Cook make-ahead ingredients: Bake chicken breasts with a little bit of olive oil, salt & pepper in a 400 F for 20 min. When cooled, dice up into 1-inch pieces. Meanwhile, make quinoa in a rice cooker - combine 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water and cook until all liquid is absorbed.
Step 2
Mix together dressing of choice - you can use the homemade versions listed above or store-bought versions to save time. Each salad jar should require only 1-2 tbsp of dressing.
Step 3
Add dressing of choice to the bottom of a 16-oz mason jar. Layer in ingredients of choice in order of what is listed. For instance, for the Mexican jars, add in chicken, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cheese and lettuce to the jar in that order.
Step 4
Jars will keep in fridge up to 4 or 5 days. For easy meal prep, cook chicken and quinoa ahead of time up to 24 hours in advance so all you have to do is assemble.
Step 5
Serve by shaking mason jar so dressing gets distributed, then dump in a large bowl to eat. Enjoy!