I have seen this idea floating around Pinterest for a while, so I decided to give it a try. I adapted one of my all time favorite salads for this recipe and it turned out great. I made 4 salads on Monday evening and they held up perfectly through lunch on Friday. The key is to make sure your spinach (or other green) stays away from the dressing. For this recipe, you also want to keep the quinoa out of the dressing because it will absorb the dressing over the week.
Spinach Salad with Quinoa, Sausage & Apples
(adapted from Clean Eating magazine)
1 cup prepared and cooled quinoa
16 oz cooked and cooled link sausage (chicken, turkey, kielbasa, field roast, etc)
2 bags (6oz each) baby spinach
4 TBSP chopped walnuts
8 TBSP Spicy Apple Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
4 apples
Spicy Apple Vinaigrette
1/2 cup walnut oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces
Pinch paprika
Pinch cinnamon
Salt and pepper, to taste
Combined all the Vinaigrette ingredients in a blender or mini food processor. Puree until combined. Using a blender or food processor will ensure your oil and vinegar don’t separate during the week.
In each mason jar layer:
2 TBSP Spicy Apple Vinaigrette
4oz cooked sausage
1/4 cup prepared quinoa
3oz spinach
1 TBSP chopped walnuts
To serve: Add one chopped apple to the jar. Shake to combine all ingredients. Enjoy!
super yummy salad! thanks for taking the time to spell out how to make a jar salad and for the super yummy dressing. It felt so good to eat healthy and I want to do it again now!