If you’re like me Monday through Friday our lunches usually always consists of leftovers from the previous nights dinner, however sometimes there are no leftovers to be found. When this happens it would be so easy to grab lunch out which is going to cost you more and isn’t as healthy as creating your own meals at home.
So rather than spend $6-8 on a sandwich at the local deli or hitting up the the vending machine at work for your afternoon snack keep a well stocked pantry and refrigerator to create a healthy and delicious lunch.
Items to Keep On Hand:
- Greens (romaine, kale, or other salad greens)
- Salad toppings (carrots, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, ect)
- Frozen Brown Rice Wraps
- Quinoa <– only takes about 15 minutes to cook up!
- Veggie Burgers
- Beans
- Condiments (oil and vinegar, vegenaise, hummus, ect.)
- Fresh Fruit
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Nut Butter
Lunch Ideas (including snacks):
- Mega Green Salad with veggies, chickpeas and salad dressing of your choice, an apple and 1 oz walnuts
- Greens topped with veggies, veggie burger and condiment of your choice (fruit or agave sweetened BBQ sauce is great), a 1/2 cup of baby carrots and 2 tablespoons of hummus
- Brown rice wrap filled with quinoa, black beans and salsa, small green salad with dressing of your choice, 1/4 cup of homemade fruit and nut trail mix
- Quinoa bowl with beans, sauteed kale and condiment of choice (love a little shoyu or tamari and sriracha), a medium banana and 1 tablespoon almond butter
- Brown rice wrap with hummus and veggies, 1 apple sliced and 1 tablespoon organic peanut butter
As you can see it can take less than 20 minutes in the morning to put together a quick, easy, inexpensive and healthy lunch! All you need is to keep your pantry/fridge stocked and you can throw something together in a pinch without having to sacrifice you health or your budget.
What do you usually eat or lunch? Do you bring your lunch or buy out? Are you a fan of leftovers for lunch?
P.S. If you haven’t yet don’t forget to enter to win one of the great Chia Goodness giveaway packs!
I usually bring my lunch because all that’s around is gross salad bar, White Castle and Subway. (Seriously, you’d think it was not even NYC around here.) Sometimes I’ll do leftovers but usually it’s some kind of a sandwich with a side of fruit and then a side of trail mix or some other dried fruit/nut combo.
I always pack my lunch and am a big fan of the traditional sandwich (usually hummus and veggies, avocado and veggies, or pb & banana) with carrots, fruit, nuts, homemade granola bars, and other goodies as sides and snacks!
I am fortunate enough to be able to go home everyday 🙂 but whether I am home or packing to work, I always make a proper meal. I usually cook something for 2/3 lunches at a times.. Depending on my mood, I’ll make something fancy like a stew or just cook some cereal and a protein to throw together in a salad..
Thanks for the inspiration though, I could use more rotation in my lunches!