Healthy & Delicious: 5-Minute Mason Jar Lunches

I love mason jars. When I was working with Bazaar I would layer them with brown rice and dal topped with sabzi for lunch. It worked for me because I didn’t want plastic boxes for food and carrying glass containers just made everything super cumbersome. Do keep in mind that I carried four types of fruit, a makhana snack, various things for lunch, a yoga mat, yoga clothes, and my handbag. It was great exercise for the shoulders but it was also the start of mild scoliosis. So, mason jars were a great discovery because they just cut the excess baggage to half. And they look so pretty. Here are my favourite recipes that are absolutely yum - whether you carry them in a mason jar or not. 

Black Rice, Peppers & Pomegranate Raita
Slice half a yellow and red pepper into square chunks. Stir-fry on a non stick wok with a little oil for five seconds. Add pre-cooked black rice (you can make it in a batch over the weekend and use it for stir-fries during the week) with a bit of salt to the mix. Cook till everything heats up. Spoon into a plate to cool down.

While up a raita with greek yogurt, pomegranate, crushed mint leaves and salt. Sometimes I also like to add chia seeds and goji berries to this mix. Then layer the black rice with pomegranate raita over it.

Red Quinoa, Rocket & Rasbhari

Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan (I like rice bran). When its hot, stir in four-five lightly crushed, whole garlic gloves - let them brown a little. Then add a handful of sliced broccoli and stir fry no more than a few seconds. Finally add pre-cooked red quinoa and salt till the mixture heats up. Set aside. 

Tear up some rocket leaves dress them with a spoon of extra virgin olive oil and salt. You can also add walnuts to the mix. Then layer the mason jar with red quinoa, rocket leaves and sliced rasbhari (golden berries) on top.

Soba Noodles, Red Cabbage & Pickled Mirchi

Stir fry sliced green beans for a few seconds then add roasted sesame seeds, pre-cooked soba noodles and salt to the mix. Keep aside when everything heats up. 

Chop some red cabbage with pickled mirchi and a touch of salt. Now when I say pickled mirchi I mean chillies that have been soaked in vinegar or traditional sirka. Of course of you want to add Indian mirch pickle please experiment - I’m sure that too would be delicious with red cabbage. I’ve kept the cabbage and mirchi separate because it looks good in the picture :), but actually they should be chopped and mixed together. Layer soba noodles with this tangy mix on top.