~
Thank you Elly! I hope you’re having a sunny weekend.
Thanks so much Mademoiselle – xo
Thanks CJ – they never cease to amaze in all ways – lol!! ;-)
Thanks KoKo – he melts my heart too…and, I didn’t get into it in the post, but my other son made a chocolate cake from scratch for moi on the same mother’s day!!! Pretty darn lucky mom here… :)
Pretty much – homemade gifts get me every time… what could be more caring? Haha… I’ll be listening for the bell… :)
Aww, thank you so much. I’m not sure how much of it has to do with us, but they sure brighten our days… thanks Eva!
I think it’s possible to sprout virtually any living thing – though admittedly some – not I – have a greater facility with it.. you could always separate the sprout from the bean once it grows and then cook the bean the way you would any dry bean.
Haha, me too! I seem to react that way whenever someone makes food for me… I just can’t get over the thoughtfulness! I’ll let my son know that the lab is always an option… ;-)
Indeed… I think they would work great for a work lunch provided you did not have too much of a rocky ride getting there ;-)
Thanks Leaf ~ we are pretty blessed with our boys…
Thank you so very much for the lovely compliment Viviane!
Oh, great to hear, I hope they enjoy! I think my mom will be thrilled… :)
Oh how adorable of your son! That would have made my day (not that I have kids yet but I can imagine). Great idea for a foodie gift.
Perfect for a picnic! I’m especially enjoying the pea shoots that are now available in the market. They would would add a nice bit of color and taste.
This is so cool. I love this idea.
Melt your heart! What a nice boy! What a lovely idea to bring this over to your mom’s house when you go for dinner. Brilliant.
cutest ever!!!! wow!
What a cool idea!
What a great idea and what a SWEET son you have! If I were a mother I would have been absolutely thrilled to have had this as a gift! Love it!
I love this idea, especially being able to just pour it out of the jar and it’s done! Fabulous gift idea, I adore mason jars too — use them for storage in the pantry. :)
Aw, what sweet children you have :) I’m glad your hubby didn’t give you salad for a bday present, though…who knows what that could be implying!
This looks so delicious and fresh. I think I need a good salad, as I haven’t had one in a while.
What a gorgeous photo! The salad sounds delicious and putting it in a jar is such a creative idea. I’m sure everyone would appreciate such a present much more than a bunch of flowers! (I certainly would).
You say grand-maman in Québec? It is so cute! I love it!
Thank you, Kelly for inspiring us with every single one of your posts!
What a sweet boy! That’s the best Mother’s Day gift ever!
What a fun way to use a mason jar! :D
What a beautiful creation!
Oooo, Kelly,
what a fabulous idea for a gift.
Superbly creative. Xxx
These are beautiful. How sweet of your son to make this your mothers day gift. I’ll bet you were so excited.
Oh my gosh, that just melted my heart- soo cute!!
These are so sweet and I adore sprouts…it’s breakfast time but my mouth is watering for this lovely salad.
Awww … how sweet! Salad-on-the-go! And really? You’d really pass out on the spot if I turn up at your doorstep with a salad? Hmm … I might do just that just to see something so cute! :D Listen for the doorbell …
What an incredibly gorgeous idea, Kelly. All I can say is that you have certainly raised your young men well. What a wonderful gift, on so many levels.
This is stunning I love those salads in a jar. What a sweet son you have and clever too. I am tring to see if lima beans will sprout, what do you think? I have soaked them and now just rinsing. I do see some sprouts but I wonder if the left over bean will be too hard, LOL.
I would have melted on the spot and never recovered from it… what a treat, what an amazing idea your son had!
if he ever wants to work on bacteria, point him to our lab, will you?
;-)
You sure know how to make a girl’s day fellowfoodie – I’m beaming from ear to ear. thank you!
What a sweet boy!
I love these salad jars – they are so easy to make in advance to take to work for lunch!
Love the idea of salad in a jar. They look awesome! You’re such a cute family.
What a magnificent gift idea. Colorful, healthy, homemade and caring. Really, very attractive presentation!
This is a great idea for my parents! Thanks,
S
I am in awe Kelly – I’m so lucky to be privy to your blog :)