Jason's Deli Meal Planning Hack.

The Garden Fresh Salad Bar at Jason’s Deli is packed with wholesome ingredients that are great for weekly meal planning and are affordable.

A million years ago, when we lived in Modesto, California, Dennis and I often met for lunch at the O’Briens grocery store near our workplace.

O’Briens had a MAGNIFICENT salad bar overflowing with farm-fresh veggies and fruits. We would fill our shared plastic container with all the goodies, go outside to their courtyard, and have lunch. At the time, we were paycheck to paycheck, so sharing a salad bar lunch was economical.

Ha, “sharing a salad bar lunch was super economical” is not what we usually say these days, am I right? Oh, those were the days! Now, all you have to do is go into a Whole Foods or other grocery store and load up on the salad bar, and suddenly, the combination of weight and price per weight is enough to make you want to run away! Yikes! Who wants a small container of salad that costs $24?

But wait!

I have an economical salad bar hack to share!

Jasons deli meal hack - bounty in cooler

Fixed price vs price by weight.

This hack involves looking for a salad bar that charges by the container and NOT by weight.

Yes, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find this option nowadays. However, Jason’s Deli offers the Garden Fresh Salad Bar for a fixed price of $10.99 + tax (in Arkansas). For that price, you will receive a generous-sized to-go container and smaller containers for salad dressings and other fixings.

Jason’s Deli has locations in twenty-seven states across the U.S., and if you’re lucky, one is close to you.

Fill’r up!

First, in case you are wondering if this hack is “legal,” “fair,” or “taking advantage of the system,” please be assured that I have asked numerous store managers and employees over the years if loading up is okay. They never bat an eye, and I have always been greeted with a smile, a nod, and a confirmation.

So, feel good about that, and by all means, confirm with your local Jason’s Deli if it makes you feel better! I know that’s what I would do! And no, they didn’t sponsor this post. 

Is this truly an economical meal-planning hack?

YES!

I decided to experiment with a side-by-side comparison for you.

For just under three pounds of salad bar ingredients, I paid $10.99 + tax. I measured the weight of every ingredient I packed into my container and then looked at Walmart to compare the prices and noted the smallest bag possible or the smallest pack size. Most comparisons were incredibly close!

Net/Net: If I had purchased all these ingredients separately, it would have cost me $37.53+ tax. That is a $26.54 savings!

Think about all the possibilities! Dinner parties! School lunches! Work lunches! Last-minute dinner ideas! Road trip food! Appetizers! The list goes on!

Here’s the detailed list of my latest salad bar shopping trip:

Mixed Greens (2 5/8 oz)
Mushroom slices (2 ¾ oz)
Broccoli Florets (2 5/8 oz)
Cauliflower Florets (1 5/8 oz)
Zucchini slices (3 5/8 oz)
Red Bell Pepper slices (3 3/8 oz)
Radish slices (1 ½ oz)
Cucumber slices (4 oz)
Cherry tomatoes (6 7/8 oz)
Sharp White Cheddar shredded cheese (2 ¼ oz)
Roasted Red Bell Peppers (7/8 oz)
Cottage Cheese (4 oz)
Red Bell Pepper Hummus (4 oz)
Sweet Mini Muffins (4)
Trail mix of walnuts, pepitas, dried cranberries and almonds (2 ½ oz)
3 Seed and Sea Salt Flatbread Crackers (4)

Wholesome, fresh, and organic.

One last thing before I scoot… I mentioned that Jason’s Deli is focused on wholesome fruits and veggies.

Fresh produce is delivered throughout the week, and they constantly monitor it to ensure veggies aren’t browning. Over a dozen USDA-certified organic ingredients are stocked and grown without synthetic pesticides or herbicides, preservatives or additives, and no GMOs or irradiation.

Every day, whole pineapples are hand-sliced and cut, grapes are picked, and strawberries are selected so that ripe, fresh fruit is available.

Remember those $26.54 savings I mentioned earlier? That was me comparing non-organic prices! Imagine the additional cost savings if I had compared organic prices!