Food-in-a-jar and healthy food, too – The Greenies were launched here recently. Founded by Kelvin Thong and Poh Kuang, the salads, presented in Mason jars, are the perfect solution to those who are constantly on the go and who prefer healthier meals.
Made from produce sourced locally (most of them) from farms, the ingredients are chosen carefully for their nutritional value and of course the salads must be tasty and appealing as well. Mason jars are used, partly due to their aesthetics and also because they are tall enough to layer the different ingredients of the salads. Layering is important as this technique ensures that moisture resistant ingredients such as beans and grains act as a natural barrier to prevent the dressing from interacting with ingredients that are sensitive to moisture – mainly the salad leaves. Makes sense, right?
Superfoods
Mortar Pestle Pesto
The salads are sealed in the jars for optimum freshness, convenient storage and easier handling. The grab-and-go jars are packaged fresh daily and can maintain freshness for up to 5 days.
Each of the salad recipes is between 200 and 2,000 calories per 500 grams serving and priced between RM8.00 to RM15.00 per jar. According to Poh Kuang, “each jar contains slow burning complex carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats, fibre aids and vitamins and minerals.”
Give the jar some vigorous shaking!
Well, I tried a couple of these food-in-a-jar … Mortar Pestle Pesto (RM13) and Superfoods (RM15). As promised, the ingredients were beautifully layered and you have to give the jars some good shakes to mix the ingredients before opening the jars. They were sealed pretty tightly too. Of the two, I preferred the Mortar Pestle Pesto as I felt it had a more complete profile: pasta (fusilli), cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) and tasty roasted chicken. And the sweet oven-roasted tomatoes too – those were good!
The nutritional value of a 500g serving of this salad is:
Calories: 702.25kcal
Fat: 9.50g
Carbohydrates: 110.10g
Protein: 44.10g
The light and refreshing Superfoods (RM15) salad would be a hit for those who love beans, grains and seeds. The combination of textures would be enticing – think black Quinoa, broad beans and sunflower seeds! Mint and parsley leaves added on the aromatics and preserved lemons gave it a nice tangy twist.
Superfoods – nutritious & healthy, can’t beat that!
Check out their other salads like Fruit Salad La, Insalata di Pasta, Nice-oise and Truffle Mushrooms.
The Greenies grab-and-go jars are currently available for purchase through various vending machines located in Body Factory Gym & Fitness Centre, C180 Cheras, Ikon Cheras and PJ Trade Center. So, keep a lookout for those colourful jars if you are at any of these places – it’s time to toss a jar or two into your bag if you are on the run.
Plans are in the making to have them available at local grocery stores and also expanding the number of vending machines in the Klang Valley.