Glass canning jars make salads beautiful and fun to take along. For this sweet little lunch salad, just layer a few fresh ingredients in a jar, screw on the lid and you’re ready to go!

Bonus points for the jar: it’s durable, versatile, inexpensive and Earth friendly — glass is so easy to reuse and recycle when the time is right.

Spinach Salad in a Jar with Mozzarella, Orzo and Snap Peas

Prep Time: 20m | Makes 4 salads in a jar

Ingredients
1 cup orzo
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (such as dill, tarragon, and chives)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup halved snap peas
8 ounces fresh ciliegine mozzarella balls (cherry-size, about 1/3 oz ea)
5 ounces Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Spinach
4 quart-size canning jars, with lids

Directions
Cook the orzo according to the package directions. Drain and let cool.

Whisk together the oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour about 1 to 4 tablespoons of dressing into the bottom of each jar, to taste.

After the dressing, layer the salad ingredients into each jar in order: about 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes; then 1/4 cup cooked orzo; 1/4 cup snap peas; 2 oz mozzarella; and last, about 1-1/4 oz of baby spinach leaves, torn into bite-size pieces (or just fill the remaining space in each jar — it’s okay to pack it in fairly tight). Screw the lids onto the jars tightly and refrigerate immediately.

When you’re ready to eat, unscrew the lid and shake the salad out into a bowl. The action of shaking the salad into the bowl usually mixes the salad and dressing conveniently; if not, just toss the greens a bit with your fork to combine. Then enjoy!

Adapted from RealSimple.com’s Mozzarella, Orzo and Snap Pea Salad