The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

19 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,January 31,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca SPEC IAL IN -PAPER FEATURE FOCUS ING ON FAMILY ACT IV IT I ES presents... The third Monday in February has been officially designated as Family Day. To help celebrate, we are publishing a SPECIAL SECTION designed towards families living in our communities. Don'tMissThisUpcomingSpecial Section PublishedOnThursday, February 7, 2019! To advertise in this section please call 519-579-0301 Family Day Special Section Catch a Great Deal! Browse our inventory of vehicles by Body Style, popular Makes and Models, Province, popular Cities or by Price. Whatever path you choose, you will find the right car, in the right location, for the right price! Right Choice{ }CarPlacePrice Find what you're looking for, in the location you want, for the price you want to pay! } About six years ago, Irene Divaris' two adult daughters opened the fridge at the family's home and proceeded to find "nothing to eat." Divaris had a different view though, seeing a fridge full of options. Prompted by the hunger of the daughters and hus- band, Divaris used a Mason jar that was lying on her counter and developed a culinary, layered creation from leftovers that were in that fridge. Meal in a Jar was born. Divaris, former owner of a GoodLife Fitness in Kitchener-Waterloo, says she proceeded to post a pic- ture of her "beautiful" cre- ation on Facebook, which drew the interest of many as well as 50 quick likes. This prompted her to open a Facebook page dedicated to the jars. A person on Facebook asked Divaris if the jars were for sale, and she said yes "in a millisecond." Fur- ther, Divaris developed a quick menu. Quickly, five jars were sold, and business took off from there; Waterloo's Meal in a Jar was born as a startup in 2013. "It is all healthy eating. (We've) got no additives to our jars," explained Diva- ris. "All, except one, are gluten-free, they're dairy- free, and we keep away from nuts. I try to keep away from all the allergens as much as possible." Located at 96 Rankin St. in Waterloo, the establish- ment offers over 25 types of jars, which include Sizzlin' Steak Fajita, Zucchini Beef Houdini, Black Bean Taco, Moroccan Tagine and Beef Teriyaki, which Divaris says is a customer favou- rite. Recently, keto jars have been added as the diet be- comes more common in ad- dition to intermittent fasts, where people don't eat for an extended part of the day. As for Canada's updated Food Guide, which was re- leased Tuesday, Divaris says Meal in a Jar is "al- ready there," in terms of meeting its requirements. "Most importantly, we keep the food as clean as possible in terms of no MSGs, no additives of any kind," said Divaris, who moved to Canada from Zimbabwe's capital, Ha- rare, in 1980. The business, which Di- varis says has done very well so far, is subscription- based and six jars in a week cost approximately $61. They also offer catering op- tions. Meal in a Jar has drop- off delivery to homes and offices, and they also drop off the jars to Little Short Stop's in the area. Jars are returned through the same medium. Coming in Febru- ary, Meal in a Jar will have a spot in Toronto as well, through a partnership with Penguin Fresh. Divaris says the nutri- tious jars last about nine days and can be eaten warm or cold. The jars are also available at Longo's stores in Ontario. "You fill up with our jars, and you will stay full for four-five hours," Diva- ris said. "But you're not go- ing to get that fullness of you know, 'I can't move now, because I'm so full.'" Meal in a Jar is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and there are 500-600 subscribers cur- rently. BORN THROUGH FACEBOOK, MEAL IN A JAR IN WATERLOO PROVIDES HEALTHY, CONVENIENT OPTIONS Waterloo's Meal in a Jar, which opened in 2013, focuses on healthy and convenient food options. Namish Modi/Metroland NAMISH MODI nmodi@waterloo chronicle.ca FOOD AND DRINK RUNNING SINCE 2013, MEAL IN A JAR OFFERS DELIVERY AS WELL AS CATERING WEBSITE: www.mealinajar.com HOURS: Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PHONE: 519-498-6325