These glass jars are fun for layering food to create nutritious, colourful dishes.

Mason jars are a new trend healthy from the United States. The idea is to fill your Mason jar (trade name of the jar) with all the nutrients contained by a complete recipe prepared in the kitchen, but mainly with raw, vegetarian ingredients.

These glass containers, that date to 1858, are more attractive than traditional and preserve the food better, since they have seals (that prevents food from going brown) and are free of harmful bisphenol compounds (for health) that some plastics contain. You can heat food in the jars without it losing its nutrients, they help with portion control and they are time savers (you can prepare jars for the whole week in just one day).

Following the Raw Food (living food or raw) philosophy, enthusiasts of this this movement use products such as fruits, vegetables, green leafy vegetables, shoots, nuts, seeds, cereals, and bean sprouts to create their lunch boxes.

How to put together a jar

1. Order of layers: the key to success lies in organising and layering different foods, to enhance the nutritional properties of each ingredient.

– Base: Place your marinated ingredients, sauces or those vegetables that release liquid over time at the bottom. That way, the juice stays at the bottom and doesn’t affect the other layers. Top this with more consistent, absorbent foods, such as pulses, vegetables like cucumber, onion and carrot.

– Intermediate layer: This is where you should put your heavier ingredients (pasta, fruit, corn, beet), as you move up, add your leafy vegetables. Keep the layers as compact as possible.

– Top Layer: Your toppings should consist of seeds, dried fruit and nuts to give a touch crunch to your salad. Do not dress with oil and salt, since this will ruin the food and cause it to spoil. If you want to include protein such as chicken or ham, add it on the day you will be eating it.

2. Combine four flavours: do not stick to just one flavour, such as acidic, sweet, sour or salty. Mix everything in one recipe. This will satisfy your nervous system.
3. Sterilise the jar after each use: This will eliminate any bacteria from the previous meal (run it through the dishwasher at a high temperature). When it is full, store it in the refrigerator and protect it from the sun.
4. Do not let air inside: if you leave air spaces inside the jar, the food will lose vitamins and enzymes, and bacteria may grow. Keep always in the fridge, away from sunlight and high temperatures.

Although is mainly a live/raw food trend, focused on salads, fruits and vegetables that do not need reheating, Mason Jars can also contain soups, main dishes (stews, pasta), snacks, desserts, sauces and pâtés, and even green smoothies and fruit juices.

Make tempting combinations of colours. Try different textures and flavours!

This post is also available in: Italian