ok everyone! i’m having a salad exchange! well, my friend, zehra and i are hosting one together and we want you to come. this all came about a few months back when i had a few of my friends over for a soup exchange. the soups were all so good and the company was even better. i thought to myself then that i really wanted to do something like it again and what better way to do so than to share salads in the summer.

so here i am inviting you to come and exchange salads with zehra and i. the exchange is going to be held on friday august 1st in richmond hill in the evening. so mark your calendars ladies. yes, sorry this is for the ladies only!

what on earth is a salad exchange, you ask? well basically each person brings jars full of salad to exchange with the others at the party. you’re only making 4 jars so it’s not a huge commitment. you make 4 jars of the same salad and you will be taking home four different jars. so you come with one type and leave with a variety to try out for the week!

salad in a jar, you ask? yes! if you layer your salad into a jar with the heartiest and wettest parts on the bottom and the lightest and dryest parts on the top you will have a salad that stays fresh and crisp for days in the fridge. it’s genius i tell you!

this infographic has been making the rounds on pinterest for a long while now (sadly, i don’t know who it belongs to..) and i have some friends who prepare their salads for the week this way. so don’t fret. it’s tried and true. follow these guidelines for your typical leafy salad and you’ll be good to go, er… share!

i get my mason jars at canadian tire. they always have a good stock. and the size you’ll need for this are the 1L jars. they come in a case, so i plan to split mine with some friends, but can i tell you something? mason jars are so rad, you’ll find uses for your case for sure.

i’m excited to be doing this with my friend. i love spending time with her and her kiddies. last week we got together and made a big salad for our fams dinner and it was just so nice to catch up, chat and laugh together in the kitchen. time goes by real fast with her around and all that chopping was interspersed with lots of talking. so come with a friend. prep your salads together. i mean, why not?

if you’re not into salads, that’s cool you can still come and hopefully someones concoction will make you a believer. salads are so so good. so fresh and healthy. and with the right dressing, sometimes i prefer my salad to my main! we will be serving a few feature salads made by some of our whiz-in-the-kitchen friends, so we won’t be eating your stash that night, but we will be sharing recipes. if you need some ideas for salads check out my salad pinboard. lots of colour, lots of tasty ones to try out there.

you can make your salad however you want with whatever ingredients you want. fruits, nuts, greens, veggies, whatever. although, i will say, if you plan to use meat or chicken please make it halal! and no bacon. ok? sorry, but none of that stuff, ok? lol.

the other part of this exchange as the idea of it all got rolling is that we wanted to use it as a vessel to raise some money and awareness for a group that we have been a part of for the last little bit. it’s called hands 2 hearts and it’s made up of a bunch of like- minded ladies who just want do something productive to give back. to the community locally and worldwide in whatever ways we can. with our hands, to someones hearts. charity and volunteering has been ingrained in us from such a young age, we just all felt this desire to start acting on it in a more organized way. currently we are working on various events to raise funds for the children of zanzibar, a non-profit working towards bettering the lives of zanzibarians through education, food, and health initiatives. for more information on this cause click here. the site is not super updated, as it is a one woman show and that one woman is working tirelessly to make change. we are only here to help her help them. we are planning a few other events in the near future, but this one is the first.

so if you are free and want to hang out, please click here to reserve your spot. and if you can’t make it, but still want to contribute to our cause you can still click on the link above to make a donation.

we are looking forward to it!

kiss.