One of my favorite all time lunches is a well prepared Nicoise salad; it is elegant and well balanced, full of good-for-you fats, proteins, and veggies that leave you feeling light and energized.  Naturally, I set about figuring out how to transfer this dish into a quick mason jar meal for when I'm on the go. 

I made my version tuna-less because I often prefer vegetarian lunches.  You can, however, feel free to add tuna if you so wish.  After trial and error, I found that cherry tomatoes work best in this salad because they hold up better if you like to make your mason jar meals ahead of time like I do.  But if you are making your salad the morning of, chopped tomatoes, pictured here, work just as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled small potatoes, halved

2 cups chopped green beans

1 cup chopped radishes (about 8 big radishes)

1 cup kalamata olives

2 tomatoes, cut into chunks or 1 cup cherry tomatoes, left whole

4 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard

Combine vinegar, oil, and mustard in a mason jar and shake until combined.  Then divide this dressing between 4 mason jars.  Starting with the potatoes, evenly layer ingredients into each jar in the order they appear on the ingredient list.  Store in the fridge.  To serve, simply shake the jar until dressing coats all layers and enjoy!  Makes 4 servings.