My Vending Machine Dream Came True (almost)

Imagine this in our waiting room (of course then no clients could fit)

What do you dream about? Exotic adventures? Romantic encounters? Seeing someone you no longer can? Playing professional sports? I imagine those are fairly common. Me? I’m a little different (as you may know) and food-centric and so I ponder what life would be like if there was an Organic Avenue in every airport, if all burgers were “grass-fed” all coffee fair-trade things like that. Truth be told, I’ve never had an actual nighttime dream about a vending machine (yet) but it would probably be more of a nightmare. And stop- if you tell yourself you made  “better” choice  when you hit the vending machine c’mon better than a Twix bar doesn’t mean much. Vending machines are a last resort or guilty pleasure but healthy? Not so much.

Well that’s about to change, last week Farmer’s Fridge launched.Farmer’s fridge offers fresh salads and snacks and restocked every morning. You’ll recall last week Joanna posted about Salad in a Jar, Farmer’s Fridge offers multiple, beautiful jarred options in recyclable jars. Farmer’s fridge has also partnered with SPE Certified to confirm the quality of their ingredients. Kale salad or hummus and veggies with the push of a button? Pretty amazing.

I spoke with Farmer’s Fridge founder Luke Saunders yesterday. His background is in manufacturing (which had to help) and he is one of those people who brings a cooler and stocks up at the nearest Whole Foods when on the road. He realized people needed better solutions; not everyone is not on team “cooler” unless of course the cooler comes to them. Farmer’s Fridges are nice looking, wrapped in reclaimed bar wood, no need to tuck these away in a back room or at the end of a hotel hallway. 

The offerings are mostly gluten free, organic for the Dirty Dozen and affordable (salads start at $7.99). This is a game changing concept, the only sad part is that they launched in Chicago. However, Luke says to contact them on Facebook or Twitter and say “I want you here” they are working on their expansion plans. My dream vending machine would have kale, quinoa, salmon and Greek yogurt… and not it's a reality, it just has to come to NYC. I told Luke we’d be happy to test market at Foodtrainers.

What would your dream food-situation involve? What would you put in your personalized vending machine? Where would you like to see Farmer’s Fridge?

Salad in a Jar

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I may have mentioned our office “snackqueenRD” Joanna Li before. Joanna runs the Foodtrainers store. She’s also our resident product taste, recipe taste and gets more excited about trying new things (a totally underrated great quality) than almost anyone I know. For todays post Joanna tackles a lunch concept that’s been taking Pinterest and the blogosphere by storm.

I love how versatile mason jars are and use them for many things from holding smoothies and juices to storing oatmeal and applesauce (I could go on forever). For some time, I’ve been eyeing “Salad in a Jar” photos on Pinterest and Instagram but those Pinterest people have skills that I often do not possess. Finally, I got up the cooking courage and decided to do a little bit of experimenting in the Foodtrainers test kitchen. After all, leafy greens and mason jars, how could I miss out?

I enjoy salad but not the soggy salad that often greets me at lunchtime. With Salad in a Jar your salad contents do not mingle and mush until you say it’s time. Here's what I did:

For my salad in a jar, I used a wide mouth quart sized mason jars (you can use a smaller size for side salads).

Our Mise en place (fancy French way of planning-it thin)

1.  For the first layer, I drizzled the dressing into the bottom of the jar (1/2 tablespoon walnut oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar) By adding this in first and leafy greens last, you keep your greens nice and crisp.
2. Next come your harder, heartier ingredients such as carrots, cucumbers or beets. I used carrots and beets for layers three and four.
3. After hard veggies comes protein. This could be a chopped hardboiled egg, turkey or poached salmon. I used 4 ounces of poached chicken poached in water with a little bit of salt, pepper, and a clove of garlic.
4. The fifth layer is for nuts or seeds, ideas include: sunflower seeds, quinoa, walnuts or almonds.  I sprinkled one of Foodtrainers’ favorite salad toppings, hemp hearts.
5. The sixth layer is for any other soft ingredients. I used roasted some butternut squash (made with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper), I have also used avocado.
6. By the time you reach the last layer, you should have at least 1 1/2 inches from the rim of jar for your leafy greens. This could be spinach, kale, arugula, or dandelion greens or microgreens. I chose kale. Be sure to leave a little bit of space in between your greens and the lid for pre-lunch salad shaking.

Here is our recipe, layer by layer from top to bottom,  for

Foodtrainers’ Kale Salad in A Jar

Room for shaking

Layer 7: fill with kale

Layer 6: 1/2 cup roasted butternut squash

Layer 5: 1/2 pack hemp hearts

Layer 4: 4 ounces poached organic chicken

Layer 3: 1/2 cup beets

Layer 2: 1/2 cup chopped carrots

Layer 1: Dressing: 1/2 tablespoon walnut oil, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, 1 T apple cider vinegar

When ready to eat, shake the jar to toss all the ingredients together or pour onto a plate and dig in!

Salad in a jar is easy to assemble, can be made ahead of time, last for 4-5 days in the fridge and are easy to transport. As Lauren says in LBT “skinny starts Sunday” so prepare your jars on Sunday, and you won’t have to worry about getting off track once the week starts.

Some other salad in a jar inspiration:

Thanksgiving in a jar, perfect for leftovers

Kale and Quinoa Salad in a jar

Have you ever tried making salad in a jar? What are some of your favorite combos?