Mason Jar Salads and More book giveaway

During the busy back-to-school time, don't forget to pack yourself a healthy lunch. Julia Mirabella's new book about grab-and-go layered lunches in Mason jars can help -- and you can win a copy.

Unless you've been living under a very large rock on the South Pole, you know it's back-to-school time.

And you don't know that simply because the calendar page flipped to September: You know it because it's being crammed down your throat everywhere you look, whether you have school-aged children or not. Major retailers have been working hard since practically July to sell you oodles of backpacks, lunch bags, plaid skirts and Number 2 pencils.

(Is there even such a thing as a Number 1 pencil? I imagine it being all uppity, like "I'm Number 1! I'm Number 1!" What a prick.)

And yes, I realize I'm dating myself with the calendar page and pencil references. Should have been an iPad reference, I guess. Whatevs: I'm still pretty analog.

Food bloggers are also guilty of riding on the coattails of the back-to-school fever. Packable snacks, cutesy lunchbox options and "kid food" boards are popping up all over Pinterest.

(Don't get me started on "kid food." Really, if I get started, I'll get all ranty and won't be able to stop.)

But while we're all focused on getting the wee ones back to school with the right supplies and a good lunch, we may have forgotten about ourselves. At least in the lunch department.

Bringing your lunch to work is a great way to reduce your dependency on fast food, processed food or other less-than-healthy food options -- and you know that helping you do that is pretty much The Ninj's raison d'etre. So put down that nasty-ass frozen Lean Cuisine because The Ninj wants to talk about a better, healthier lunch option that is still yummy and portable: Mason jar salads.

Photo courtesy of Julia Mirabella and Ulysses Press

The cool people at Ulysses Press were kind enough to offer me a copy of Julia Mirabella's fun new book Mason Jar Salads and More: 50 Layered Lunches to Grab and Go (clearly they knew that I'm practically a canning jar hoarder and use them for freakin' everything).

ERMERGAHD: I love this! It almost makes me want to take another corporate job so I can bring my lunch to work in canning jars.

Yeah, almost.

And while the salad-in-a-jar may seem like a simple concept -- as in "why-do-I-need-a-book-for-that" simple -- Julia's book is valuable because it provides not only great salad and dressing recipe combination ideas to ensure you don't get bored, it also offers lots of tips and tricks for ensuring that making your carefully layered salad isn't too time-consuming and that the salad itself doesn't get soggy or pathetic before you're ready to eat it. (Guess what? You can make a whole week's worth of salads in advance and just grab 'em go on your way out the door!)

OOOH! And I don't want to forget to mention the "And More" part of the book title! In addition to salads, Julia includes recipes for things like smoothies, oatmeal and pasta dishes ... all in canning jars, which can be toted with you to work, to school or wherever you're headed.

(I was also more than a little excited to find out that, while Julia now lives in Washington DC, her old stomping grounds were in Louisville, Kentucky -- which are now my new stomping grounds!)

Now, here's the good news: I liked this book so much that I asked the folks at Ulysses Press to give one away to my readers.

Photo courtesy of Julia Mirabella and Ulysses Press

To enter, use the giveaway widget below -- you must at least leave a comment below. And YAY for my Canadians readers: This giveaway is open to both U.S. and Canadian residents!

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Giveaway Details
The giveaway runs until midnight on Sunday, September 7, 2014 and is open to residents of the United States and Canada. One winner will be chosen at random. Winner should  allow up to 30 days for prize fulfillment from the book publisher.