Do you find when you're busy you have less time to prepare a delicious meal or struggle to think of healthy ideas for lunch and tend to reach for more convenience foods. This may leave you feeling low on energy which can lead to feeling drained, tired and frustrated.
If this is you then check out the five lunch ideas below. These take less than ten minutes to prepare and are jam packed with healthy and tasty ingredients. These delicious lunches will leave you feeling energised and help you stay on track with your health goals.
Greek Chickpea Mason Jar Salad
This is great for an on-the-go lunch. It takes minutes to prepare and you can transport it to wherever you are going.
This makes two servings.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
3 tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Greek Seasoning
1 cup Chickpeas (cooked, rinsed well)
½ Cucumber (medium, chopped)
1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes (halved or quartered)
½ cup of grated carrot
2 tbsps Red Onion (finely chopped)
2 large handfuls of leafy salad greens
Method:
In a small bowl combine the lemon juice, oil, and Greek seasoning then divide between jars. Add the chickpeas to the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
Add the cucumber, tomatoes, carrot and red onion to the jars followed by the romaine lettuce. When ready to eat, shake well and dump into a bowl. Enjoy!
Smoked Salmon Avocado Toast
This lunch combo contains lots of delicious healthy fats from both the avocado and the smoked salmon. The fat combined with the protein will help keep you feeling energised and avoid that afternoon energy slump.
This makes one serving.
Indgredients:
½ Avocado
1 slice Bread (toasted)
1 ½ ozs Smoked Salmon (cut into bite-sized pieces)
1/8 Yellow Onion (thinly sliced)
½ tsp Capers
1 ½ tsps Fresh Dill (chopped)
¼ tsp Lemon Juice
Method:
1. Mash the avocado onto your toast. Next, add the smoked salmon, yellow onion, capers, dill and lemon juice. Enjoy!
Rocket, Fig & Prosciutto Salad
Nothing beats the combination of figs and balsamic vinegar. When you add the rocket leaves and prosciutto you have such a luscious lunch.
This makes two servings.
Ingredients:
4 cups of rocket
4 Figs (quartered)
2 1/16 ozs Prosciutto (torn into slices)
2 tbsps Pumpkin Seeds
1 ½ tbsps Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt to taste
Method:
2. Add the arugula, figs, prosciutto and pumpkin seeds into a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt together.
4. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.
Kimchi Tofu Scramble
I’ve fallen in love with kimchi, it tastes so fresh and spicy. It is great for the health of your gut. You can either make your own or you can buy kimchi in most supermarkets. If you are not keen on tofu, you could scramble some eggs.
This makes two servings.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tsps Sesame Oil
16 ozs Tofu (regular firm, patted dry, crumbled)
1 tbsp Tamari
4 cups Kale Leaves (stems removed, finely chopped, packed)
2 tbsps Nutritional Yeast
1 cup Kimchi (drained)
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the crumbled tofu and cook for two to three minutes, stirring gently.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the tamari and kale. Cook until soft, about three to five minutes. Turn the heat off.
3. Add the nutritional yeast and kimchi. Heat until just warmed through, about one minute. Divide into bowls and serve.
Leftovers
The quickest and easiest lunch you can have is leftovers from lasts nights dinner. I’m always making an extra portion to take to work for my lunch the next day.
As well as making an extra portion you could roast some vegetables in the oven while you’re making your dinner. This is a good way to use up leftover veg that you have hanging around the fridge. You could have smoked mackerel with the veg for your lunch with a drizzle of a garlic and lemon yoghurt dressing.