I don’t know about you, but since having kids, lunchtime is my healthy eating enemy. For breakfast, it’s easy enough to make a bowl of oatmeal or throw some granola, yogurt and fruit in a bowl. For dinner, we’ve often prepped something on the weekend or there’s time to pick up a rotisserie chicken or scramble some eggs.
But during the work week, I’m crunched for time and it’s far too easy to make the same old PB&J with a banana on the side. My kids love it, but my mid-afternoon energy levels and palate don’t.
Recently, I’ve found a new healthy lunch routine that I love so I thought I’d share it today.
Step 1 is prepping a few days’ worth of a protein on the weekend. My current favorites include:
- Tuna or salmon cakes
- Turkey burgers
- Leftover rotisserie chicken
You could do a pan of bacon and some hard-boiled eggs for a Cobb salad, beef burgers, or even ground meat with taco seasoning for a taco salad.
Step 2 is choosing 2-3 veggies, washing and chopping enough for a few days. I’m loving cucumber and green pepper at the moment. Perennial favorites are carrots, cherry tomatoes (you don’t even need to prep those), baby sweet peppers and apple (not a veggie but so good on salad). The sky is the limit really!
Step 3 is buying a couple cartons of greens and a box of crackers at the store. I love Mary’s Crackers at the moment but obviously there are tons of healthy options.
And step 4 is choosing a nice topping for your salad. I like avocado oil mayo on my fish (don’t knock it til you try it) but also Primal Kitchen dressings, and I bought a new brand of Meyer lemon dressing for some salads this week. Salads are rather joyless without dressing IMO so I always have a couple on hand.
Crisp greens and veggies, a hearty protein and a scrumptious dressing, with a handful of crackers on the side. It’s healthy, delicious and easy if prepped in advance so choosing a healthy lunch is simple.
Little E will have some of whatever protein I’m having, some chopped salad veggies and a slice of toast with hummus or avocado on the side.
And if I’m feeling something carby-er after a busy morning? I’ll put my veggie toppings and protein on a slice of avocado toast for myself, kind of like an open-faced sandwich. (Today I had GF whole grain toast, avocado with salt and pepper, chopped green pepper and tuna–Eric thought it was weird but it was actually amazing!)
Here’s to healthy eating made easy, friends 🙂
xx Claire