This past week has been fantastic. We spent a few fun days camping in the rocky mountains with my family (and survived tenting with Hemsley, phew!), then we made our way to beautiful British Columbia for some rest and relaxation at the Copper Point Resort. I decided to take the last half of this past week to disconnect from the blog and social media (I love the benefits of doing a social media fast!) and I’m back online today to share these delicious mason jar meals!
These meals are perfect for road trips and camping so if you have either on the agenda for the rest of August I hope you’ll try these three tasty options.If you don’t have any road trips or camping planned, not to worry these meals also work great for lunch-boxes (September is looming after all…) or just any day you are on-the-go and need a healthy, portable bite to eat.
Before we left for holidays I spent some time planning out meals as it’s always a good idea to be organized, especially for camping as it makes packing the cooler much easier and it helps to prepare meals that are easy to make with limited cooking supplies.
When we camp we only bring our single burner and portable barbecue to cook with (aside from a couple pots, pans, utensils, and dishes). The burner easily holds a pan or pot for boiling, frying, or re-heating, and the barbecue cooks up meats, fish, veggies, and even french toast in a snap. I also love to bring made-ahead dishes just like these three mason jar meals.
Having pre-made meals available saves time, space (as you don’t need to pack a bunch of separate ingredients that still need to be prepared), and frustration (simply warm up the meal…or keep it cold… and enjoy!).
These three mason jar meals are filling, nutritious, easy to make in advance and just as easy to pack along. One jar for breakfast, and the other two for lunch or dinner, and here they are!
Cherry Chia Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are a great make-ahead recipe. With so many variations of this dish that can be enjoyed warm or cold, the options are endless! Cherries are a big summer favourite of mine and work wonderfully alongside rolled oats, protein powder, chia seeds, almond milk, almond butter, and vanilla in this filling, fibre-rich, protein-packed breakfast win.
Cherry Chia Overnight Oats
Prep time
Total time
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice or ¼ cup collagen peptides
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup cherries, pitted
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- ¼ cup cherries
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the cherries and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, mash slightly, and stir in 1 tablespoon chia seeds and honey and set aside to thicken.
- In another bowl combine the oats, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, protein powder, almond milk, and pure maple syrup and mix well to combine.
- Pour the oats mixture into a mason jar and top with the cherry chia jam.
- Drizzle in the almond butter to cover the cherry chia jam.
- Top with the fresh cherries and close the jar and place in the fridge overnight.
- In the morning, remove from the fridge and enjoy with a spoon cold or heat in the microwave or a pot to have warm.
Chickpea Fennel Vegetable Salad
This super easy, crunchy, filling, nutrient-packed mason jar meal is so tasty and perfect for on-the-go noshing. A friend of mine inspired me to make this recipe as she brought a similar salad over for lunch one day and I couldn’t get enough of it. The ingredients make a perfect mason jar meal because as a salad it doesn’t get soggy or wilted and instead the vegetables and chickpeas keep their crunch and texture and soak up the dressing perfectly.
Chickpea Fennel Vegetable Salad
Prep time
Total time
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- ½ cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 roma or vine tomato, diced
- ½ cup diced cucumber
- ½ cup chopped cauliflower
- ½ cup diced red pepper
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- ½ cup chopped fennel
- 1 tablespoon chopped fennel sprigs
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons of your favourite herb vinaigrette
Instructions
- Chop and dice all of the vegetables and herbs, combine in a large bowl and add in the dressing
- Mix well to combine.
- Add to a large mason jar.
- Before eating, shake the jar to disperse the dressing if it has settled at the bottom of the jar.
Veggie Chili with Basil Cornbread
I love sitting around a campfire, cozy in sweatpants, hiking boots, and a comfy hoodie, famished from the days activities with a hearty bowl of chili in my lap. Chili is definitely a go-to for Justin and I when we are camping and it’s such a great dish to make ahead for mason jar meals.
Chili is packed with protein, fibre, nutrients, and flavour, and homemade cornbread muffins are the perfect accompaniment to add a little more comfort and goodness. Because this is technically two recipes in one from the archives of the blog, I’m linking both recipes below so you can go to the corresponding blog posts. For the chili feel free to add 1 lb of ground beef for a non-vegetarian version and for the cornbread, follow the recipe and pour the cornbread batter into a muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes to make cornbread muffins (instead of a loaf pan) as muffins work perfectly to hug the chili in the jar. Add 1 cornbread muffin to the bottom of a mason jar, pour in the chili until full, then top with one more cornbread muffin. Find thechili recipe here and the cornbread recipe here!
1-2-3!Delicious mason jar meals, perfect for camping, road trips, on-the go, or packing in a lunch-box.
Be sure to pin the photos below to Pinterest to save these recipes for later!
Which mason jar meal will you make first? Tell me in the comments below!
Have a wonderful Sunday,
