The Surprising Tool That Makes Meal Prepping (and Cleaning) So Much Easier

Lately, I’ve been really into salads. I’ll make a heaping serving of my absolute favorite 10-minute Mediterranean tuna salad on a Sunday, store it in a big glass container, and then eat it for lunch and dinner for a few days. I’ve been prepping and storing that particular salad in Pyrex mixing bowls that come with lids (I love using fewer dishes whenever I can). While the bowls work well, I hadn’t found a perfect solution for easily storing green salads, which can get soggy if you make them in advance — that is, until now.

The Pyrex Beyond Jars set solved my problem. Each set comes with two 32-ounce glass jars with screw-top lids that — wait for it — are designed to hold a quarter-cup of dressing. The idea is to keep your main salad ingredients separate to prevent sogginess, and without the inconvenience of using an entirely separate container. I love that the containers are glass, which is so much easier to clean and doesn’t absorb smells and stains like other food storage containers.

I tested out my Beyond Jar using a bagged salad from Trader Joe’s. The 32-ounce size was perfect for all the greens, plus a few toppings (mine came with dried apple, nuts, and cheese, which I layered on top of the mixed lettuce). The lid easily held all the dressing, too. It was so easy to pop the container in the fridge and self-serve the salad as a side dish for anything I cooked. The jar and lid are both dishwasher-safe, so washing when you’re finished is a cinch.

With the jars, I envision easily transporting salads to other people’s homes for dinner, or for a convenient and healthy office lunch. Just layer the greens with your go-to toppings, then add your dressing! You could also create a power bowl with your favorite grains, greens, and protein and add whatever sauce you fancy into the lid, or make pasta and microwave it in the glass jar. The jars are leak-proof, so you don’t have to worry about in-transit spills in your bag. 

If you need fewer (or smaller) servings, the jars also come in a 16-ounce size — as a bonus, all the lids fit both the 16- and 32-ounce size jars, so you won’t get them mixed up. Otherwise, check out the Pyrex MealBox container, which is kind of like a glass Bento box (and it also comes with the ingenious lid compartment for sauce or dressing).